Unearthing the Truth Behind Gaza’s Destruction

Gaza has now turned into ruins – a skeleton that was once full of life, breathless city. Even in the midst of this terrible destruction, many people blame Israel only, while a complex and painful truth is ignored. Have we ever asked who shed the first blood? Are innocent citizens targeted only because they were of separate religion or thought? Even after months of struggle, innocent Israeli hostages were not released? Is this really resistance or a careful emotional trick at the cost of human life? The biggest question that is immersed in an uncomfortable silence is – what has been the role of Hamas in the destruction of Gaza and the misery of the people there? And why do human rights shy away from demanding accountability from them? Ignoring these questions is not only a threat to justice, but also to avoid our responsibility of understanding and changing the truth.

More than 1,200 innocent civilians were killed and hundreds were kidnapped on 7 October 2023 by Hamas on Israel – including women, children and elders. This was not a defense, but a terrible terrorist act. Israel’s military reaction was fast and widespread, which led to a gross human crisis in Gaza, which continues even today. But think, if Hamas had released those hostages quickly – whether in the early weeks or months of the struggle – then this compound of destruction could have been slow or stopped? Could global pressure take a new color? Could Gaza be saved from so much destruction? Every day when he remained hostage, he gave Israel a new reason to continue the struggle. The ‘resistance’ of every Hamas further strengthened the Israeli resolution and raised justification for military action internationally. And ordinary Palestinians had to pay the real price of this struggle – as their blood, broken house and lost future.

Hamas describes himself as a voice of Palestinian resistance, but can sacrifice his own people, convert schools into bunkers and to make citizens a human shield can be the right resistance? Is it the option to close the path of every conversation, and to lose future generations in the name of martyrdom? Is Hamas really protecting his people, or gambling their lives? Many residents of Gaza, if they can be free from fear and raise their voice, will clearly say that Hamas’s totalitarian rule, corruption and fundamentalism gave them nothing but destruction, breakdown and separation.

The saddest aspect of this crisis is the selective ethics of some global human rights supporters. When citizens are killed in Israel’s bombing, their resentment is justified, but why does not the same anger look when Hamas faints rockets from crowded areas, prevents citizens from getting out, or hostage assistance? Where are those open letters that demand immediate release of hostages from Hamas, stop misuse of civil infrastructure for military purposes, and to independently of humanitarian aid? Why the sounds of justice were not demanded from Hamas that they should stop using their people as pawns? And why is there no such open letter that appeals to Hamas to protect his citizens and protect Gaza from the dangers of war? This bogus is against the basic principles of humanity and justice. When human rights advocates become selective, this is a moral agreement. Criticism of state violence is necessary, but it is hypocrisy to forgive non-state terrorism in the name of ‘resistance’.

In every corner of the world, common people are entitled to be aware of not only empty slogans and arguments, but also with real freedom, security and dignity – this right is not only the people of Palestine, but of every human being. They are entitled to real freedom – freedom from staunch Islamic sanctions, rigorous rituals and tight thinking. They need the dignity of self-awareness, the right to express themselves independently, and need peace with humans. This means building a school, not weapons. This means a leadership that rises above the ideology and understands the value of life, shows more compassion than hatred. This means choosing diplomacy instead of destruction. If the world is truly standing with Palestine, then it will have to make radical groups like Hamas as accountable as it makes Israel. There is no less justice than this, otherwise it will be betrayal. And those who claim protecting human rights – your silence on Hamas’s crimes is not neutrality, but active participation.