This article was originally published in the South Bend Tribune Opinion Section on February 16, 2024.
Calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are understandable, as the impact on civilians in Gaza is heart-wrenching. We all want this war to end. In order to have an informed discussion over this issue, it’s important to step back and understand the bigger picture of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Let’s remember that on Oct. 6, there was a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. On Oct. 7, Hamas staged an unprovoked attack across Israel’s internationally recognized borders. Hamas raped and tortured untold numbers of civilians, live streaming some of the barbarity on victims’ own social media feeds.
Within hours, Hamas murdered 1,200 Israeli civilians and kidnapped 240 Israelis and foreign citizens. Today, 134 Israelis remain hostage in Gaza. As importantly, a Hamas leader proudly announced that Hamas plans to repeat similar atrocities in the future.
Thus, Israel was forced into a war against a terrorist organization that poses an existential threat to Israel (a country one-fourth the size of Indiana) and its citizens.
It’s also important to remember the recent history of Gaza.
In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. Apologists for Hamas claim that Israel then turned Gaza into an “open-air prison.”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
In 2005, an agreement was signed between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and the European Union on open borders between Gaza, Egypt, and Israel, creating an opportunity for peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza. Everyone was happy with the agreement except Hamas and their backers in Iran.
In 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza by violently expelling the Palestinian Authority and began a practice of indiscriminately firing rockets at Israeli communities.
That’s why, in 2007, Israel implemented a naval blockade to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. Yet, every day, tons of food, clothing, medicine, and humanitarian goods continued to flow into Gaza through the Israeli border crossings. However, Hamas often commandeered those goods for its own purposes and denied them to Gaza civilians.
There is also another front in the war between Israel and Hamas.
After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Hezbollah, Iran’s loyal proxy in Lebanon, began to fire hundreds of rockets at communities in northern Israel, forcing 85,000 Israeli residents to evacuate their homes.
The destructive role of Iran in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often missing from media coverage but cannot be ignored.
For decades, Hamas and its Iranian backers have done everything possible to sabotage hopes for peace. Their reason is clear: Iran and its terror proxies do not want a peaceful resolution to the conflict based on a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians. Instead, they are openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
Also missing from media coverage is a serious conversation over the false accusation that the Israeli army uses indiscriminate force in Gaza.
The truth is that Hamas intentionally embeds itself in and under civilian infrastructure — including hospitals, mosques, schools, and homes — using the civilian Gaza population as human shields.
Hamas uses this despicable strategy, knowing that Gaza civilians will be victims despite the best efforts of the Israeli army to avoid civilian casualties as it battles tunnel-entrenched Hamas fighters.
In his recent article, retired Col. John Spencer, an expert on urban warfare who teaches at West Point, analyzes the conduct of the Israeli army in Gaza. The article’s title says it all: "Israel implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other nation in history."
We must not lose sight of the bigger picture. Responsibility for this tragic war and its victims in Gaza and Israel should be fully placed on those who started the war and promise to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 if not stopped: Hamas and the government of Iran.
Until the international community holds Iran accountable for supporting brutal terror organizations like Hamas, peace between Israelis and Palestinians will remain a distant dream.
Bob Feferman
Community Relations Director
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley