Something unknown by many abroad but well-known in Israel is that as horrific as the October 7th terror attack on Israel was, with 1400 innocents slaughtered in vile and violent ways and 240 taken hostage, it was actually supposed to be even worse.
Word on the street here, and by the street I mean known by the IDF, is that this was supposed to be a joint surprise attack, by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, just north of Israel. For whatever reason, Hamas "jumped the gun" in their excitement to invade, and this explains Hezbollah's coldness toward Hamas in the weeks following October 7th.
As I write, a war helcopter flies overhead and my phone continuously lets me know of rocket attacks in the north and the south - both constant - making me think this piece may be a little disjointed, as my thoughts on what to write about are many and cover multiple fronts, just like this war.
I've tried to explain who Hamas is and who they are not in previous posts. They are not "Freedom Fighters" or fighting for a cause or for land or even for their people. They are the governing body of Gaza since 2006, which was a year after Israel pulled out of Gaza completely, though we continued to supply food, water, electricity and 500 trucks a day of aid. Israel, along with the world, also supplied billions of dollars, which Hamas could have used for the betterment of its people and to make Gaza a Jewel of the Mediterranean. They could have put down their weapons after we left, which is what many Israelis thought they had done, as we too want to believe peace is possible.
But sadly, we were wrong, and nobody learned this as harshly as the most pro-peace and pro-Palestinian rights citizens of Israel - who live in the nighborhoods and kibbutzim of the south, in an area literally known as the "Gaza envelope." These are the people who have created organizations that take Gazan civilians into Israel for medical care, and have fought for so many to work in Israel. These are the people who made it their life mission to live side by side with their Palestinian neighbors.
Hamas ruined this for Israelis and they also ruined it for Palestinians, as all entry to work had to stop immediately after October 7th, as some of the workers employed in the kibbutzim with families, had been doing so only to map out the neighborhoods in preparation for the heinous attack.
I have stated that Hamas isn't only against the destruction of Israel and the murder of all Jews worldwide but is against the West, against democracy, against America and Canada and Europe and women and gays and any value reflrecting freedom...but even that doesn't cover it, as imagine - Hamas and Hezbollah - two radical terror organizations and proxies of Iran - couldn't get along well enough to plan a coordinated attack against Israel and have been having a childish argument ever since, though that argument seems to be dissipating.
Yesterday morning my phone had consistent "red alerts," but instead of them only listing rocket attacks in various parts of the country, I had others that said "Hostile Aircraft Invasion." What on earth?
I sent the screenshot to several Israelis and one said he honestly didn't know what that meant, but to change the settings in my app so that I'd only be notified of things in central Israel. Another said to just "delete the app," but to the best of my knowledge based on the news, these "aircraft" were drones from Hezbollah, flying into Israel.
Also yesterday were attacks from Syria and various ships in the Red Sea are being attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, Norwegian ships and American ships, with the declaration they will attack any ship headed to Israel.
"Everyone wants to kill us," I said to a friend back in Charlotte on Sunday, calmly and casually, to which he responded "That sounds a bit paranoid." His huge smile and dimples made me laugh back, but I said "I guess it does - but it's actually true."
It is true, and for the first time in my life, I truly understand what Israelis have lived with for most of their lives, though very few with the clarity we have now. Yesterday it was decided by Israel that we are going to have to deal with Hezbollah as soon as we are done with Hamas, if not sooner, as the entire north was evacuated on October 8th and it is not even close to safe for anyone to return, as yesterday's phone notifications made clear. This is on top of the families from the south, who have also been evacuated and housed in hotels for months.
Dealing with Hezbollah is the scariest part of this so far, as their rockets are much better than those of Hamas, and they have hundreds of thousands of them. They are huge and have perfect aim. So far, they have only sent them to the northern Israeli communities but this can change at any moment, and though it is said that the Iron Dome works on these rockets as well, it can get overwhelmed, as it did in Tel Aviv two days ago during a barrage of rockets sent our way, causing one rocket to land in Holon, a suburb.
We are living as normally as we can. but much is not functioning. Menus are offering less and less of what they did, and produce on the shelves is becoming less and less as the farms aren't manned. My old boss has been volunteering weekly in the south on farms, doing the backbreaking work that stopped totally in October, but it is practically too little too late. A farm owner he met there was too upset to even talk to the volunteers, having lost everything. These people were not protected by the Israeli government, with this "border fence" meant to protect them, and they have not been helped since, not financially or physically. In essence, they have been abandoned.
Yet had I stayed in North Carolina and not traveled to Israel, the news would barely be covering any of this. It would be all about Gaza and pushing for a ceasefire, so let me say this. I know that those wanting a ceasefire are doing so with good intentions. I know that their hearts are seemingly in the right place, but this word - intention - matters.
Israel has not intended to kill innocent civilians. Our announcing in advance where we will be attacking and warning people to leave is proof of that. Our creating safe corridors is as well. The videos here of IDF soldiers feeding children in Gaza, who cling to their legs in gratitude - this is what the world needs to see - and needs to remember.
Israel did not intend to have a war at all. Hamas chose to spend all of their money on rockets and to invade Israel and not just kill and kidnap soldiers but to behead babies and mutilate women and burn families alive and take 240 back into Gaza with them. Yesterday we learned that a beautiful young lady taken from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th had now bveen murdered in Gaza, making the total of known murdered hostages twenty.
Israel did not choose to end the recent "pause" in fighting either. We wanted it to continue and for more hostages to be released, but Hamas said they "didn't know where the rest of the women and children were," which is a lie - we know they fear releasing these specific people as these twenty have been tortured and raped for more than two months now, and Hamas chose to have a shootout in Jerusalem, killing three, and to attack our troops. Some Hamas terrorists have started to surrender, but not even close to all and another first has been Gazan civilians beginning to speak out against Hamas ON CAMERA.
"Curse you Hamas!" screamed a man on Palestinian television. "What you have done to our people! GIVE BACK THE HOSTAGES!"
"We receive no aid," said an old woman, to which the reporter replied, "They say it's being evenly distributed." She held up a finger and shook her head. "It all goes to the homes of Hamas and into the tunnels. They take it all - let them shoot me for saying this."
Another Palestinian woman, screamed into the camera, as she held her young boy who was totally unaffected by her wails. "We have NO FOOD because of Hamas!" she screeched. "When I run after them begging for water, they mock me. They MOCK me!" These are the stories that need to reach the world, so that the demands to end this war are made on HAMAS. "Give back the hostages!" should be the first demand. "Feed your people!" should be the second and "SURRENDER" should be the third, but no, so far, these demands and "suggestions" arrive in my messenger inbox.
We cannot have a ceasefire with a group of terrorists whose intention is to destroy us. Since the last "pause" the increase in rockets against us has been substantial, as you saw in my previous post, which had me caught on the highwat for one and forced to lie on the ground outside on Friday night for the explosions, all of which brought down shrapnel which could have landed on my head, or the head of the toddler next to me. This piece by Chana Wurtzel arrived to me on facebook today, and really says it all. IF YOU LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW
by Chana Wurtzel
If you live here you know what it is to wake up every morning carrying the collective exhaustion of an entire country in your heart, and to know that every man, woman, and child in the country is waking up feeling the same way.
If you live here you know what it is to send your children off for the day with an extra hug and lingering look because the reminder that we never know when life could change in an instant became all too real overnight.
If you live here you know what it is to have to force yourself to stop refreshing the morning news and start your day.
If you live here you know what it is to need that second cup of coffee in order to even attempt to get to work.
If you live here you know what it is to drive your kids to school and breathe a sigh of relief when you see the men in uniform guarding the school gate.
If you live here you know what it is to feel the mixture of pride and worry as you drive through the streets of your neighborhood and see the flags hanging from the porches and the billboards proclaiming "together we will win!" and "am yisrael chai!" everywhere you go.
If you live here you know what it is to feel disoriented at the grocery store because all of the usual staff has changed and you don't recognize the cashiers anymore.
If you live here you know what it is to see shuttered businesses throughout town because the owners are off fighting a war.
If you live here you know what it is to not be able to find the fruits and vegetables you are looking for, since there is nobody to work the fields so there is no supply.
If you live here you know what it is to hesitate before planning any sort of personal celebration since you aren't sure if it's appropriate and your heart just isn't in it, but at the same time you know that life goes on and that we must appreciate it.
If you live here you know what it is to have to reduce your work schedule because you simply don't have the brain space to be able to be productive for as many consecutive hours as you always did.
If you live here you know what it is to hold pages of names of soldiers to pray for in your hands, and to recognize every family name on the list because they are all members of your immediate community.
If you live here you know what it is to have to set aside a significant amount of time for prayer because the list of individuals that you are praying for takes so long to get through.
If you live here you know what it is to have to rethink so much of what you had planned for the year, because there are so many reasons why those plans are no longer relevant.
If you live here you know what it is to stand and line the streets in the pouring rain to support your neighbors as they drive to bury their son who died keeping us safe.
If you live here you know what it is to be able to communicate with others, whether friends or strangers, with a sympathetic smile and slight nod, without saying a word.
If you live here you know what it is to feel so connected to every other human being that you interact with... from the pizza delivery guy to the plumber to the telemarketer to your closest friend.
If you live here you know what it is to see people from other countries posting on social media about travel plans and everyday events and wonder how their reality can be so different from yours.
If you live here, you know what it is to hold your breath collectively with the entire country waiting for the news update every night.
If you live here, you know what it is to know that you slept but to also remember being half awake all night and to feel like you didn't sleep at all.
If you live here you know what it is to feel safer here than anywhere else in the world.
If you live here you know what it feels like when everyone is looking out for each other and that you are part of one giant, national family.
If you live here you know that it's the greatest privilege in the world.
If you live here you know what it's like to be part of something so special that really.....there are simply no words to describe it.
--------
Readers: There are still 135 hostages being held in Gaza - men, women, children and the elderly - and until all are returned, we are all taken. Please write your local governments and DEMAND the Red Cross gains access to them, and demand their IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
--------
In case you want to help:
This is a labor of love and I feel called to do it, but admit it has started to cost a small fortune, between flights, rent at home, accommodation here and the building of this website, which still needs work to maximize visibility. I have therefore just started a GoFundMe in the hopes of getting a little bit of help to stay here another month or two to conduct these interviews with families of hostages and cover the war from the ground. Any donation, no matter how small, will go toward accommodation and bare bone travel expenses. Anything at all will be tremendously helpful and very much appreciated. With gratitude, Melanie
Comments