On 7 October last year, Hamas started a war purposefully. Hamas bears responsibility for the suffering it brought on Israel and on its own population, writes Adam Charnas.
Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, 35, her husband Yonatan, 36, their five-year-old twin daughters, Shahar and Arbel, and son Omer, 2, were burnt alive in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October 2023.
Yonatan sent a final message to his sister at 09:48: "They're here, they're burning us, we're suffocating."
At Netiv Ha'asarah, a small border community, 22 people were massacred, including members of the Taasa family. Here, a terrorist calmly opened the family fridge and helped himself to something to drink in front of two young children, Koren, 12, and Shay, 8, mere moments after he had brutally murdered their father, 46-year-old Gil Taasa, in front of them.
At Reim, where a large music festival, Nova, was occurring, Hamas operatives killed hundreds, raping and torturing as they went about their debased activities. The documentary film Screams Before Silence and data collected by international organisations, including the UN, provide evidence of Hamas' sexual attacks against women but also of their deliberate, pre-meditated, and systematic nature.
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These incidents form only a tiny fraction of the cruelty and depraved barbarism that occurred on 7 October, as Hamas launched its war on Israel and killed 1 200 Israelis. One year later, 102 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, enduring the most horrific conditions imaginable.
Israel was founded for many reasons but has, at its core, a pact with its citizens; you can live here and be protected from the type of hate that has led to the deaths of Jews en masse throughout history. Its very raison d' tre is as a safe space for the Jews of the world, a backstop against the threat of death and terror. For this reason, Israel has always placed an extremely high value on the lives of its citizens, all of them; Jewish, Druze, Christian and Muslim.
On 7 October last year, Hamas launched an orgy of violence across the communities of southern Israel. The violence was so harrowing that it debased humanity as a whole, not least those who undertook to rape, murder, kidnap and mutilate.
It is overwhelmingly clear that in undertaking this attack, Hamas sought war. The attack was not the irrepressible angst of the downtrodden who want freedom, and demand a better life for their children. It was the physical expression of a well-stated intent, "we want the Jews to burn again," invoking the ultimate existential fear that is so deeply ingrained in the Jewish psyche.
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This pogrom was an enthusiastic hands-on personal attack, and was celebrated in the streets of Gaza with bloody corpses paraded as trophies. They left behind a charred reminder of a nightmare, families burnt together, and women's bodies with broken torsos and legs, evidence of brutal rape. This was about the predatory, sadistic urge to show Israel that the worst fears of the Jewish people could again be realised.
The perpetrators were calculated and evil. Their murderous message was sent to the population of Israel and to Jews worldwide. You can hear their intent in the videos they recorded proudly on their GoPros, in their voices, commands, and the excitement of the perpetrators.
And so, the actions of Israel were never retribution or revenge. The actions are a response to an enemy who actively showed intent on wiping Israel and Jews off the earth. In fact, senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad praised the massacre publicly a few days after the attacks, vowing to repeat the attacks of 7 October "again and again," until "Israel is completely eradicated."
Hamas fighters calculated that if they kidnapped Israelis, they would have bargaining leverage, which they have used callously in the past 12 months. They knew that Palestinian deaths would garner international sympathy and condemnation of Israel. So they went underground, firing missiles and rockets embedded in the civilian population in their schools and hospitals.
Heartbroken by civilan deaths
We are heartbroken by the large number of civilian casualties on both sides and believe that even one civilian death is too many. That said, how many civilians could have been spared if they were not used as dispensable tools of war by Hamas? What a pity the funds used to build Hamas' extensive tunnel network was not rather used for schools and hospitals in Gaza.
Any other country, upon witnessing the scale and destruction that it engendered upon itself, would seek a ceasefire and release its hostages immediately in an attempt to ease the suffering of its own population. The equation for Hamas should be logical; release hostages, disband and protect civilians. But Hamas leaders care nothing for the suffering and demise of Gazans and are actually benefiting from it.
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Communication recordings of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar clearly indicate his understanding that the death of Gazan civilians only aids his negotiating position, and he has described civilian deaths as "necessary sacrifices". When his back was against the wall and support from their Iranian overlords and Hezbollah appeared to be waning, Sinwar had six hostages executed in cold blood, once again stabbing at the very heart of the psyche of the Israeli public.
War started purposefully
How does Israel make concessions to an enemy that has made it so clear that they do not want peace; instead desiring death, murder and rape.
On 7 October last year, Hamas started a war purposefully. Hamas bears responsibility for the suffering it brought on Israel and on its own population.
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In its failure to condemn these acts of depravity, the South African government is complicit with this most sadistic organisation. South Africa could have chosen to channel its energies into doing what it takes pride in: peace brokering in an even-handed way. Had this been their modus operandi, they could have leaned on Hamas to release the hostages on 8 October, preventing a year of heart-breaking death and destruction.
There is no debate, and there is no moral equivalency; Israel is defending itself in an existential war.
- Adam Charnas is an analyst at the SAJBD.
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