Shalom all,

As the new week began, the nation continued to express the joy of the rescue of the four hostages, which I reported about last week. It was a joy shared by individuals and politicians alike, both in Israel and abroad, who had a clear understanding of the events of October 7th and of the evil and blind hatred that caused those events and the resulting national trauma experienced by Israel. Still, for those whose understanding is clouded and for those who choose not to see, or worse, who choose to ignore, acts of terrorism, it was easy for them to attempt to further accuse Israel of needlessly adding more casualties in Gaza. Apparently, there are no limits in manufacturing facts, in distorting facts or in making unfounded accusations when it comes to blaming Israel, even for accomplishing what very few, if any, military forces in the world would be able to perform in broad daylight.

And on top of it all, there was the BBC interview of a former IDF Spokesperson where the interviewer suggested that the IDF should have given advance warning of its planned rescue. Hello!?! This was a “rescue” operation, of Israeli hostages, being held captive by armed, Hamas-affiliated “civilians” in a “civilian”-populated area in Gaza. So much for “uninvolved civilians”! Can anyone help find an interview by the BBC, or by any other media outlet, of a Hamas representative where the question was asked of Hamas whether it should have given an early warning of its intended murderous onslaught that took place on October 7th, so as to avoid so many Israeli civilian casualties?  Of course not.

The response of Hamas to the rescue of the four Israeli hostages was reported by Times of Israel: “Hamas terrorist leaders have given standing orders to operatives who are holding hostages saying ‘that if they think Israeli forces are coming, the first thing they should do is shoot the captives,’ according to Israeli officials quoted by The New York Times on Monday.”

The leadership of Hamas has little, if any, genuine concern for the people of Gaza. While the world laments the loss of civilian life since the Hamas bloodfest of October 7th that led to the present war, Yahya Sinwar, the terror chief of Hamas, sees the unconfirmed death toll in Gaza as a means to increase international pressure on Israel.

“Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has insisted that civilian bloodshed in Gaza is a necessary sacrifice that will lead to the liberation of Palestine, according to a report published late Monday, bolstering accusations that the terror group has intentionally put its people in harm’s way over the last eight months of devastating war in Gaza.  [emphasis mine]

“In dozens of messages sent over several months and acquired by The Wall Street Journal, Sinwar communicated to Hamas compatriots and mediating parties alike that he had no interest in pursuing a ceasefire with Israel, as he believed that the growing civilian death toll would serve to benefit Hamas more than a cessation of fighting would.” Israel is being condemned right, left and center for the high civilian death toll in Gaza, despite everyone’s recognition that the figures supplied by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry are unconfirmed. The accusing finger and voice of condemnation should be directed towards Hamas, who doesn’t care even if its own leadership suffers loss as a result of the war. 

Hamas made “amendments” to the latest peace offer, some of which are totally unworkable and non-starters. Israel was pushing its flexibility to its limits to end the war to secure all hostages’ release, but wants a condition that the IDF can resume its campaign against Hamas if the terrorists violate the deal. Many of the difficult terms of Hamas that Israel was willing to accept could end up seriously escalating the conflict in Judea and Samaria (i.e., the “West Bank” of the Jordan River). It was willing to take the risk. However, Hamas has expressed that the ongoing fighting will help it to achieve its strategic goals, including weakening Israel internationally and internally as well as advance its aim of destroying Israel.

The latest “amended demands” of Hamas are designed to secure its power in Gaza, as well as to expand its influence in Judea and Samaria after the war. It wants international guarantees to prevent Israel from resuming the war against it, even if Hamas breaches its obligations towards Israel under any ceasefire deal. Hamas wants to curtail Israel’s ability to prevent smuggling from Sinai into Gaza. It also demands the return and free movement of Gazans back to the north of the strip, without security checks as required by Israel to prevent Hamas gunmen from returning. It is demanding absolute decision making regarding the terrorists in Israeli jails who are to be released as part of the deal, with no Israeli veto regarding any of them. It should be obvious that Hamas plans to use released terrorists to boost their influence in Judea, Samaria, and through the area controlled by the “Palestinian Authority”. In short, the demands of Hamas significantly changed the main and most meaningful parameters of the Israeli agreed-upon proposal. Those changes are intended to achieve an absolute end to the war against it, while the leadership and terrorist capabilities of Hamas remain intact. 

Israel would be out of its mind to agree to any ceasefire deal that includes the above list of demands, among others that are equally unacceptable.

This past Wednesday marked the celebration of the Biblical holiday, “The Feast of Weeks”, also known in Hebrew as “Shavuot” and known worldwide as the “Feast of Pentecost”, which takes place 50 days following the Feast of Passover. It has significance for Jews (the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai) and Christians (the coming of the Holy Spirit) alike. But, on this particular Wednesday, the terrorist organization, Hezbollah, launched massive missile attacks against Israel, firing more than 200 projectiles into northern Israel, the Upper and Western Galilee, the Golan Heights, the Mount Carmel area and the Jezreel Valley, including Haifa, Acco (Acre) and Tiberias (region of the Sea of Galilee). This was followed up on Thursday with over a 100 additional projectiles, causing significant damage.

Attempts are being made to the Israeli public, and maybe the broader international community, that the Hezbollah missile barrages are a proportionate response to the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday of this past week. But, in reality, it is more an attempt to justify, although with little persuasive effect, the present failure of the IDF to retaliate massively in kind against Hezbollah, as is being demanded by the Israeli public, particularly those northern residents who have become refugees in their own country. Keeping in mind that Israel is now facing war on 7 different fronts, the last thing that Israel wants to do is to get embroiled in an all-out, total war with Hezbollah at this particular point in time, with all that is required to maintain such a war, while matters with Hamas remain “unresolved”. 

At some point, however, in the very near future, Israel will need to respond and respond seriously. We should not be surprised if that response will take place during the months of the approaching summer, or if it will be sometime during this coming week. It is difficult to believe that Israel is not aware of Hezbollah’s intentions, which is control over territory in the north of Israel that require Israeli military concessions in the future. As Tony Badran, an FDD (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies) research fellow born and raised in Lebanon, has stated: “Hezbollah, Iran’s terrorist foreign legion, is now more firmly in control of Lebanon than ever before.” And as Carolyn Glick cogently points out: “Under Hezbollah’s control, Lebanon is not an actual country. It is Iran’s forward military base against Israel that happens to have 5.5 million residents. The job of the residents is to deny that they live in an Iranian missile base.” In her above article, Mrs. Glick expresses the vast difference between the strategic approach of Israel and that of the terrorist forces of Hamas and Hezbollah: 

“While Israel prepared for the war it wanted to fight—a low-cost, high-tech war fought mainly from air-conditioned operations centers by remote control—its enemies prepared for the war they wanted to fight. Namely, that is their war to eliminate Israel. Israel trained hackers, and Hamas and Hezbollah trained jihadist terror armies of murderers, rapists and squads to launch missiles, drones and rockets.

“Fighting these armies with Israel’s high-tech force is proving to be extremely difficult. Israel’s assumption of U.S. support has also taken a major hit. To be sure, Washington is willing to support Israel’s efforts to defend itself from aggression along the seven fronts manned by Iran and its proxies. But it opposes Israeli offensive action and has worked actively to undermine Israel’s ability to carry out prolonged offensive operations. Among other things, the United States refuses to share satellite and other intelligence related to offensive objectives, and is placing embargoes or slowwalking the transfer of offensive munitions for Israel’s ground and air forces….

Then she suggests a solution to dealing with the Hezbollah threat: “Then-prime minister Ehud Barak’s decision to surrender the security zone in Southern Lebanon to Hezbollah in May 2000 is the reason that the terror organization was able to build its forces to the point where it poses an existential threat to Israel’s survival. By committing itself to reversing his move, Jerusalem will place itself on the road to victory. The government will steel the public for the road ahead, and provide the General Staff and lower echelons of the IDF with the required guidance for developing and carrying out tactical missions that will advance Israel’s ultimate goal.”

Mrs. Glick’s analysis is very good and worth the few minutes that it will take to read and to get a handle on the situation in the north. As noted above, the situation is volatile and could change quite rapidly.

Finally, this post will close with a return to the subject mentioned at the outset, namely: Israel’s heroic rescue of four hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization since October 7th. As the week passed, additional details surfaced which make the event itself the material that Hollywood searches for. The only difference is that Hollywood writers adapt, revise and invent facts that draw us in and help us to become visual participants of intrigue and adventure, mixed with drama and tension that is intended to bring us to the edge of our seats. 

But, try as it may, Hollywood can never compete with the drama of real life and the adrenaline burst that occurs when true heroism is met with automatic weapons fire and RPG’s aimed at those who risk their lives, in enemy territory, to save the lives of individuals taken hostage by terrorists and held, not surprisingly, by civilians, who identify with, support and join in the activities of, a heartless and totally immoral, terrorist organization. It would not surprise me if the article of Elon Perry, a journalist and former commando in the Golani Brigade of the IDF, which appeared this week in The Jewish Chronicle, ends up being the basis for a segment in a heart-pounding action movie. The article takes us through the weeks of intelligence work, planning and carrying out of the daring rescue of the four hostages, step by step, under hostile fire. I would recommend clicking on the link and reading the article. It will leave you with a perspective that flies in the face of claims of “uninvolved civilians” and allegations that Hamas doesn’t know which hostages are still alive or where they are and highly inflated figures of “casualties”. I would have been happy to publish the entire article here, but it is protected by copyright. 

The Dry Bones Blog – 9 June, 2024

May the beginning of this new week bring with it good health, strength and safety to all.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin