The Israeli Foreign Ministry has condemned Croatian President Zoran Milanovic's statement in which he said that Israel had lost his sympathy, and thanked Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for his support for Israel.

“The President of Croatia’s outrageous announcement is conspicuous against the backdrop of the messages of support from international leaders who have expressed sympathy for the people of Israel after horrific images of Hamas’ barbaric terror attack were publicized all over the world,” Lior Haiat, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said in a post on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

The spokesman was referring to Milanovic’s statement that Israel had lost his sympathy because of its reaction to the Hamas attack. “I condemned the killings (committed by Hamas), expressed even disgust and abhorrence. The right to self-defence, which Israel absolutely has, does not include the right to revenge and to massacre civilians,” the Croatian president said.

Milanovic criticised the decision by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to display the Israeli flag on its building, saying that only the Croatian flag should be displayed there.

“Israel thanks the Prime Minister of Croatia for his words of support for Israel in its justified war against the Hamas terror organization, and also thanks Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its decision to raise the Israeli flag at the entrance to the Ministry in solidarity with the people of Israel in these difficult times,” Lior Haiat wrote on X.