By Elisabeth Hinze
Yesterday morning my country awoke to the news headlines screaming in big bold letters, “13 killed as Israel hit UN Gaza school”. I cringed. Because I know exactly which horrific images such a headline evokes: 13 little Palestinian children in pink or light blue maimed beyond recognition. Cruelly put, I know. But honestly, what else did the folks over at the newspapers want its readers to think? The truth is a bit different. Let me add a bit of common sense to the emotional sensationalism. Firstly, it’s summer vacation here. Which means empty school buildings. And even if it wasn’t. Its war. Parents keep their children at home where they can keep an eye on them during wartime. None of the schools are open. Thing is though, it’s highly probable that the school building was used for something far more sinister than educational purposes. Since the UN already found rockets hidden in two other schools in Gaza, I’d say it’s close to a foregone conclusion. Which brings me back to the headline. Which should have read something like, “13 killed as Israel hit UN Gaza school building which Hamas uses to store weapons in and launch attacks from.” Details, I know…
And then the afternoon rolled around. With new, sensational news to share, “Bloody mayhem as Israel hit Gaza market.” The article was equally gory. The comments made by the public even worse. “What will Israel use as an excuse this time? That they sold rockets at the market?” Yes! I wanted to say. If rockets are found hidden in schools, hospitals and mosques, I’d say the chances of rockets in a market are extremely high. “How dare Israel fire on a public place full of civilians,” demanded another. To me, that was the last straw.
Because where were the outraged comments when Hamas fired on Jerusalem while I was in the park with Bella the basset hound. The protests when Hamas hit a nursery school down south? The public outcry when Hamas fired on beaches, malls, markets, homes and restaurants. All of these are public places. Filled with civilians. And I, as one of the civilians in the public places, take that seriously.
But here is the difference. We survived. They didn’t. And that, believe it if you will, is the problem. Oh we survive because of some pretty amazing reasons. Israel pulled out of Gaza 9 years ago. She has used that time and a significant chunk of cash to make sure that her people are safe. The Iron Dome has a 90% success rate. Think about it for a second… The large majority of rockets aimed this way do not hit. But if they did… The death toll amongst Israeli civilians would have skyrocketed. Believe it. It’s that bad. Every house, every public building has a bomb shelter. Israel’s civilians can get out of the way. Fast. So that when the rockets do hit, people are out of harm’s way. Israel used the 9 years well. She invested it in the lives of her people.
Hamas also had 9 years. And they’ve been busy too. Instead of building their country, using the land they received and the resources they were given, they bred hate, terror and an infrastructure aimed at one goal: destroying Israel. All the grants, the funds, the building material meant to provide homes, shelter and education for the people of Gaza went into constructing terror tunnels to infiltrate Israel, into buying weapons to kill Israelis. In these 9 years, Israel prepared its people to live. While Hamas prepared its people to die.
The Israeli population is surviving. Without guilt, without apology. My friend Joshua has some choice words on this matter. He is 90 years old. Born in Germany. He survived that. When Joshua speaks, I listen. “Do they want us to say, “Sorry that you couldn’t kill us. Better luck next time?” What exactly does the world want us to do? Hoard a bunch of people into an open area and paint a large bull’s eye? Give the Iron Dome a rest for a day or two? Would dead Israeli civilians convince the world that we are dealing with a very real, very dangerous enemy?” Sadly, I think it probably would.
Because the alternative is a complete delusion about Hamas, its intentions and its capabilities. The rockets they shoot at us are not glorified fireworks. They weren’t manufactured out in the garden shed by someone trying out a new hobby after work. They are not homemade efforts falling in an open field. Their weapons are supplied by guys who know exactly what they are doing and have the skills, capability and resources to do it very well. Hamas’s weapons are state of the art, highly sophisticated and extremely deadly. Their missiles can reach Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa. It’s no joke. It’s not a provocation or an attempt to annoy. It’s an attempt to kill. En masse. Just because it doesn’t succeed is not an indication of how incapable Hamas’s weapons are. Oh no. The fact that it doesn’t succeed is a miracle.
Hamas is no small band of brothers in arms lashing out yet incapable of inflicting much damage. The last three weeks, the lives lost and the infrastructure discovered in Gaza proves it. Hamas has been preparing, organising, stockpiling. Their network of underground tunnels took a long time and a lot of money to build. It is well equipped with weapons and IDF uniforms. It reaches right into Israel. Its purpose? Allowing Hamas easy access to pop up unexpectedly in Israeli kibbutzim, communities, schools and homes. We are not talking about one or two tunnels here. We’re talking a multitude. Its scope and reach would have enabled Hamas to launch a large scale terror attack on Israel.
It’s been 9 years since Israel left Gaza, giving away land in a desperate attempt for peace. In those years, both Israel and Hamas have been busy. The fruit of those 9 years of labour is visible today.
The people of Israel will continue to survive. Without guilt and without apology to the ones seeking her destruction.
Am Yisrael chai! The people of Israel live. Because the God of Israel is alive.
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Kyun Ngui says
Regarding “Bloody mayhem as Israel hit Gaza market”, I include a link below to someone who dedicates his time to debunking ‘Pallywood’ propaganda. I think it relates to the Gaza market headlines. Guess what? The market was not crowded: it was empty.
Thomas Wictor has said in his tweets that his posts are free to use without restriction or permission. Suggest you check @ThomasWictor.
Elisabeth says
Thank you very much for this. I will most definitely share.