What Are the Nuances and Implications of the Hamas Attack Against Israel?
In a quick and rare weekend turn of events, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Security Cabinet have declared war against the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip and its Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)-controlled government for attacking Israeli territory with 5,000 rockets. Initially, it had been reported that at least 700 Israeli citizens had been killed (it is at least 1,200 as of October 10), while first-phase retaliatory strikes against Gaza led to 413 dead Palestinians (it is now 900 as of October 10), with approximately 2,300 wounded (about the same number were wounded on the Israeli side as well). During Hamas’ attack, over 100 innocent Israeli civilians were taken captive (even 260 people were shot pointblank during a music festival), and this absolutely abhorrent incident should be condemned by all. Also, among the dead were fourteen Americans, and Hamas has potentially captured twenty or more American citizens (some are unaccounted for and could just be missing), so the temptation to want to drop bombs or respond militarily is great to the Biden administration (and understandably so). But, perhaps we should look into the nuances in the conflict before jumping to conclusions, and if we do so, we might just find that things are not the way that they seem.
An organized Hamas attack on such a large scale was seemingly not expected by the Israeli military or intelligence, which is peculiar given that Israel has the Iron Dome system and is a very heavily-defended region and has one of the best intelligence systems in the world (the Mossad seemingly knew about the 9-11 attack before it happened). Did the Netanyahu regime have foresight of the attack and not attempt to stop it (or worse, help orchestrate it) in order to be able to consolidate power (inside and outside of Israel) and occupy the Gaza Strip and eliminate its Palestinian enemy?
It is now thought that the only way that this “land, sea, and air” Hamas operation (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood) could have been pulled off would be if there was assistance from Iran and Hezbollah. Members of Iran’s parliament could be heard yelling, “Death to Israel,” so it could very well be that Iran was at least partially responsible (we do not have all of the details as of yet). Hezbollah fighters even moved down from Lebanon to engage in skirmishes with Israeli soldiers. Israel is about to launch the largest campaign since the Six-Day War of 1967 (where Israel launched a war and stole the Golan Heights from Syria, the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Palestine) and the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (where Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack to recapture lost territory), and this has the potential to expand outside of the Israeli-Palestinian area.
Now that Israel has officially declared war against Hamas and the Gaza Strip, Iran may feel obligated to come to the assistance of its ally and declare war against Israel. Then, the United States would most certainly declare war against Iran to defend Israel, and Russia may follow suit against the United States to defend its Middle East allies. Before you know it, this World War I-type of scenario plays out in our current fragile geopolitical environment. The world is already fracturing between the United States-led order under the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the anti-China coalition in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula versus the Russia and China alliance that is forming under BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and in response to the American Empire. Due to the Hamas attack on Israel, South Korea is now considering suspending (in order to not be blindsided) a 2018 military agreement with North Korea that prevents surveillance and skirmishes along the border, and this comes at a time of great tensions there. World War I only took an assassination to cause a chain of events that would cause a domino effect in a world that was already headed toward war, so World War III could become reality after what transpired in Israel, or tensions could cool down and things could go fairly smooth for some time.
Although Hamas’ attack against Israel is unjustified and Israeli citizens should not have to suffer bombings and kidnappings from terrorists, we need to understand why this event occurred. Of course, just like al-Qaeda, for example, does not simply hate the United States for its freedom or secular ways, Hamas (or Hezbollah or Iran) does not attack Israel because it is bored and needs something to occupy its time. There are real grievances, and the Israeli government is far from innocent in all of this, despite how the corporate media tries to present it. For starters, the constant air raids that the Israeli military conduct over Syrian territory to eliminate assets belonging to Iran and Hezbollah are seen as an affront to the integrity of a sovereign nation. Secondly, Hamas wants to stall adding Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, which is a peace deal enacted by President Donald Trump between Israel and Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the normalization of relations.
Additionally, the Israeli military has committed war crimes and continually violates human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which include dragging Palestinians from their homes during operations, force-segregating Palestinians into small zones (apartheid-like state) and restricting their movement and access to highways (setting up two systems of roads in the occupied territories: one for Israelis and one for Palestinians), air and sea and land blockades to prevent essential supplies (such as food, medical supplies and parts, fuel, and computer parts) from reaching the Palestinian people, torture and unjust imprisonment, disproportionate and unlawful slaughter of Palestinian women and children (during raids and operations), the displacement of Palestinian civilians, the conquering of land to make it all but impossible for a Palestinian national identity and state to exist, and the destruction of Palestinian homes to make room for new Israeli settlements (you might not like having your home obliterated and stolen from you so that Mexican or Chinese families can build their homes on your land, so why would you support what Israel is doing?).
The Gaza Strip (about the size of the land area of Queens and Manhattan combined) is considered the largest prison or concentration camp in the world, due to the blockade and Israeli control over who and what goes in and out. According to many, Israeli officials should be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity (the same court that just indicted Vladimir Putin). For the Palestinians, terrorism is the only means in which to fight back against the oppression from a superior military power, and yet, Americans are ignorant to this and blindly support the imperialism and human rights violations to stand with Israel (this is not Americans’ fault, as the Israeli lobby is powerful and has the ability to control the narrative and the politicians throughout the country).
Still, even with all of this, the Israeli people do not deserve to live in fear and be captured by terrorists. It is the government of Israel that the grievances should be pointed toward, and Hamas does not do itself any favors when it kidnaps people and kills them in cold blood. Perhaps Gazans need a better representative for their plight, as Hamas has proved to be detrimental and brutal (perhaps part of Hamas’ tactic is to get as many deaths as possible and make themselves look like the victims).
The United States government, under every administration, has handed over American taxpayer dollars to Israel and has indirectly funded the human rights violations and deadly operations against the Palestinian people (again, think of the Israeli lobby that has such a stranglehold on politicians and causes them to serve the interests of a foreign state). Since World War II, Americans have been forced to pay $260 billion in foreign aid to Israel, and in 2016, President Barack Obama approved a $38 billion package to cover ten years (we are still paying $3.8 billion per year). Should it be at all surprising that Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah have fiery rhetoric against the United States when the American government provides welfare programs to their enemy?
Oh, but wait! Did the Biden administration not just give Iran $6 billion to aid Hamas, and that is what caused these attacks? I guess it is even now, right? Well, actually, the $6 billion in question (used in a prisoner swap) was stolen from Iran’s oil revenue by the United States government (via economic sanctions) and frozen in a bank in South Korea. As of today, the money is still sitting in a Qatari bank and being monitored by the United States Department of Treasury to ensure that it is being used only for the purposes of humanitarian aid (it has not been used currently), but maybe Iran, anticipating that it will have extra money in the future, has moved around resources to be able to fund Hamas and Hezbollah in the present and coordinate such a sophisticated attack (to give conservatives and the pro-Israeli government crowd the benefit of the doubt).
Israel also receives millions of dollars’ worth of weapons from the United States ($422 million in total insurable value in fiscal year 2022), and the Biden administration is already working to send more weapons and equipment, as well as money, to aid Israel’s war effort. The United States Navy has deployed the USS Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Mediterranean Sea to intimidate Iran and Hezbollah, and more American fighter jets (F-16s, F-35s, and A-10s) are on the way. In the upcoming days, the Biden administration will provide Israel with as much aid as necessary to ensure victory and increase the risk of escalating tensions with Iran (one misunderstanding can lead to hostilities). Since the war in Ukraine may be a lost cause, the military-industrial complex has its eyes set on this new war (more blood for profit).
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has conducted large-scale air raids and taken out over 1,200 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip (as of the time of this writing). Additionally, the IDF has deployed tanks and drones to surround the territory and cut it off from the entire world. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was quoted as saying, “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it's all closed.” Of course, starving and killing civilians in Gaza will only infuriate the Palestinians further and cause more violence in the long run, plus it is a huge violation of human rights. As of the early hours of October 11, 263,934 Palestinians have been displaced due to Israeli bombardments, and the ones who remain will be unable to survive without food, water, and electricity.
Prime Minister Netanyahu went even further by suggesting that Israel needs to invade Gaza and that peace and diplomacy are not an option, and this may be an excuse for Israel to capture more territory and consolidate its control over Palestine. With Hamas eradicated, Gaza may soon see the demolition of homes and the establishment of affluent new Israeli settlements that the West Bank has been subject to for many years. Perhaps international pressure will prevent such a takeover, but one thing is clear: Israel is not going to let this go without taking many Palestinian lives. The endless cycle of death and destruction will continue, and we may just see World War III erupt out of this.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.