Hamas Invasion of Israel

The brutal invasion of Israel by Hamas caught the entire world by surprise.  Over the last few years Israel has become accustomed to turning back rocket attacks and occasional cross-border raids by Hamas terrorists, but nobody anticipated this brutal full-out invasion.  Already being dubbed as "Israel's 9/11," militants stormed across the Gaza border and attacked towns across southern Israel.  Already over 900 Israelis are confirmed dead, thousands more wounded, and over 100 hostages, including women & children, have been taken back to Gaza (Video Footage of Massacres).  

Israeli Woman Taken Hostage by Hamas

The deadliest massacre so far took place at the Nova Music Festival in the Negev Desert close to Urim, a Jewish community that lives close to the Gaza Strip.  At 6am on Oct. 7th, the attack on the festival began as rockets rained down and Hamas gunmen appeared and opened fire.  As of now over 260 Israelis are confirmed dead from this attack alone with a number of others missing.  It will go down as the worst civilian massacre to be carried out against Israel in the nations history.  Maya Alper, an Israeli woman who survived the attack stated: "I can't even explain the energy they (the militants) had, it was so clear they didn't see as as human beings.  They looked at us with pure hate."  

Bodies of those Killed at the Nova Festival

As the days pass, it is unknown what the future will bring.  In a period of only a few days Israel suffered a loss of life that is nearly equivalent to the losses that they suffered during the 2nd Intifada which lasted for over 4 years.  The widespread invasion and massacres makes it very clear that this was not an outbreak of spontaneous violence, but a meticulously executed plan that had been in the works for quite some time.  Making matters worse, Israel is not only engaged in the Gaza region, but there is a prevailing fear that Hezbollah could very well launch attacks from South Lebanon, forcing a two-front war.  In the meantime, Israel is prepping for a full-scale invasion of Gaza to stop Hamas once and for all and stepping up air strikes, at times striking without issuing prior warnings for the first time as Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared that the nation is in a state of war.  Hamas has vowed retaliation for this, threatening to execute hostages if the airstrikes occur without warning.  

Israeli Children Taken Captive by Hamas

It is unknown how long these hostages will be held, or how they will be freed.  In 2006, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was taken hostage and held for five years, finally being freed after 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange.  For some of the hostages, especially female ones, this captivity could be worse then death.  Jihadist doctrine sanctions the raping of females captives taken during the cause of Jihad as they are considered "Spoils of War."  Yazidi, Christian, and Muslim women who fell into the hands of ISIS know this horrible reality all too well, as do so many captive women in Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and many other nations where Jihadist terror is the order of the day.  Sadly, this practice has been a long-standing phenomenon in Jihadist conflict going all the way back to the times of Muhammad (Link to Article).  

One may ask why it has come to this point, why after there was so much optimism after the Oslo Accord of 1993 that peace would finally be within reach that it would instead result in over 30 years of ongoing conflict finally climaxing with this horrific series of massacres is baffling to so many, but for those who study Jihadist doctrine, the truth is inescapable: Hamas does not want peace.  Islamic scripture repeatedly demeans the Jewish people.  The Surah's detailing the Jewish Communities rejection of Muhammad is explained in Surah 4:46 & 26:196-197, so Allah cursed them in Surah 5:78.  Surah 60:13 further commanded Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as friends.  The negative teachings continued with Surah 5:18 condemning Jews and Christians for saying that they are children of God and with Surah 5:64 cursed the Jews for saying Allah is weak and for spreading corruption in the land.  Surah 3:110 then went on to decree that Muslims, and not Jews, are the chosen people.  

Son of Hamas Warns us All

Surah 2:159-162 gives the clear message that unless the Jews join the Islamic system as believers, a terrible fate would await them, and so it did.  Muhammad's decree to simply expel all Jews from the region is revealed in the Hadith of Sahih Muslim 1767: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from Arabia and will not leave any but Muslim."  Most astonishingly of all is the Hadith of Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177: which states "Allah's Messenger said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."  This verse is also written in the Hamas Charter, which shows that terrorists take this decree very seriously, and these recent massacres should open the world's eyes to the fact that they are willing, and able, to act on this decree.  

Yet despite all of this death and and suffering, there are still beacon's of light.  After the Nova massacre Arab citizens of Israel appeared from the Bedouin city of Rahat and helped locate survivors and bring them to safety.  It shows that despite the evil that is all around us, there are still many who have not allowed it to corrupt our hearts.  

It is in these times, when everything seems hopeless, that we must remember Holocaust Survivor Ruth Minsky Sender's wise words "As Long as there is Life, there is Hope."  We must hold on to these words, and never lose hope, no matter how bleak the situation may be.  

Sources:

Debre, Isabel & Michael Biesecker.  "Israeli Survivors Recount Terror at Music Festival, Where Hamas Militants Killed at Least 260."  Associated Press.  Oct. 09, 2023.  Accessed from https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-music-festival-6a55aae2375944f10ecc4c52d05f2ffe

Gabriel, Mark.  Islam and the Jews: The Unfinished Battle.  Lake Mary, FL: Charisma Books, 2003.

Hamas Covenant.  The Avalon Project, 1988.  Accessed from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

"Images of the Mass Kidnapping of Israelis by Hamas."  The Atlantic.  Oct. 09, 2023.  Accessed from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/kidnappings-israel-hamas-photographs/675593/.

King, Jeff.  Islam Uncensored.  2011.

Tanno, Sophie, et al.  "Festivalgoers, Children, Soldiers: What We Know about the People Captured by Hamas."  CNN.  Oct. 10, 2023.  Accessed from: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/europe/israel-hostages-hamas-what-we-know-intl/index.html.