Gaza and the US

Following the October 7th massacre, US President Biden showed strong support for Israel, even visiting during the war to demonstrate America’s close bond with Israel. However, as the war evolved, large numbers of civilian casualties mounted due to Hamas’s terror tactics of hiding amongst civilians. Biden then became less sympathetic to Israel, saying it cannot continue its attack against Hamas without regard to civilian casualties. Following his lead, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic House leader, voiced public opposition against Netanyahu, going so far as to call for new elections. This unprecedented move encourages world leaders to also oppose Israel, giving Hamas the upper hand in this war.

Looking a bit deeper, it appears that US politics are playing a significant role in Biden’s decisions to support Israel. It is an election year in the US and Biden has tried to walk the tightrope of appeasing both the pro-Israel and anti-Israel sides.

When I was a child, the US took drastic measures to end World War II by dropping atomic bombs on two Japanese cities full of civilians. More recently, the US launched a long campaign in Afghanistan following the 9/11 terror attacks, which led to tremendous loss of civilian life. However, when we think about these times, we emphasize the terror which caused the response. It is important to mention that Israel’s loss of life on 10/7, in proportion to its population, would be equal to 40,000 lives killed in one day in America.

To survive, Israel has no choice but to eliminate Hamas, whose stated goal is to destroy Israel. The fact that Hamas entrenches itself within a civilian population does not seem to matter to the anti-Israel movement worldwide. On the contrary, Hamas sees civilian death as strategy, while Israel sees it as an unavoidable tragedy. Riding the wave of international support, it is obvious why Hamas has not agreed to a ceasefire. Instead, they waited for Ramadan, when the Muslim world often unites against Israel’s “aggression,” to secure even more support.

In Gaza, Hamas is now hiding within Rafah’s civilian’s population, daring Israel to attack. Unsurprisingly, responsibility has been placed on Israel to avoid an attack at all costs rather than on Hamas to free its civilian shields. However, Israel must keep its own interests first if we are to win.