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There are 133 souls still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, more than 184 days since Hamas declared war by invading Israel. I thought it necessary to point out this simple fact because most of the rhetoric discussing the six-month anniversary of that barbaric attack takes little note, if any, of the people involved.

This is not a homogenous group. While most are Israeli citizens, the missing include eight Americans, citizens from Germany and France, eight Muslim Arabs, seven Thai Buddhists, two black African Christians, and people from Nepal, people from Mexico, and others from all over the world.

I have not written about this since the week after the attack. While I promised at that time to bear witness, I have never been able to get over my rage. I have read innumerable twists of reality blaming Israel for this disaster. Or blaming the United States. I have heard repeated calls for independent investigations and complaints arguing that Israel is violating international law. I have endured, both in reading, in watching, and in joining events on university campuses, some amazing distortions of history. These come not only from the mouths of students but from many of their teachers as well.

Lest we forget, on October 7, 2023, while Israelis were celebrating the holiday of Simchat Torah, the day Jews dance with the Torah to celebrate the spiritual path given to them by God over three thousand years ago, three thousand armed terrorists from Hamas, which governs the Gaza strip, invaded through the border into Israel. They carried out a devastating massacre, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of more than 250 hostages. Since then, over one hundred hostages have been released as part of temporary cease-fire agreements. However, 132 hostages remain unaccounted for, and there are concerns that many of them may have lost their lives.

Following the attack, Israel declared a state of war exists between Hamas and Israel. Those critics mired in citations to international law should note that such a response to an armed invasion is completely justified. It is also justified by the United Nations charter. And the Hamas attack violated a long series of UN Security Council resolutions.

Israel announced two objectives for its subsequent incursion into the Gaza territory. First, free the hostages. Second, dismantle Hamas to prevent it from threating Israel in the future. Neither goal is unreasonable. No other state in the world would be expected to settle for anything less.

If there can be any question of the righteousness of these goals one only has to listen to what the leaders of Hamas, who are mostly hiding out in friendly countries far from Gaza, say about their plans. In a video, Ghazi Hamad, a senior member of Hamas, vowed to continue attacks against Israel until it is destroyed:

In the video, Hamad asserts that Israel has no place on their land and that Hamas will repeat such attacks as many times as necessary until Israel is gone. He says Hamas is ready to pay the price, considering themselves a nation of martyrs. Believe him. Ask yourself if the people of any nation would support a government that did not seek to achieve the same two goals Israel is now fighting to achieve.

That 1,200 Israelis death toll on October 7 is an eerily familiar number. It is about the same as the number of Americans killed on September 11, 2001. It is about the same as the number of Americans killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Remember America’s response to those events?

And do not forget the souls still unaccounted for in Gaza.

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