Israel is not responsible for fixing Gaza
With due respect to David Horovitz, I must take issue with his premise in “How Israel made itself responsible for Gaza, and for all the death, hunger and destruction there.” (July 23, 2025, updated July 24). To begin with, the most problematic part of the article is the hyperbolic wording of the headline, which some readers may take literally.
Let’s be clear: Hamas is responsible for the death, hunger and destruction in Gaza, even if Israel must do a better job with the role it has recently undertaken in food distribution. Israel cannot fix Gaza or undo the consequences of deep dysfunction wrought by almost 20 years of terrorist rule. Long before October 7, that malignancy had metastasized to every vital organ of Gaza society.
Israel did not choose to be attacked on October 7, or for 251 of its citizens and residents to be taken hostage. Yet there is no doubt these events required decisive action to defeat the attackers and rescue the hostages. I don’t believe Mr. Horovitz disagrees with this. So long as Hamas continues to hold hostages it gives Israel clear justification for search and rescue efforts in Gaza and the military actions necessary to achieve that objective. And, Israel cannot take lightly the vow of Hamas leadership to launch “a second, a third, a fourth” attack until Israel is “annihilated.” If Hamas will not surrender it must be either eliminated or driven out.
The perilous situation is indeed disturbing, and lessons learned from tragic deaths at Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) food distribution sites must inform course corrections: improvements in training and equipping the individuals involved, and in crowd control, planning, and distribution methods. There should also be prosecutions if it is determined that personnel–including IDF soldiers–committed war crimes.
Making food distribution safer and more efficient is essential, but we cannot ask IDF soldiers to fail to act on the deadly dangers they encounter. Hamas flaunts international laws designed to make combatants readily distinguishable from civilians. IDF soldiers who are approached in restricted areas by Gazans in civilian clothing must account for the deadly risk of a suicide vest, particularly when those who draw closer do not heed warnings to stop. The graveyards of Israel already have far too many soldiers and civilians who have fallen prey to this tactic at the hands of a terrorist in pursuit of death and glory.
Then there is the issue of criminal gangs looting humanitarian aid. This includes an incident last November in which a convoy of over 100 UN trucks were violently ambushed. But for that problem, the GHF might not exist to begin with.
Israel can be blamed for mistakes in its undertakings to distribute aid, but not for the cult of destruction that has brought widespread chaos, destruction and misery to Gaza. Other solutions should be explored, including participation in and management of aid distribution by moderate Arab nations such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Surely, they would be better received by Gazans, and surely they have the resources to carry out this mission, but do they have the will?
