The last couple of weeks in Israel have been absolute hell. I have struggled to write out my thoughts and emotions because the truth is that none of us in Israel have been able to keep up with or adequately process what happened. Every hour, there is another report, image, and testimony, each worse than the next.
By now, the world has seen the terrible images coming out of Israel, and what is worse is that only a fraction of Hamas’s war crimes have been released to the public. On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists breached our border and committed a massacre that was arguably more brutal than the atrocities committed by the Nazis. The terrorists murdered more than 1,400 Israelis in one day and kidnapped over 200 civilians to Gaza. We have not even reached the final death count, and many victims have been unidentified because the Hamas terrorists burned their bodies.
While the October 7 massacre will soon stop trending in the media, we Israelis are preparing for the fight of our lives. We know it is only the beginning because we refuse to share a border with Hamas for a moment longer. When we say “Never Again,” we mean it, and living next door to an Iranian terrorist organization is no longer an option.
Public figures and media outlets are spinning this to make it seem like Israel is thirsty for revenge over Hamas’s war crimes and that our retaliation collectively punishes the Palestinians in Gaza. Anyone making such sentiments has no understanding or experience handling a terrorist organization.
While certain members of Congress, such as Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez – both notorious ‘Squad’ members – have called for a ceasefire, what they are choosing to ignore is that a ceasefire will not save lives. While Israelis are well aware that it would be easier in the short term to retreat, lick our wounds, and attempt to halt the impending ground operation into Gaza, in the long run, it only prolongs suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians.
A ceasefire will not bring peace. When the world fought against Hitler, nobody called for a ceasefire because the world knew that such evil would resurface. October 7 clearly showed that Hamas and the Islamic regime in Iran are nothing short of Nazis.
First responders from Zaka (Israeli search-and-rescue organization) describe finding victims tied up, tortured, and shot, the exact way that the Nazis murdered Jews during the Holocaust. We do not want a ceasefire with a group that murders innocent people, rapes our women, decapitates our babies, and kidnaps our civilians. We will not negotiate a ceasefire with a terrorist organization or make peace with a terrorist organization.
So, we are now bracing ourselves for the impending attacks from the terrorists still hiding in Israel, for more rockets, for media outlets to whitewash Hamas’s crimes, and for any Iranian proxy to take advantage of the operation with Hamas to launch an attack on Israel.
Palestinians in Gaza are not innocent, but Israel will minimize civilian casualties anyway
Anyone who has experienced terrorism or war would never wish it on anyone. As a journalist, I cannot deny the toll this would take on a civilian level for both Israelis and Palestinians. Even though Palestinians in Gaza are far from innocent, Israelis do not want to harm them. The Washington Institute published research showing widespread support for terrorist groups among Palestinians in Gaza. About 57% of Gazans support Hamas, and an overwhelming 71% support Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
With those numbers, it’s no surprise that Palestinian civilians were parading the dead bodies of Israeli civilians and hostages on the streets of Gaza. Yet despite the overwhelming support for terrorist groups amongst civilians in Gaza, Israel goes to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties. Hamas and Islamic Jihad put Palestinians in harm’s way by launching rockets from schools, mosques and hospitals, misfiring rockets that land in civilian populated areas, and blocking roads to the Gazan population to prevent them from leaving to a safe area. In the end, the Palestinians are suffering from Hamas’s brutality.
Our only option is to rid ourselves and the Palestinians in Gaza of a Nazi-style terrorist organization. We understand the consequences of such an operation, but unfortunately, we have no other option. Ultimately, it will not be Hamas and its supporters that come out victorious. The terrorist group will join a long list of entities that tried to destroy the Jewish people and failed.
Together, the Jewish people and our allies will overcome.
The writer is a social media activist with over 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.