The battle to prevent another pogrom by Tehran-backed Hamas continues. During the Oct. 7 pogrom in Israel 1,200 were killed, more than 5,000 wounded and over 250 hostages forced into Gaza. It was the worst massacre of Jews since the Nazi Holocaust. Five months later, a U.N. report finally admitted that rape and abuse were widespread during the Hamas assault and that the 100 or so hostages still alive and held in Gaza are likely being sexually abused and tortured.
In a March 6 interview on Lebanon’s Mayadeen TV, Hamas Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan trampled on the truth, saying this “is the opposite of the facts.” He cynically said one of the freed hostages had cosmetic surgery after her release “because she thought that she was not assaulted because she was not pretty enough.”
Despite Hamas’ refusal to even say which of the hostages are still alive, the White House continues to press Israel to agree to a cease-fire.
President Joseph Biden told MSNBC March 9 that an Israeli attack on Rafah — Hamas’ last stronghold — would cross a “red line.” He said Washington could withhold some military assistance if Israel launched an offensive against Hamas there, a step crucial to eliminating Hamas’ potential to launch new pogroms, as it’s promised to do.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the Israel Defense Forces have defeated 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions. He told Fox News, “We can’t leave a quarter of the Hamas terror army in place.” Israeli officials say they will facilitate the evacuation of more than a million civilians from Rafah before launching an offensive.
Negotiations over a temporary cease-fire in Gaza have come up against Hamas’ refusal to release any more hostages until Israel agrees to make a pause permanent and to pull its troop out of the territory. Netanyahu has called that demand “delusional.”
Highlighting Hamas’ stance, the group posted on its website March 9 the pictures of seven of the hostages, digitally splattering each image with blood, and gloating over its claim that they had died as a result of Israeli attacks.
The Biden administration continues to insist that the Israeli government commit to a “two-state” solution once war with Hamas in Gaza ends.
But Hamas is not interested in two states. Its goal remains to kill Jews and destroy Israel. “We should hold on to the victory that took place on Oct. 7,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told the International Union of Muslim Scholars Conference in Qatar Jan. 9. “We must not let this moment slip away.”
Washington is promoting a scheme where the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority would take over Gaza’s administration. Israeli officials have good reason to believe that would be disastrous.
Yasser Abu Sido, a leader of Fatah — the political party that heads the Palestinian Authority — told Egyptian TV Feb. 23 that while he is not a “fan of Hitler,” there were “obvious reasons” for the Nazi Holocaust — the murder of 6 million Jews. Jews “planned to take control of Germany,” he said. “They started to bring down Germany in terms of the economy and moral values.”
The Netanyahu government is looking for leaders of clans that have a history of opposition to Hamas in Gaza to play a role in governing there. Hamas has threatened to kill anyone they accuse of collaborating with Israel.