There is a story in the bible, in the book of Genesis to be exact, that tells of when Abraham pleads with God for the wicked city of Sodom. The story, common to both Jewish and Christian belief, tells of how God told Abraham of his intention to wipe out the city “because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous”.
Abraham asks a crucial question: “Will God sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” What if there are fifty righteous people? “Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked (…) Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
The pleading turns into a negotiation. Each time Abraham names a figure, God replies that he will spare the whole place for the sake of that number of good people. The figure becomes smaller as Abraham tests God’s patience. What if there were 45 righteous people? 40? 30? 20?
“For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
A month ago, members of the terrorist group Hamas (a group that has as its aim the destruction of Israel) committed a heinous attack on innocent Israeli civilians. One thousand four hundred persons lost their lives on the day of that brutal attack.
Such a vile and inhuman massacre can only be condemned in the harshest of terms. No civilized person could rejoice in such wicked acts.
As it is, Hamas operates out of the Gaza Strip – a surface area approximately the size of Malta yet hosting four times as many people.
The Palestinians have been living in a state of occupation and control by Israel.
Not everybody in Gaza is a member of Hamas, far from it. Israeli intelligence puts Hamas’ military force to be about 30,000 fighters. That is a little over 1% of the population in the Gaza Strip – one person out of every 100 is a Hamas fighter.
Israel has reacted to the deplorable Hamas attack by waging war on Gaza and the citizens who live there. After one month of this war, 70% of Gazans have been displaced. South Gaza is now reaching the population density of New Delhi.
- 10,300 Gazans have been killed.
- 4,200 of the dead are children.
- 1,300 more children are believed to be buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The UN Secretary-General Guterres said: “The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity.”
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day,” Guterres added. “More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades. More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organisation.”
Nobody is denying the right of the State of Israel to self-defence. Self-defence under international law should be proportionate.
International law is also abundantly clear about civilians. Civilians should never be targeted. Civilian buildings should never be targeted. Israel is toeing a fine line here. The siege of Gaza and tightening of control of essential supplies is a borderline war crime.
What is proportionate retaliation? How can the deaths of thousands of children ever be justified? Is not the loss of human life, any human life, deplorable?
How long can the attacks and massacres of the innocent be justified by pointing fingers at the criminal terrorist organisation hidden in their midst? Israel seems intent on obliterating Gaza because one in every 100 persons is a Hamas fighter.
Citizens of Gaza have long suffered because of the association with Hamas. Between 2008 and 2023, Hamas and Israel waged four wars. 5,620 Palestinians in Gaza lost their lives. The civilians now have to incur the wrath of an angered nation.
While the international community struggles to come to terms with definitions such as “proportional retaliation”, “military objective”, and “self-defence”, children are being killed in the thousands, and an oppressed nation is once again brought to its knees.
Israel is busy playing God in Gaza. Defying all appeals of humanity. In the face of all that is just, it is engaging in an exercise of blind retribution.
No amount of righteous people will be enough to spare the Gazan population from their wrath. And the children keep on dying.
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God was not under an existential threat from the people of Sodom. They had not killed his children and mutilated and spat on their bodies while the righteous stood by and did nothing to admonish them. They did not take every opportunity to declare that they would not rest until God was wiped from the face of the planet. All of that changes calculations unfortunately.
Any comment about the hamas obscenities committed on Israeli civilians? How can we take you seriously? Another cialtrone with a mouthful of hate against Israelis.
Many are criticising Israel, but no one is telling or offering a solution to Israel on how to solve the problem. In Maltese we sarcastically say: kulhadd bravu.
The Israeli government is responsible for the safety of its own citizens, who are not only Jews but include Israeli Arabs, Israeli Christians, Israeli Bedouins (Bedouins were killed by the brutal ISIS-style Hamas massacre), Black Jews from Ethiopia, and Israelis of other ethnicities)
The government of Gaza also carries the responsibility for the safety of its own citizens. But instead of keeping them away from harm’s way, the government of Gaza, which is Hamas, uses them as human shields. This is a war crime of massive proportions.
In the above article, the author forgot all about the other Hamas war crimes, the 240 hostages taken by Hamas as a human shield and as a bargaining and bartering currency. Using human beings as a currency is barbaric, and bestial. It’s like a medieval slave market. Hamas has stepped up its ante in its attempt to destroy Israel and kill all Jews as is stated in its manifesto or constitution or whatever they call their raison d’etre
Hamas declared war on Israel and war is not a numbers game. Before deciding to launch the brutal massacre of 7-10-2023 Hamas must have made calculations at many levels. They knew what Israel’s reaction would be, and the aim of Hamas, actually Iran’s, was to derail the Abrahamic accords project led by the USA which has been years in the making, with massive progress. I hope that the Abrahamic accords project survives Iran’s attempt at derailing it because it is the most hopeful project that may bring peace through trade and economic cooperation between Israel and its Abrahamic cousins and neighbours.
It is human minds which deliberately kill/wipe out ?God? from their consciousness that creates big, big trouble.
A humble supplication for assistance from the first original field of intelligence (God if you like) is way more powerful than the actions of faux self-styled gods inhabiting this planet – faux gods such as Netanyahu and leaders of Hamas and many other brainless and inhumane entities seeking foolish one-upmanship.
(We’ve got plenty of those proud and feckless types in Malta as well 🙁 )
I agree that the people of Gaza – Palestinans and Israeli alike- are innocent victims of the war between Israel and Hamas. A truce is more than desirable from a humanitarian point of view.
The root of the conflict lies in the fact that Hamas are reluctant to free hostages whom they are using as bargaining tools and they adamantly refuse to recognise the existence of the State of Israel itself, On the Israeli side, the israeli government fears that by agreeing to a truce , it nay be giving time to Hamas to recoup and resume aggressive terrorist acts against Israeli people. The Israeli government perceives Hamas as a real threat to the State of Israel and to the Israeli people .
In my opinion a successful mediator must first convince both warring parties that WAR DOES NOT SOLVE PROBLEMS . IT CREATES NEW ONES. .
Tell that to the criminal Israeli state that has butchered thousands of innocent children, helpless women and weak old men. All this destruction by Israel has done nothing to destroy Hamas, if anything, it has provided Hamas with innumerable youth and men affected by their tragedy to take up arms against their aggressor to seek vengeance.
So?
Sorry what about the Israelites who were attacked taken hostage and killed and you call them criminal. How would you have reacted had someone broken into your house and killed your family You rebel, attack the aggressor but you are then called a criminal, do you think this makes sense? Go into U tube and listen to what the son of the leader of Hamas has to say about this cruel war. It is Hamas who are using the innocent people and killing many to show the world what Israel is doing whilst it is them trying to gather the world’s support against Israel and some take it in like you have done as though there were no children and helpless people on the other side too . Go to Nights of “Hope for Israel with Mosab Hassan Yousef ” the son of the leader of Hamas . I ask the writer to do the same before saying that Israel is playing God. Both sides are losers when there is a war No one has a right to attack anyone and if the Palestinians feel they are living as prisoners that is not right at all but it is the Hamas who are at fault and using the Palestinians and did not leave them move out when Israel gave them the time to .before they attacked Gaza.
This comment would be worth considering were it not for the fact that the author seems to have ignored the whole article and just shot out random insults. Here is a quote from the article (my bold): “A month ago, members of the terrorist group Hamas (a group that has as its aim the destruction of Israel) committed a heinous attack on innocent Israeli civilians. One thousand four hundred persons lost their lives on the day of that brutal attack. Such a vile and inhuman massacre can only be condemned in the harshest of terms. No civilized person could rejoice in such wicked acts.”
Charles would do well to read articles before calling out names on no basis whatsoever. Charles-trone indeed.
Again. The devil is in the detail. I quote from the article: “Nobody is denying the right of the State of Israel to self-defence. Self-defence under international law should be proportionate.” Once you are past the obvious premise that you condemn the atrocious October 7th attacks. Once you state the second obvious premise that every state under international law has a right to self-defence. Then you begin to hit brick walls. Like asserting that Gaza is an autonomous, independent state with its own government run through self-determination. It isn’t. Hamas ‘run’ the Gaza territory to the extent that they can try to give the semblance of government. Israel has choked the Gazan population not allowing the territory to operate as a stae – controlling everything that goes in and out. The assertion that Palestinians in Gaza were given the chance to decide their own destiny is a lie. As is the lie of a multi-cultural Israel. Criticism from within israel itself often decribes the situation as one of apartheid.
One final question though. Prompted by “It’s Hamas’ fault for using human shields”. How many women and children have to die before Israel’s right to self-defence (or to wage war on its agressors) is vindicated? This is what president Macron had to say: Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC.
The actual devil is in the following detail: proportionality of your condemnation in the article is not balanced. You may argue that more suffering is 8nflicted on the Palestinians, hence the weight of sympathy is on their end, but ignoring the fact that the very same people in Gaza endorse and support Hamas in any shape or form paints a different picture.
No war effort or political cause justifies death and suffering. I blame both sides here – equally. You lean towards Palestinians making you biased. It is not a quality of an independent journalist.
I have just read this article and am not completley convinced of the contents.
It says Hamas want to wipe out Israel and the Jews..the reason why they were labeled Terrorists..by who? The United States that dictates to the world who is good and who is bad.
All international organisations including the EU are subdued and bow without arguing to anything the US decides.
To put things right, if you see the constitution of Hamas, Google is free for such research, it says in chapter 14 and 16, that Hamas have nothing against Jews..it has a problem with the ZIONISTS ..the people who have been oppressing, haressing and killing Palestines and robbing them of their land even homes. The people who keep them in an open prison.
And these Zionists do so, causing crimes against humanity because protected by the USA.
This week a female senator from Florida said..kill them all ( Palestinians) and get it over with!
This is what America has become.
The global tyrant and dictator, where its loyal vassals thrive with impunity.
Never are the words war crimes, crimes against humanity uttered, when America is involved.
The silence of Von der leyen, and Metsola so vociferous on UKRAINE topic, have not only gone silent, but were only sounded to support this genocide
Peter, you seek proportionality in condemnation. The condemnation of the October 27th is unqualified and inequivocal. You perceive as ‘bias’ in favour of the Palestinians my appeal to a democratic state not to act in the same way as terrorists do. This besides the fact that I see absolutely no reason to condemn civilian Palestinians who, unlike your assertion, do not support Hamas, and yet are being killed indiscriminately with the excuse of justice. What is this blind search for proportionality? How many Palestinian civilians must die in order for Israel’s desire for retribution is sated?
Unfortunately this is about Netanyahu?s ego? both sides have become more extremist. Hamas are ready to die as ?martyrs? and don?t care if thousands of other Palestinians die too, not out of their choice
Many are criticising Israel, but no one is telling or offering a solution to Israel on how to solve the problem.
Main issue is for the last 75 days no a single day has passed without Israeli troops either going into the West Bank or Gaza to kill or arrest a Palestinian, the constant expansion of illegal settlements on the land the Palestinians were given and the Israeli law that allows detention without trial and the restriction of movement of Palestinians within their own areas has caused an enormous issues. It is a complete disaster that allowed Hamas to win an election but sadly the inability of the Palestinian Authority to protect its citizens in the West Bank allowed the population of Gaza the belief ( which was completely wrong) that Hamas would help them and this has helped lead us to the horrific situation we have today. Israel does not respect civilians, today 13/11/2023 marked the death of the 101 member of the UN in Gaza since the attack by Hamas and I can assure you the UN workers are not terrorists and they can be clearly identified by their outfits.
at last point, An American General who was involved in the Afghanistan war stated yesterday that for every innocent civilian killed 10 more insurgents were formed to join the war and he clearly states it was a major error killing “terrorists” amongst civilians as it turns normal people into fighters
You have put your finger on a run-away nuclear reactor in mentioning ”Netanyahu’s ego.” For the 18 months prior to 7th October, Netanyahu and his government were under serious attack from a large section of the Israeli population because of legislation designed to clip the wings of the Israeli Supreme Court which Netanyahu wanted to enact. Much before that however, in 2019 Netanyahu was of the opinion that it was worthwhile giving money to Hamas as the latter seemed bent on destroying the PLO, governing Palestine except for the Gaza strip. And about 18months ago it was Netanyahu who reckoned that Mossad should quit monitoring Hamas as it was just not worth the money. Now those ”birds” have come home to roost, the trigger being the brutal and barbaric massacre by Hamas on 7th Oct. Netanyahu can only recover face by a reckless, brutal response of the type of 10 eyes for an eye and 1000 teeth for a tooth. And he is not fastidious about the source of ”eyes” and ”teeth” as long as they are Palestinian (= Hamas in Bibi’s dictionary).
I ask:
Why did Hamas make such an attack that would not obliterate Israel (their reason for existance)?
How did Israel did not know of preparations for such an iminent attack?