Overnight, while the bodies were being identified and the families notified even breathing was hard for so many as the nation had to face the reality that here were six people who would not be coming home alive. Hersh Goldberg-Polin 23, Eden Yerushalmi 24, Ori Danino 25, Alex Lobanov 32, Carmel Gat 40, and Almog Sarusi 27 had bravely survived more than 300 days in captivity to die in terrible circumstances .
It is now reported that they were brutally executed in the previous 24-48 hours and were found in a tunnel close to where Fahan Al-Qadi was rescued alive just a few days before. Perhaps he gave information of their whereabouts and Hamas in their usual savage way decided to kill them, knowing they were about to be rescued.
The country is in mourning and each life lost is a universe of humanity destroyed. People do not know how to handle such wholesale grief and tomorrow is planned as a day of strikes and go slows in solidarity with the hostage families.
The country’s economy is already shot to pieces and the Arab media are celebrating as Israel eats itself up from the inside out, adding a further paralysis to a crippled country.
Flights are likely to be disrupted in the morning. Trains and buses, schools and the shopping malls , “Big” are reported to be joining the strike calling on the government to enter into a deal with Hamas that would bring the hostages home.
The problem with the deal is that Hamas do not accept the conditions that would help to safeguard the future of Israel. After so much death and destruction if Israel surrenders to Hamas’s conditions we will be catapulted back to October 6th and another October 7th is promised.
Hamas have not changed their charter to destroy Israel. Nothing has changed except Israel has woken up to the fact that their threats are not only real but achievable.
Hamas are now more unlikely to concede any of their terms. Instead they are letting the public bring pressure to bear on the government whilst they can afford to sit back.
Meanwhile 101 hostages remain in Gaza. It is confirmed at least 35 are known to have already been murdered and it is clear now that if the IDF gets close to a rescue others will be executed. Their suffering is breaking the hearts of so many. We can only compare Hamas to the Nazis, who showed no human compassion and took pleasure in their sadistic murderous campaigns.
The Gilad Shalit deal taught Hamas the value of hostages. 1,027 terrorists were released in exchange for Gilad who had been held for 5 years. Many went to Gaza and over 60% resumed terrorist activities killing countless Israelis. 47 of the terrorists released in exchange for Gilad Shalit are back in Israeli jails for resuming their terror activities and are on the list to be released in any Hamas deal. Yahar Sinwar was one of the terrorists released and he now sits surrounding himself with hostages and remains the Hamas leader in Gaza who is refusing to surrender.
So Hamas learnt a very valuable lesson and found Israel’s soft underbelly, but Israel learnt nothing. They totally underestimated the determination and capabilities of Hamas and have been shocked by their careful planing and weapons stock pile. For that reason alone, this government should resign, as they led the country into a false sense of security and allowed thousands of youngster to go to a festival on the border without sufficient security and took no heed of warnings that an attack was imminent . It is time they took responsibility for the disaster that has befallen on the Jewish State.
Any new government that is elected and concedes a deal with Hamas will be storing up more violence for the future. Hamas must be defeated , not appeased , but the cost of that defeat is just too much for most to bear. It is thought by many that Israel needs to make a deal and get the remaining hostages back and then go back in to destroy Hamas. Israel will need to unwavering support of the USA together with a plan for “day after” which is sorely missing.
Egypt have proved they cannot be trusted, the PA definitely cannot be trusted. Jordan which is a de-facto Palestinian state ruled by the minority Hashemites is not interested. Perhaps a pan Arab force that can bring stability to the area should be considered. Israel needs to get out of Gaza but it cannot just be left in a vacuum.
The situation, however, is much worse than only Gaza. Iran and Hezbollah have huge power and masses of weapons and are well funded. Iran are racing towards nuclear break out. The West Bank is at boiling point and Hamas have set up cells all over Judea and Samaria.
If the world wants peace it is time for the leading western nations to face the threat that Israel is being left to fight alone and come alongside and cripple the mullahs . They will need to work out and implement a Berlin type plan that would stop Hamas from re-establishing. A new education programme is needed for the children and that cannot be entrusted to UNWRA, who were proved complicit in many of Hamas’s terror activities. The USA is making the right noises and they have it in their capability to make the world a safer place and it starts by helping Israel .
Kind Regards
Carolyne Davis