Paris attack is attack on us all, Netanyahu says in condolence note

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a condolence letter to French President Francois Hollande Thursday, expressing empathy over a deadly terror attack at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

“This attack on France is an attack on us all. Free peoples everywhere must unite to confront radical Islamist terrorism and to protect ourselves against this threat to our common civilization,” Netanyahu wrote to his French counterpart.

“The people of Israel stand with the people of France at this difficult time. Please convey our sympathies to the families of the victims and our best wishes for the full and speedy recovery of the injured,” the prime minister concluded.

On Wednesday, gunmen stormed the Paris office of the magazine, claiming a dozen lives, including prominent Jewish cartoonist Georges Wolinski.

The gunmen cried out “Allahu akbar” and said that their attack was to “avenge the prophet,” the French daily Le Monde reported. They fled in a hijacked car, running over a pedestrian and shooting at officers.

A massive manhunt has been launched to find the attackers.

Charlie Hebdo, which regularly runs articles and caricatures critical of religion, has published a series of satirical cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.