It was a before-and-after moment.
Something so immense that it remains forever imprinted in the national psyche.
In 1973, it was the trauma of the start of the Yom Kippur War on two fronts on the holiest day of the year.
Fifty years later, almost to the day, it was another type of war, but a war nonetheless. On October 7, as Jews celebrated the Sabbath and the joyous Simchat Hatorah festival, thousands of members of the Hamas terrorist organization invaded southern Israel from Gaza – on land, by sea, and by air – under the cover of a massive rocket barrage. It was a nightmare scenario.
Children who might have been frightened that there are monsters under their beds, woke up to find they truly exist. They were at the gates of their communities – armed with Kalashnikovs, RPGs, and jihadist ideology. And then the monsters broke in and went on an unfathomable rampage.
The full extent of the horror is still slowly being revealed as more and more scorched and mutilated bodies are recovered from homes in what remains of once pastoral kibbutzim and moshavim close to the border with Gaza. Homes were ransacked and burned, with residents still inside.
The known toll is already staggering: some 1,300 were murdered, some 3,000 wounded, and an unknown number abducted – including the elderly, invalids, and young children.
Over 5,000 war crimes
More than 5,000 rockets have been launched on Israel – every one of them a war crime. If you want to know what a crime against humanity looks like, look no further. A modern Amalek attacked.
Declaring unswerving support for Israel, US President Joe Biden was visibly moved as he declared on Tuesday: “This is what they mean by human tragedy, an atrocity at an unprecedented scale. It brings to mind the worse rampages of ISIS.”
Hamas is ISIS became a mantra this week – for good reason. The jihadist ideology fuels them both, and the savagery of both is unfathomable.
Survivors of the massacre at a nature rave describe being hunted down and herded toward the Gaza border. The juxtaposition of the freedom of partying and the horrors that followed could not be more jarring.
In decimated border communities, men were shot in their legs so they could not escape and could not help as they watched what happened to their families. There are reports of more than 40 babies killed on one kibbutz alone – some of them beheaded.
Reminiscent of the ethnic cleansing of the Yazidis by ISIS, young women with blood streaming between their legs were seen being loaded onto vehicles or paraded among jeering Palestinian men. The Hamas captives include the very young – babies and toddlers – and the old and infirm, many of whom depend on medication. Some of the children were taken without their parents.
And who could remain unmoved by the picture of 85-year-old Yaffa Adar maintaining her dignity as she was driven away by grinning Gazans?
Hamas and their supporters, that’s who. Think what it says about the terrorists that this is their idea of a victory image.
This was an unprovoked mega-attack; an invasion of the sovereign State of Israel. Think 9/11 – with greater numbers of casualties. The Israeli population stands at almost 10 million. With more than 1,200 dead, everyone knows someone affected.
We are all in mourning.
This was not about “settlements” or because of poverty or population density in Gaza. And it’s not about “the occupation”: The only Israelis in Gaza are those Hamas is holding captive there. Hamas doesn’t need an excuse to harm Israel. Its aim is clear and on record in its own charter: Destroy the Jewish state.
If there is any consolation it is in the way that Israelis under fire once again came together. Protest movements against judicial reform, dropped their calls to refuse to serve and volunteered to help. Reservists raced home from abroad to serve and those not called up lobbied to be drafted. Civilians of all ages begged to help in any way. People lined up for hours to donate blood. Army bases were inundated with food and gifts. People opened their hearts and homes to refugees. Groups organized on social media to rescue pets that had been lost or left behind as families fled. Psychologists and therapists offered free counseling.
And along with the tragedies, stories of immense bravery were told.
Our collective sons and daughters know what they are fighting for. It’s personal. Every IDF soldier is protecting family and friends under attack.
In times of war, and Operation Iron Swords as it’s officially known is definitely a war, criticism of the government and army tends to be muted, but questions are important.
It is only fair to ask, for example, why Benjamin Netanyahu and the Opposition’s Benny Gantz were not able to immediately abandon their political differences and establish a much-needed unity government.
A commission of inquiry will be set up to examine the failings of the government, security forces, and intelligence bodies that led to this disaster. Part of the problem seems to have been an unreasonable reliance on the wonders of technology and cyber tactics, and not enough combat soldiers on the ground or armed security coordinators in local communities. Hamas clearly prepared well and over a long period for this operation but it must have been shocked at how easily they were able to destroy the border fence, knock out security cameras, and overrun army bases, although they probably realized most soldiers went home for the Simchat Torah holiday.
There are other lessons being painfully learned: Israel has been heavily criticized in the past when it responded with live fire at Palestinian rioters on the Gaza border. It should have ignored the criticism instead of ignoring the most recent disturbances. No Gazan should have been allowed to get close to the security fence and lived to tell the tale.
Last week, Islamic Jihad held an exercise that included firing rockets. Instead of pretending this was normal, the government and security forces should have asked what was the terrorist organization practicing for.
When periodically, rockets were fired on central Israel and Hamas claimed they were triggered by lightning, any thinking person should have realized that the terrorist organization wouldn’t possess loaded rockets pointing directly at Israel if they didn’t mean to launch them at some point.
Kites equipped with incendiary devices, environmental terrorism, have been given a free pass. Observation towers overlooking Israeli communities were left standing.
The international community needs to realize that Hamas does not need a rocket arsenal for defense, but to attack. And it builds terror tunnels so that terrorists can use them. That is what the billions of dollars of aid have been spent on.
Similarly, the lifting of sanctions on Iran provides the Islamic Republic with an influx of money allowing more funds to be spent on supporting its terrorist proxies: Hamas and Hezbollah (and the Houthis in Yemen.)
This idea of buying peace – or at least quiet – was one of the concepts that completely collapsed this week.
In the past, Israel managed to halt rounds of rockets from Gaza by allowing an inflow of Qatari money and permitting more Gazan workers to enter Israel under the theory that this would ease the overall economic hardship there and hence reduce the tension and the likelihood of an attack.
It was wishful thinking and a tragic mistake. While Israel was making humanitarian gestures, the Hamas regime was meticulously planning its mega-attack. Terrorism cannot be appeased.
In a noticeable change from previous rounds of hostilities, it seemed that most of the Western world finally understood what Israel is facing. There was welcome support from many world leaders – although the United Nations Security Council failed to heed Israel’s call to condemn Hamas.
The UN, after all, has an open-ended probe into Israel’s response to attacks, without criticizing – let alone investigating – Hamas war crimes. Israeli lives are clearly less valued by the organization for world peace.
Israel is under no illusions that sooner or later the admonition to heed to a “proportionate response” will once again be heard. However, it’s hard to say what is proportionate or appropriate if you want to restore deterrence after an atrocity like the one we have just endured.
This is not only Israel’s fight. Witness the atrocities against Christian communities around the world. Israel is on the frontlines in the fight against global jihad. It’s a battle we need to fight together.
liat@jpost.com