Israel Must Free Gaza from Hamas

The horrific Hamas attack of October 7 was just the latest and deadliest demonstration of their mission to destroy Israel. Hamas’ regime has proven to be completely antithetical to the prospect of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel’s current mission to purge Gaza of Hamas is not only in the best interest and safety of its own citizens, but of Palestinians as well.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complicated; Hamas is not. Hamas is an autocratic regime that rules the 2 million civilians of the Gaza Strip with no regard for human rights. It is a Jihadist organization, designated as a terrorist entity by the EU, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and others. It was founded in 1987 with one mission: to obliterate Israel. Its founding charter states that, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it… The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them”.  Hamas’ mission is not to reclaim ‘occupied territories’ (i.e., the West Bank and Gaza Strip) or to achieve peace, but to destroy Israel and, ideally, to eliminate Jews everywhere.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007. Israel captured Gaza from Egypt after Egypt attacked in 1967, then unilaterally withdrew in 2005. Hamas won elections in 2006 and seized absolute control in 2007 after assassinating Fatah leaders.

Israel does not occupy Gaza. Israel enforces a blockade due to Hamas’ constant attacks. Israel supplies essential goods, food, medicine, cement, electricity, and a small portion of Gaza’s water. Hamas misappropriates much of this to construct terror tunnels and rockets. Israel allows thousands of Gazans to cross the border daily for work, trying to improve their quality of life, despite Hamas’ attempts to thwart peace. If Gaza is an “open air prison”, Hamas is their warden. Egypt also has a blockade with Gaza, but is rarely scrutinized. Hamas receives much of its funding from the IRGC in Iran, who share their mission to destroy Israel.

Hamas recruits children to fight and die for their cause, while its leaders reside comfortably in Qatar. Hamas stores and launches rockets from hospitals and schools. They commit a double war crime: firing rockets indiscriminately at densely populated areas to maximize civilian casualties, while hiding in densely populated areas to use their own civilians as human shields. Hamas rockets often misfire, falling short of Israel and killing Gazans, as was the case with the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on October 17.

Hamas is to Gazans what the IRGC is to Iranians and the Taliban to Afghans. Hamas leaders call on supporters worldwide to attack Jews. Hamas is black and white; supporting them is supporting terror, violence, and hatred. Hamas is not Pro-Palestinian; they are anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. The situation in Gaza will never improve under Hamas’ regime.

On October 7, Hamas committed the deadliest terror attack in Israeli history, breaching the border and slaughtering 1400 people, the most Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust. They murdered, tortured, burned, raped, and mutilated babies, women, and elderly Holocaust survivors. They dragged 230 hostages back to Gaza. They boastfully filmed these horrific acts.

It is moronic and historically inaccurate to explain the attack as a natural response to Israeli oppression. This was fueled by antisemitic hatred. This was a highly coordinated mission to humiliate and kill as many civilians as possible. This is corroborated by the testimonies of captured Hamas terrorists and the operations manuals they carried. Hamas has been ideologically committed to violence both before and after Israel’s presence in Gaza and blockades. Hamas will never stop attacking civilians, while sacrificing their own, in a futile attempt to eliminate Israel.

In retaliation, Israel has been striking Hamas facilities that store and launch rockets. Israel takes precautions to minimize civilian casualties, sending roof knocking bombs and leaflets that direct Gazans to safety, but Hamas often forces civilians to stay put, as “martyrs”, to maximize deaths and advance their propaganda against Israel. Thus, civilian casualties are horrifying, but inevitable, and every drop of Palestinian blood is on Hamas’ hands. It was not Kurdish and Iraqi forces who were scrutinized for civilian casualties while rooting out ISIS from Mosul. Hamas could end the war by releasing Israeli hostages and stepping down from their tyrannical rule over Gaza. Instead, and for 16 years, they chose bloodshed.

Calls for a ceasefire essentially endorse the continuing of Hamas’ reign of terror in Gaza, while holding hostages, attacking Israeli civilians, and putting their own in harm’s way. Hamas breaks every ceasefire with Israel anyway. Those wanting peace for Palestinians should support Israel’s efforts to remove Hamas. No nation would tolerate an entity next door that perpetually seeks to destroy it. Hamas will never focus on building Palestinian society; only destroying Israel.

Many worldwide attempt to justify or minimize Hamas’ heinous actions on October 7, or even attempt to deny the events, despite objective evidence. Protestors worldwide chant “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea”, which support violence and terror against Jews (intifada) and the destruction of Israel entirely. Incited by Hamas leaders, a ‘Global Day of Jihad’ led to attacks outside of Israel, on Jewish schools and synagogues, children, Jewish-owned businesses, and defacement of property with swastikas – echoing memories of Nazi Germany. People rip down posters of the faces of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas. How can someone support a cause that is threatened by a poster of a kidnapped child? These demonstrations do not call for peace, but for Jew hatred.

Palestinians should indeed be angry and tired. Civilian loss on either side is tragic. But let’s be unequivocal: Hamas is the true enemy of Palestinians. Hamas sacrifices their own civilians for their political agenda. If people care about Palestinians, they should call out Hamas for hijacking Gaza’s water pipes to build rockets, cement for tunnels, and for using children as martyrs. Palestinians and their supporters should redirect their anger toward Hamas, the real enemy of Palestinians and obstacle to peace. People worldwide should support Israel’s efforts to remove Hamas, for the sake of civilians on both sides.