Outside the Middle East, memories are short. Israelis, however, remember that a ceasefire existed on October 6, 2023, and not a single civilian in
Gaza was in any danger. It was
Hamas that provoked a
war by sending some 3,000
terrorists to
massacre 1,200 Israelis and take 240
hostages the next day. From that point on, Hamas was responsible for the death and destruction in Gaza that followed.
Hamas’s leaders knew what the response of
Israel would be and yet did nothing to warn or prepare the civilian population. They stole millions of dollars in foreign aid earmarked for public welfare to build their network of tunnels to provide the means to murder Israelis and escape from retribution. Not a dime was spent to build shelters for civilians.
Hamas purposely stashed weapons, built tunnel entrances, and fired rockets from apartments, hospitals, mosques, refugee camps, and schools, unconcerned that by doing so, they made each a legitimate military target. Furthermore, they did everything possible to prevent civilians from leaving. They knew Israel was put in an impossible position: if the military did not attack those positions, the terrorists would be safe and could continue their attacks, and if the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acted, the civilians they used as shields would die, and the press and the international community would pillory Israel. From Hamas’s perspective, it is a win-win scenario.
The urgent calls for a ceasefire have intensified following Israel’s preparations to launch an offensive in Rafah, the last stronghold of the terrorists. With more than one million civilians seeking refuge in the area, there are grim predictions of potential casualties. In one apocalyptic report, the
New York Times said 85,000 Palestinians could die from injuries and disease over the next six months (Stephanie Nolen, “War and Illness Could Kill 85,000 Gazans in 6 Months,”
New York Times, February 21, 2024).
This could all end now, right this minute, if Hamas laid down their arms and the hostages were released. And what they mean by ‘ceasefire’ applies to Israel only.
