Let’s start with an exercise. Readers in Israel (and Ukraine) are exempt. They don’t need more practice.
Imagine you hear a siren warning of incoming rockets or drones. If you don’t know the sound, trust me: once you’ve heard it in real life, you’ll never forget it. Keep in mind that you now have anywhere between seven seconds and one and a half minutes to reach safety. This can be any time, night or day. In your drill, it’s your choice – unlike in real life.
Say, you’ve chosen nighttime for your simulation. You have to wake up, get out of bed, perhaps gather sleepy young kids from their rooms, maybe also help an elderly relative, don’t forget the family dog, and good luck rounding up a pet cat spooked by the siren’s wail.
If you’re lucky, you have a safe room in your home. If not, you will need to go out into the stairwell or a shelter – if it’s close enough. It’s better to metaphorically die of embarrassment than waste time making sure you’re fully dressed when you meet your neighbors.
Remember you might only have seven seconds – you’ve already spent more time than that reading what I’ve written so far. But bear with me.
It’s easier in the daytime, of course – unless, say, you’re driving and have to get out of the driver’s seat, extract young children from the back seats, or perhaps assist an older passenger with arthritic knees or a bad hip.
Now you need to find what passes for a safe spot, which might be nothing more than lying down by the side of the road and putting your hands on your head in the hope that this could protect you from falling shrapnel. Even with the Iron Dome and other anti-missile defense systems, the dangers still exist.
THIS, SADLY, is not theoretical. It’s what happens daily as rockets continue to be launched on Israeli civilians from Gaza and from Yemen. The Houthis seem to prefer nighttime attacks, Hamas in Gaza aren’t particular – they’ll launch rockets when they can.
Extraordinarily, only the Palestinians – the ones launching the rockets – are considered the victims. The international press focuses on the plight of children in Gaza as if children in Israel do not suffer from stress. But all Israelis are suffering from some degree of trauma following the Hamas invasion and mega-atrocity of October 7, 2023.
Once you’ve been subjected to them, rocket attacks remain in the back of your mind. And they’re not so sporadic – there have been more than 20 rocket attacks on the South in the past two weeks, and residents of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Center are certainly no strangers to missiles and drones.
And even if the ceasefire with Hezbollah has so far meant a relief from endless bombardment in the North, no one can guarantee that this will hold. And don’t forget that there are still thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes in the North and South. While life slowly returns to what passes as normal, hundreds of homes, buildings, and businesses need to be renovated or rebuilt due to the damage they have sustained.
You might not have seen photos of Israeli schools and kindergartens that have been hit by rockets, but they exist. This is what a war crime looks like.
When rockets were launched on Sderot again this week, a local resident noted that it was exactly at the time when schoolchildren were traveling home on school buses, making them particularly vulnerable. Having completed the above exercise, you can probably imagine what is involved in trying to get a busload of children out of the vehicle and lying down with their hands on their heads within seven seconds. It’s the nightmare of parents in the South.
Opinions differ regarding whether the rockets from Gaza reflect a Hamas comeback despite the presence of IDF soldiers – and, sadly, ongoing casualties – or an effort by Hamas to launch as many rockets as still possible before a ceasefire.
Psychological warfare
HAMAS HAS also ramped up its psychological warfare exploiting the hostages. Last week, it released a video of 19-year-old Liri Albag, abducted from the Nahal Oz base on October 7. Five female IDF spotters remain in captivity.
On the one hand, the video was a sign of life – something of huge significance for the families. On the other, it was another manipulative effort. Despite its losses, the jihadist terrorist organization is not giving up.
The more intensive talks over a hostage release – in return for jailed Palestinian terrorists – might also be a sign that Hamas recognizes that time is running out before the new Trump administration takes over.
Israeli news this week concentrated on the unofficial publication of a list of 34 hostages – from the Bibas boys, female captives, to the elderly and infirm – who are top priority for release. It’s something like Sophie’s Choice. There is no case, after more than 460 days in captivity, that can’t be defined as “humanitarian.”
The Hamas video, like previous publications, focused on trying to foster social and political unrest as well as fear. It’s not just a Hamas tactic, it’s part of the strategy of their Iranian sponsors.
Never forget, however, that it is Hamas that is guilty of abducting and holding the hostages, and Hamas that must be forced to release them. The fact that the terrorists haven’t even given a list of who is alive and who is dead, nor allowed Red Cross visits, is part of the ongoing torture.
There are some 100 captives, roughly half of whom are presumed alive. I won’t ask you to imagine what the hostages or their families are going through. If you have a heart and a moral compass, you are already worrying about them.
THERE HAS also been a spate of terror attacks in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank.) Unfortunately, the greater the losses of Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon respectively, the more likely Iran will try to boost terrorism through Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad elsewhere.
On Monday, three people were murdered in an ambush on a road near Kedumim, close to Nablus. The terrorists shot at a bus, a car in which two women in their seventies were killed, and a car in which an off-duty police officer was taking his son to school. The son saw his father return fire before being killed by the terrorists. Imagine being 10 years old and seeing your father murdered in front of your eyes.
The pro-Palestinian crowd – those who think it is better to support the murderers and rapists than their Jewish victims – will automatically blame Israelis for being present in Judea and Samaria. If the Jews were to leave, there would be no problem, goes the canard.
Except that since the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, the complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and the pullback from Lebanon in 2006, we have seen the opposite. Terror activity has increased wherever Israel withdrew. A Palestinian Authority crackdown on Hamas aims to protect its own regime, not to protect Israelis.
And make no mistake, this is not just Israel’s problem. As Moroccan journalist Amine Ayoub wrote in The Algemeiner, “The tragic terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day is yet another reminder of the persistent threat of extremist ideologies in the West.
“While the immediate focus is on this horrific event, it’s crucial that we don’t allow such incidents, often labeled as ‘lone wolf’ attacks, to overshadow the broader issue of radical Islamism, which continues to challenge Western societies.”
Ayoub’s opinion piece was aptly titled “The New Orleans attack and Hamas’s October 7 massacre share the same ideology and motivation.”
Israel is not committing genocide, as is so often claimed, but it is not willing to commit national suicide. And, as Ayoub notes, “The rise of radical Islamism requires a coordinated global response. This includes intelligence-sharing among nations and improved efforts to monitor and prevent radicalization within communities… Moreover, Western countries must ensure that Muslim communities are not isolated or preyed upon by extremist groups.”
Singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” might make you feel good but it’s more important to face the stark reality. Israel doesn’t need your sympathy – although that would be nice. It needs you to recognize the dangers all of us are facing. This isn’t a drill, it’s the real thing.