Hamas: army or terrorist group?

The title of this week’s article seems like a ridiculous question. The Islamic Resistance Movement, or ‘Hamas’, is a well-known terrorist group. Its activities are generally condemned without question by all right-thinking citizens and countries.

However, we are living through a particularly special time in history because of the war in Israel this past year. Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023 at a concert close to the Gaza-Israel border was unlike any other terrorist organization in history.

Why? The attack was carried out by an estimated 3,000 men in uniform.

This is not normal. Never have so many perpetrators been involved in terrorist attacks. The resulting number of casualties can only be exceeded by the number of September 11, which, in its actual execution, involved fewer than twenty men.

Israel’s response was also unusual. This is especially true if you think of it as a response to a terrorist attack, but not if you think of it as a country being invaded by another country and then retreating back into its nation. It is then natural that you will see the same response that you see being carried out by Israel.

This response is to warn, bomb, occupy the bombed zone. Move forward until you have control of the land. The refugee effect will automatically follow as civilians flee and top leaders and war criminals join them in refugee camps, where they will eventually be hunted down.

This is war, and it’s not pretty.

The condemnation of Israel’s activities is influenced to some extent by the fact that the October 7 attack is not considered an attack on one country by another country, but rather by a terrorist group.

This is not entirely correct. Hamas is a terrorist group, but it is also the legally elected government of the Palestinians.

Palestine, which previously existed but was spelled ‘Palestine’, was – after the partition that created the state of Israel in 1948 – intended to be a separate country.

The act of October 7 was in fact an army attacking largely civilians and behaving as armies do when they invade countries.

You see, we like to romanticize the Allied forces in World War II, but it’s not an entirely accurate representation of everything that took place.

The 1945 ‘rape’ of Berlin by the Russian soldiers who carried out the ground invasion must be the most brutal and widespread attack on women in history.

It was literally a rape. It’s not a figure of speech. History has documented it, but nothing has been done to apologize for it. Two million women were raped – often multiple times.

The bombing of France during World War II by the Allies resulted in the deaths of 57,000 civilians. This may not seem like much, but remember: France was not an enemy of the Allies, but rather a country that the Allied forces were trying to liberate.

The bombing of Hanoi, known as “Operation Linebacker,” by the United States in 1972 saw more than 20,000 pounds of explosives dropped on the city of Hanoi, Vietnam.

In just 11 days, 1,624 civilians were killed.

The massive use of bombing has been an important part of war since aircraft became involved in military conflict. Israel’s use of it is largely condemned because Hamas is not seen as the army of the Palestinians, but it should be.

So let’s assume that the Israeli response was the result of a terrorist attack that killed 1,207 people. Now let’s look at the response to the response of the military powers of the United States and its allies on September 11, which was carried out by terrorists.

Afghanistan was invaded; In response, 46,319 civilians were killed.

War is hell. It’s brutal. The costs to civilian lives are enormous, regardless of the nationalities or races involved.

Governments use bombs to limit the casualties of their armies.

What is happening in Gaza is a shame, but it is no better or worse than the many conflicts depicted in movies where we cheered on the good guys.

The story of the Palestinians in the Middle East is typical of 20th century analysis. Ireland was divided after being invaded and occupied. India was partitioned to achieve its independence and in an attempt to avoid civil war (it didn’t work).

The partition of Palestine to create Israel was the end result of colonization, the Nazi cleansing of European Jews and an attempt to limit Jewish refugees in Western Europe.

History has been unkind to most groups of people, from the Africans to the Chinese and many more in between.

That does not justify the Hamas army’s attack on the State of Israel on October 7, 2023.

The response was cruel and inhumane and that is not okay.

It’s also not in any way unusual or different from how militaries around the world respond when attacked.

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