I was recently released from reserve duty in Gaza, after serving 100 days in the IDF. Since the world can’t see firsthand the things I saw there, I feel I have to share.
For years, well before October 7th, we’ve heard about how terrible life is for the poor, oppressed Gazans. How anti-Israel activists and media outlets claim the Gaza Strip can be compared to an open-air prison. This became the standard, accepted narrative about life in Gaza, promulgated by Al Jazeera and international human rights groups. But now, having experienced it myself, I can confidently tell you that we were lied to.
Gaza City was modern and developed
Gaza has been depicted as a backwards, "densely populated" area that’s been under Israeli "siege" for years. There's no bigger lie than this. Pre-war Gaza was a modern, beautiful, developed city – with large, furnished houses, wide avenues, public areas, a promenade, and parks. It looked much better than any other Arab city “from the river to the sea.” Gaza City reminds me more of Tel Aviv than the awful slums that some people try to make it out to be.
And, of course, Gaza is far from being the "most densely populated area in the world."
If this is how a city looks after two decades of "siege," then I want to be sieged. The houses in Gaza were full of goods and food from across the Middle East, the houses had modern furniture, appliances, and pretty much any up-to-date consumer product and electronics you can imagine.
There are also high-end mansions that could easily have been in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills. There was no lack of wealth in Gaza.
I realize now that the optimistic notion that "if only Gazans had the chance for a better life, they would not be fighting Israel," is irrelevant for Gaza. Many of them had everything a normal person in the West strives for, yet Hamas still executed their October 7th massacre.
The most common thing I saw inside the houses was a map of the State of Israel, with the heading "Map of Palestine." There is no mention of the internationally recognized borders of Israel, or any Israeli city or kibbutz. The goal of eradicating the only Jewish State was not hidden or played down, it was everywhere.
Despite the prosperity we saw in Gaza city, it was hiding something you won't see in any Western city. Every neighborhood we visited had staged and ready-to-operate Hamas combat zones – weapons, tunneling, explosives, rocket launch zones, all inside normal family homes, some already built with openings in the walls to enable moving easily between buildings.
Gazans knew about Hamas’ hidden combat infrastructure and received many warnings from the IDF to leave ahead of our arrival. We saw the IDF's pamphlets that were dropped by the Israeli Air Force everywhere we went. Those who decided to stay in the fighting zones are either Hamas terrorists, or people who knowingly decided to stay in areas that are used by Hamas for battle.
We also saw that Hamas terrorists rarely moved around armed or in uniform. They are terrorists but even they believe the IDF is a moral army. They know IDF soldiers will not shoot them if they walk around as "civilians." They butchered Israeli civilians on October 7, but we came into Gaza looking only for terrorists and they take advantage of it. They prepare their weapons in advance, typically near building entries, and pick them up just before attacking. This is one reason why fighting in Gaza is significantly more complex than other arenas. This is why, when they say civilians die, you'll never know if they were Hamas members attempting to kill soldiers before they died.
Like any terror group Hamas' strategic weapons are lies and propaganda. That's how they were able to promote their lie about a "siege" in the world's leading media outlets. That's how the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, is able to publish ridiculous, unverified numbers of casualties every day, which are used by the US State Department and other Western governments.
The Gaza I saw was different than the lies we've been fed by Hamas. As they cling to their control of Gaza, we shouldn't fall for the other lies they propagate. Like any other terror group, they must be dismantled.
Roi Yanovsky is an IDF Reservist who was recently released after 100 days in Gaza.
This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Dana Ries