Israel was able to celebrate the rescue of four of its citizens from Hamas in Gaza this week. Sadly, one Israeli officer lost his life. The rescue took place in two locations in a town in central Gaza. They were apparently held in two separate apartment buildings in a crowded city area.
Hamas is reporting that over 200 Palestinians were killed in the operation and, not surprisingly, the UN, the international press, and the left in general are parroting Hamas' propaganda. The Gazan Health Ministry, run by the Hamas government, routinely puts out numbers that cannot be verified by outside entities, and they generally do not say how many of the dead are Hamas fighters.
News sources in Europe are quoting Hamas' claim that three hostages died in the operation, one reportedly a US citizen. If so, were they executed in retaliation for the rescue? Who knows at this point?
At the very least, this incident reinforces the fact that Hamas, as they always do, is fighting from within its own civilian population. They don't care how many of their civilians are killed because it makes for good propaganda. They not only put hostages in the midst of civilians (some of whom are keeping custody of hostages), but they set up their rocket launchers and operations centers in places like schools, hospitals, and mosques. Thus, every time Israel responds, the world can scream about Israel's "disproportionate military actions". Someone needs to tell them that war is not like weekend golf where every duffer has a handicap.
The hope here is that Israel will finish the job in Rafah and kill or capture the last remaining members of Hamas. Civilian deaths should rest with the terrorists of Hamas. They started this war and thus, put their own population in danger, knowing that Israel would respond to the October atrocities. The military leaders of Hamas in Gaza like Yahya Sinwar, need to be eliminated, either killed or brought to justice. In addition, the political leaders of Hamas in Qatar need to be turned over to some tribunal for trial on war crimes, if not Israel, then the ICC (just what they'll do is open to question). On October 7, the Palestinians in Gaza (and the West Bank) were cheering, as were their supporters here in the US, Canada, and Europe. They have little to cheer about now. The disgusting demonstration in Washington this week showed that they are angry that things are not going the way they hoped. They celebrated on October 7 (shamefully), but they have nothing to celebrate now. When this round of fighting is over, the lesson must be: Do not attack Israel again. Indeed, if Hamas had any human dignity, it would surrender and save thousands of lives.
One final note. I fully realize that even if Hamas is destroyed down to the last man, it will reconstitute itself with new leaders and new fighters. Nevertheless, let them start from scratch with the full knowledge that they cannot defeat Israel (at least militarily). As I always say, no decent person enjoys seeing the death and destruction being suffered by innocent women and children, but let it serve as a warning.
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