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Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel was a heinous terrorist act. The group killed more than 1,000 people, many of them savagely, and grabbed more than 240 people, including young children, as hostages. In response, Israel has a right to defend itself, to target the Hamas killers and to aggressively work for the release of the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas.
However, Israel’s sprawling war against Gaza, and the large civilian death toll, is weakening what had been fairly broad support for the Middle East’s only democracy. Even President Joe Biden, long a supporter of Israel, has begun to call for changes in the country’s ongoing response to the Hamas attack.
The perils of Israel’s unrelenting response to the October attack were graphically illustrated this week when an airstrike in Gaza killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, a group founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres that delivers food in war-torn areas around the world.
“Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. “It happens in war. We will investigate it right to the end. … We are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again.”
Yes, horrible things happen in war. But this war is asymmetrical. More than 30,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed. Much of Gaza has been destroyed.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials say the harsh response is needed to root out Hamas.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that doesn’t abide by international norms and laws. Its leaders have said that large numbers of civilian deaths are acceptable to further the group’s mission. It has rejected internationally negotiated cease-fire agreements. It has done little to help the residents of Gaza, instead taking food meant for the city’s residents. It has hidden its fighters and its operations under a hospital and among Palestinian civilians, ensuring they will be targeted by Israeli operations.
Yet, the killing of aid workers and thousands of other civilians is not hurting Hamas. Airstrikes that flatten neighborhoods, killing and displacing Palestinians are not hurting Hamas. In fact, it is empowering the organization as world sentiment turns against Israel and its Jewish residents.
“I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday. They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
More starkly, the president added: “Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.”
It was one of Biden’s strongest criticisms of Israel since it launched its offensive against Hamas more than six months ago. He reiterated the need for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza and his commitment to a negotiated cease-fire and deal to release the hostages held by Hamas.
We realize that negotiating with Hamas, which has included the elimination of Israel as a country in its charter, is no easy task and that there is no guarantee that any agreement will be adhered to.
We are also not military strategists, but we know that a campaign that kills tens of thousands of civilians, including aid workers, journalists and thousands of children, and turns world sentiment against your country is not a success. It is an outrage, and it is unacceptable.
Israel is in a difficult position, fighting against organizations that deny the country’s very right to exist. Yet, after the horror of Oct. 7, Israel’s campaign has brought horror to the people of Gaza, and has not secured the much-needed release of the remaining hostages.
Israel must change course and its actions in Gaza, or it risks losing the long-term support necessary to ensure its continued peaceful survival.