Hamas war on Israel
Israel, October 7 2023. From the north the south, a regular Saturday for some – visiting family, socialising, shopping, working. A Jewish holyday and the Sabbath for others – celebrating what should have been a peaceful day. Jew, Muslims and Christians, Israelis and Arabs all busy living their lives.
Until Hamas, the internationally proscribed terrorist group that has ruled Gaza with an iron fist since Israel completely withdrew from the area in 2005, launched a war on Israeli citizens. This is an incredibly fast moving situation: with terrorists are still at large, tens of hostages taken into Gaza and the numbers of fatalities and injured escalating. As of midday on 8th October, official numbers state that there are over 400 confirmed murdered Israelis and over 2,000 injured including over 350 critically wounded.
Horrific reports and images of multiple abductions, torture, rape and murder of teenage girls, children, and the elderly have flooded social media. These grotesque actions cannot be considered freedom fighting by any sane-minded person. These are war crimes, plain and simple.
There is no moral equivalent to these events in the Israel/Palestine conflict. The only equivalent that can justifiably be made is the treatment of the Yazidi women by ISIS, who, like Hamas, aimed to dehumanise their captives, to humiliate them, to denigrate them. The images seared into our minds over these last few days of Hamas brutally kidnapping young women and children screaming for help are the same we witnessed in Afghanistan in 2014.
And this is combined with the sheer volume of rockets sent over from Gaza across Israel, aiming so far as Jerusalem, the likes of which have never been seen before, with over 2,000 in just half an hour – which stunned even the world’s most sophisticated army. Starkly put, the numbers killed so far by Hamas in Israel are proportionately equivalent of those murdered on 9/11 in the US by Al Qaeda.
Hamas, ISIS, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda, all encouraged and supported by Iran, are different sides of the same coin. They seek the destruction of the values of West – of America, Europe, Israel, and its people. They have no regard for life – they make that abundantly clear – and no aspirations for peace.
October 7 marks a change from which there can be no going back, just as 9/11 did. Hamas have reached beyond their wildest dreams; for every one of the Israeli civilians kidnapped, they can hope for thousands of terrorist prisoners released in exchange. For every Israeli death, they can celebrate a victory for their Charter. Afterall, we must not forget that Hamas’s raison d’etre is the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. Peace is not and will never be an objective for Hamas and it is written in black and white. Hamas is the reason why there can be no appeasement, no negotiation and no holding back in Israel’s justified response to them.
While the world is momentarily stunned by the savagery of Hamas’ attack, we know from past experience that as Israel fights to defend and protect its citizens and secure its borders from those that wish it’s destruction, the rhetoric around Israel will begin to shift. Israel will be seen as the aggressor; Gazans as the victim. This oversimplification of a complex issue has never been further from the truth as it is now. In this moment, Israel is at the front line in the fight against terror and the West must stand strong against this ideology of hate and death, just as it stands with Ukraine against Putin’s aggression. As President Zelensky said in the immediate aftermath of the attack, “everyone who values life must stand in solidarity” with Israel. Partners from across the world understand this and stand in support of Israel, recognising that a fundamental battle of values is at stake. Just as Ukraine represents a red line, so too must Israel.
Hamas has labelled their assault ‘Operation Al Aqsa’, under the guise that Israel was on the verge of demolishing the holy site in Jerusalem, inciting Palestinians to rise up and kill and capture as many Israelis as possible. They say the operation is a preventive strike against the Al Aqsa’s destruction, in retaliation for years of occupation, and to rid the region of Israel and the Jews ‘from the river to the sea’.
So it is vital to remember some basic facts in the face of these claims:
Israel strictly maintains and protects the status quo of Al Aqsa, overseen by the Jordanian Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. Jews are only allowed anywhere near the site in strictly prescribed hours and never during times of Muslim worship.
The operation by Hamas is aimed at civilians, which is a clear war crime according to UN’s own conventions and internationally recognised laws
Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 under the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law. All Jews were evicted and resettled outside of Gaza and no Israeli is allowed to enter without special permission.
Hamas Charter states its fundamental rejection of negotiation, a two state solution or any form of peace: “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.” (Article 13)
The Hamas Charter also states that the obligation of Muslims is to kill Jews: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.”(Article 7)
For the ordinary Palestinian, this attack has further shattered their hopes of peace because peace is not Hamas’ goal. While their leaders sit in their luxury Gazan mansions or are safely nestled deep in underground bunkers, the lives of ordinary citizens in Palestine are about to get worse. They are the pawns in Hamas’ game to obliterate Israel.
The leadership of Hamas surely knows what the response will be to its murderous assault. Inciting a population to perpetrate acts of terror on women and children can never end well. So when the inevitable calls for restraint and a proportionate response begin, those calls should have been directed at the perpetrators of this violence: Hamas, who uses humans as weapons and shields, who have total disregard for the lives of their own people, who perpetuate a cycle of brainwashing and encouraging children to cheer, with machine guns in hand, at the death of Jews.
Many parallels will be drawn between the Yom Kippur War of 1973, in which Israel, lead by Golda Meir, was hit by a coordinated attack by its neighbours and suffered huge casualties. Much will be discussed around how the attack succeeded over the weeks and months ahead but for now we can look back at one of Golda Meir’s most famous quotes: “Peace will come when they love their children more than they hate us”. For now, we must demand the swift and safe return of every single Israeli kidnapped and stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it embarks on its war against terror.