Shalom all,

As of this update, the reported IDF death toll since the beginning of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip is 56.

As Shabbat came to an end, along with six weeks of warfare, the IDF reported fierce clashes between its troops and terrorists in the northern areas of Hamas. This can only mean that the names of more casualties will be released tomorrow. In addition, rockets are still being launched from Gaza to Israel, with one such rocket hitting a home in Sderot. Along with that are reports that the Hezbollah has fired at least 25 missiles from Lebanon into the northern part of Israel, continuing its slow, but steady, expansion of its cross-border activities, resulting in pin-point responses from the IDF.

Israelis march to Jerusalem. Some 30,000 people joined the families of the hostages in their march to Jerusalem and the rally outside of P.M. Netanyahu’s office. Following the demonstration, the families returned to Tel Aviv, for a rally demanding the release of the hostages.  The families are also planning to meet with war-cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, and cabinet observer, Minister Gadi Eisenkot. A meeting with P.M. Netanyahu, with war-cabinet Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, although desired, did not take place.

Israel’s war cabinet met last night and completely rejected Hamas’s proposal for the release of 50 hostages. Israel is looking for the release of at least 70-80 hostages. The war cabinet insisted that families who were taken into captivity should not be separated. Nevertheless, there was a willingness to conduct negotiations for the release only of all mothers and children being held hostage. The war cabinet further agreed to be flexible about the length of time that Israel would be willing to allow a pause in the fighting. In the meantime, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the Emir of Qatar and discussed the “urgent need to release all hostages held by Hamas without any delay.” (my emphasis) 

On Thursday, 16th October, CNN broadcast a 6-minute investigative report on the atrocities committed by Hamas, including rape. An IDF elite unit paramedic found the bodies of teenage girls in Be’eri who were raped before being killed by the terrorists that broke into their homes on 7th October. An additional report contained a description by a survivor of the horrors of the atrocities. Preceding the screening of that report, there was a cautionary warning that appeared, that the report contained “disturbing material”.

The leftist news paper “Haaretz” also published a verbal and written report, asking “Why is the Cruel Sexual Violence of the October 7 Hamas Attack Being Ignored?” In the report, Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddar, who served for 12 years on the U.N. Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and is now a member of the newly formed Civil Commission on Hamas’s October 7 Crimes Against Women, said that she felt “completely betrayed” by the various international women’s rights organizations that she worked with for many years, because of their “failure to condemn – or even recognize – the rape, kidnapping and other atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens on October 7.” She added that now, “when we Israeli women are faced with the most horrible occurrence of ‘conflict-related sexual violence’, there is complete silence”  (my emphasis) by the UN-affiliated groups that she worked with, whose mission was to protect women from violence. Halpein-Kaddar’s further stated: “By being silent here, they’re not only failing us Israeli women, they’re undermining the whole system. They lose credibility. By not referring to the ongoing crime of holding hostages, they are in fact legitimizing [it] – and you might even say that they’re complicit in this situation of hostages being kept without a word about their whereabouts, without a word about their condition. They are also providing ammunition to all those who are already engaged in a denial campaign.” Indeed, one could and should legitimately ask why such a silence exists, particularly when the sexual attacks were filmed by the body cameras of Hamas and they broadcasted the footage of their barbaric assaults in real time. Maybe it’s because most of the victims were eventually killed following the rapes. Or, maybe it is just another form of antisemitic / anti-Israel sentiment.

Most of the nations in the world tend to have short memories. The Hamas atrocities were front-page news for a short period of time. When Israel got back on its feet and started to pursue Hamas, the front-page news began to clamor over the cost to civilian lives in Gaza and  Israel’s “disproportionate response” to the massacre of 7th October. Those who call for “proportionality” in our response really don’t understand what they are calling for. In its essence, the idea is based upon the Biblical concept of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,,,” (Exodus 21:23-25; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21).

In their article appearing in Israel Hayom, Alan G. Futerman and Walter e. Block cogently point out, among other things: “If those who speak of proportionality would follow the implications of their request to its logical conclusion, they would soon find out that it would have been better to stay silent. True proportionality in this context amounts to revenge on a horrendous scale….But in reality, Israel should not and in fact does not seek revenge, nor should look for “proportionality” in the above sense. Only Justice. In other words, the only sense in which the term “proportionality” makes sense in this context is that a country should be entitled to respond in proportion to the threat it faces, to end it. The only proportional response is to end the threat which Hamas represents for Israel’s citizens. Not to engage in the sort of mass murder that only monsters such as Hamas assassins could and did in fact commit.” (my emphasis)

David M. Weinberg is a columnist and lobbyist, who is a sharp critic of Israel detractors. In his article: Don’t You Dare!, he argues that the Israeli government should resist all pressures from Washington and other Western nations to cut back on its goal to destroy Hamas, because of their concerns over the toll on Gaza citizens. He argues that our leaders “must persist in pounding Hamas-ISIS to smithereens until every last Hamas commander is dead, every last Hamas terror attack tunnel is destroyed, and every last Hamas missile bunker is obliterated…The war cannot and must not end until Israel has achieved its legitimate military objectives in full, with no fudging, no obfuscations, and no hesitations. Israel cannot tolerate ceasefires along the way – no truces, no armistices, no fallbacks, no restrictions on its use of (overwhelming and simultaneously precise) force – until total victory is achieved. Complete capitulation or annihilation of Hamas is the goal, nothing less. No more Hamas in Gaza, or in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). No more Hamas terrorists alive elsewhere in the world either. They all must be hunted down and eliminated.

“In the history of modern warfare, there is no more justified military campaign than this one. And only such a campaign to absolutely end the Hamas threat to Israel justifies the heavy losses that Israel already has suffered and the pain of what almost certainly will be further losses.

“Israeli leaders have no mandate from the Israeli public to call off or scale-back the assault on Hamas. Would they do so, under pressure from well-meaning and fickle allies alike, Israelis would explode in anger, assuredly filling the streets of every city in this country with millions of protestors demanding that the war against Hamas be fully prosecuted. Compromise with Hamas would be defeat. Bending to US President Biden (who, it must be acknowledged, thus far has been rock solid in his backing of Israel) would be considered collapse.” In the absence of a surrender by Hamas (the likelihood of which is nil), Israel has no choice but to pursue this war until Hamas is utterly defeated. The only way that basic security can be restored to our “battered and traumatized public” is for the government to follow through with its promise to Israeli society to pursue this goal of total elimination of Hamas. Only then will displaced Israelis return to their homes in the north and the south. Unfortunately, the government has decided not only to backtrack on its oft-repeated commitment not to allow a ceasefire without the return of ALL the hostages, but it is also willing to allow truckloads of fuel to enter the Gaza enclave, as part of the present humanitarian aid being provided to Gaza through the crossing from Egypt. This will eventually turn out to be counter-productive and extend, rather than shorten, the war.

Then again, this IS Israel, where miracles still occur on a regular basis. The government might actually follow through on its promises (although obviously, not immediately) to do what is necessary to destroy this existential enemy. 

I’ll close on a happier note: First Sergeant Noam Hacohen, a commander in an elite Givati unit, has spent 43 consecutive days with his soldiers in Gaza. He was supposed to be released, but chose to stay with his men. Colonel (in the Reserves) Yair Hacohen, Noam’s father, suprised him this morning in Gaza. No one’s eyes were left dry.

As we begin a new week, please remember to pray for: all the members of the IDF; all the hostages who are still alive; all the families whose loved ones were killed or taken hostage and for all the wounded. The government needs divine wisdom and courage. I’ll leave it at that.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin