The World Must Know What Hamas Has Inflicted Upon Israel

I’ve received hundreds of messages from people around the world, claiming that the images they see of the Israel-Hamas War are too hard to bear. I can’t blame them. The murdering, raping, kidnapping, burning, and slaughtering of women, children, and babies is unthinkable. Chilling images of children ripped from the arms of their parents, and elderly people paraded through the streets of Gaza. They are innocent civilians, who simply asked to live peacefully in the only Jewish and democratic state in existence.

But the world must know. 

The world must know what Hamas did to us. It is necessary to understand that what happened in peaceful villages and kibbutz in southern Israel, embodies horrific acts of barbarism the mind and soul cannot bear. That 1,300 victims symbolizes every nation’s biggest nightmare, and it happened to us. That 10/7 is our 9/11.

The world must know that Hamas isn’t fighting to oppose a border or a policy, but our very existence. The massacres occurred in internationally undisputed territories, while Israel has long maintained a humanitarian policy in Gaza: it provides electricity, water, and the entry of goods. And despite the terror organization that controls the Strip, 18,000 Gazans work in Israel daily, providing for tens of thousands. That does not imply that the situation in Gaza isn’t hard. It is. But the one to blame for it is Hamas, who stole the future of Gazans and relegated them to a life of poverty and ongoing incitement.

The world must know that history is judging us now. Depicting such heinous acts as a “two-sided story” undermines Hamas’ link to ISIS and Iran, and legitimizes crimes against humanity. There’s nothing “complicated” about innocent babies intentionally burned in their cribs. Any attempt to claim otherwise is morally wrong. Moreover, Hamas’ atrocities impacted not only Israelis, but people from 43 different countries. It is therefore obligatory to condemn and speak against such acts, as the hate that begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews. May the words of Martin Luther King Jr. not be in vain: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

The world must know that when we say never again, we mean it. This is why we’ll fight and win. But for now, facing what happened is essential. Acknowledging the dark truth of these crimes is necessary for building a brighter future.