Demanding the UN Stand With Israel in the Face of Hamas War Crimes

Some three days ago, on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Israel was viciously attacked by the terrorist group Hamas and its terrorist allies from the Gaza Strip. Over 800 Israelis—men, women, and children—have reportedly been killed so far, many of them shot down indiscriminately in the streets of their communities or in their homes. In addition to killing defenseless Israelis simply going about their business on the Jewish Sabbath, the Hamas terrorists also abducted scores of Israelis, taking them back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Some are already calling this Israel’s 9/11. The attack came as a complete surprise. No one apparently foresaw this happening. In that sense, it does mirror our own experience. And just as we had to deal with the attack on U.S. soil before we could determine why we didn’t see it coming, so, too, does Israel. Israel is faced with a war it had not anticipated. It must deal with that reality first. Why it wasn’t foreseen is an issue for another day.

In what appears to be a well-planned attack, Hamas and its allies fired thousands of rockets to overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. Simultaneously, ground forces breached the border fence in numerous places and then went on a rampage, indiscriminately murdering Israeli civilians on the streets of their communities and in their homes. Men, women, and children were shot at point-blank range. Women were raped. Dead bodies were desecrated. Others were kidnapped and taken into Gaza to be hidden and used for ransom. Among the dead and missing are American citizens, which means we have our own interests in this war.

Every single one of these acts—indiscriminate firing of rockets, indiscriminate killing of civilians, abducting civilians for hostages, raping of women, and desecrating bodies of the dead—constitutes a distinct war crime under international law. Israel is dealing with lawless individuals who respect neither the norms of law nor the value of innocent human life.

Even as Israel must deal with the situation in the south, it must also be on guard about the north. Both Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah, in Lebanon, are closely allied to Iran, a country that makes no secret of its desire to annihilate Israel. Hezbollah is said to possess over 100,000 rockets that could be used against Israel. On Sunday, it was reported that Hezbollah had fired mortar rounds and two rockets into Israel. Accordingly, Israel must be prepared to fight a two-front war.

This is a significant event. Israel will have to respond and respond forcefully. The only thing Hamas and its allies understand is force. To quell the ever-lurking threat in the Gaza Strip, Israel will need to weed out and utterly destroy Hamas and its allies. That will be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas of the world. To destroy Hamas will mean going street-by-street, house-to-house, and warfare in urban areas is among the most difficult missions an army must undertake.

This is a time when Israel is especially vulnerable. Hamas’ actions in the south may encourage radicals in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank to also take up arms against Israel, forming a sort of Fifth Column with which Israel must deal. Add to this the Hezbollah threat from Lebanon and the threat from Iran, and Israel will have its hands full.

Israel will need the United States to stand strong and defend Israel in places like the U.N., where, without doubt, any action Israel takes in the Gaza Strip in its own defense will be condemned by the usual cohort of anti-Israel states and organizations. Israel will need us to provide all sorts of support, including equipment and additional funding. Israel is a tiny country, approximately the size of New Jersey, with an approximate population of 9.4 million. The Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is estimated by the U.S. Department of State to be approximately 5 million. If Hamas is not stopped now, it will become increasingly dangerous, not only to Israel but to the United States as well.

We sent a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General strongly urging him to take the lead in condemning Hamas for its criminal acts against Israel and in affirming Israel’s right under the U.N. Charter to defend itself. We also called on him to demand the immediate return to Red Cross/Red Crescent custody of all persons taken as hostages from Israel, to announce the commencement of a thoroughgoing review of all U.N. funds provided for the Gaza Strip, and to disclaim any moral or legal equivalency between Hamas’ actions and those of Israel.

As Christians, we need to strongly support Israel in this crucial hour and in the days and weeks to follow. Israel is the canary in the coal mine. What is happening to Israel today is a harbinger of what’s to come to all of us in the West, unless we utterly destroy Hamas. We cannot wait for Hamas and its allies to morph into another al-Qaeda, visiting upon our shores its vicious, barbaric brand of Islamic extremism. We also need to condemn loudly and publicly Hamas and its despicable acts of murder and kidnapping of innocent Israelis simply going about their normal routines on the Jewish Sabbath.

This is also time to humbly and urgently call out to God to manifest His promise in Psalm 121 for the entire world to see: “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

Please stand with us as we stand with Israel.