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The endless calls by our politicians for a “ceasefire” in Gaza sound both rational and desirable. But is it? Do they understand the realities of the Gaza war? If they do, then calling for a ceasefire is madness. If they do not, then they should butt out.

Let’s not forget what happened on October 7. Initially, some 2500 rockets were fired at Israel, and then about 1,500 Hamas terrorists stormed the border and flooded into Israel. They had one aim in mind – kill or kidnap everyone you meet on Israeli soil.

In total, the attackers killed 1,139 people: 695 Israeli civilians (including 38 children), 71 foreign nationals, and 373 members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded while attending the Nova music festival.

It could have been much worse. The surprise attack was initially slowed from spreading further by the swift response of local kibbutz commanders. These were not military, but rather civilians trained in the security of their communities. As soon as the alarm sounded, military personnel rushed to the area and repelled the attack.

When Hamas was Running Gaza

When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it left the Palestinians to run their own affairs. What did they do? Did they build a successful nation, flourishing businesses, education facilities, and take advantage of the wonderful Mediterranean seafront to create resorts and holiday destinations?

Sadly not. The billions of dollars of aid and assistance provided to the Palestinians were used to build over 500 km of terror tunnels. More tunnels than the London Underground. Many of them big enough to accommodate a truck. Others had tracks for trolley cars. Carefully considering that the Israeli military would avoid hitting civilian targets, Hamas deliberately created their weapons caches under mosques, schools and hospitals.

The terror tunnels, running the whole length of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt, were used to amass weapons and provide launching sites for a continuous barrage of rockets against Israel for the last 20 years.

Indoctrinating Hatred

You may be surprised to know that the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was a protégé of Yasser Arafat, one of the founders of Hamas, who was a protégé of the Mufti of Jerusalem, who in turn was a close collaborator with Hitler. It almost sounds fanciful, but it is true. Copies of Mein Kampf [Hitler’s philosophy and strategy for National Socialism] were found in the Gaza tunnels.

Together with their carefully constructed tunnels, Hamas followed Iran’s lead to indoctrinate their population. In addition to copies of Mein Kampf, primary school curricula were located. There is a mass of evidence that children were taught to hate Jews, and primary students were taught to act out violent Jihad against Israel.

Surely Australia does not want to import this indoctrinated population and their anti-social ideas into our country?

On October 7^th last year, innocent Israelis, going about their daily lives, were not simply shot. They were terrorised, butchered, mutilated, raped and burnt. Many of the terrorists knew where to go because they were employed by the very families they attacked. The depth of horrors on that day parallels the madness of Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin.

Why Can’t a Peace be Negotiated?

Everyone wants peace – of course we do. Any death, military or civilian, is devastating – on both sides. Sometimes, it is necessary to fight a war to secure peace.

… a time for war and a time for peace.
~ Ecclesiastes 3:8

Surely, this is the lesson of history. Decisive action against Hitler’s madness eventually led to peace, but not without a tremendous cost of human lives on both sides.  All diplomatic efforts failed, as they have with Hamas.

Hamas wants a ceasefire, but only on its terms. If Hamas laid down its arms, there would be no more war. If Israel laid down its arms, there would be no more Israel.

If Israel withdraws, Hamas will redouble its efforts to destroy Israel. This will not bring peace to Israel. Hamas has already shown it will continue to fire rockets at Israel at every opportunity.

Israel, on the other hand, knows there can be no peace as long as Hamas and other Iranian proxies have the capacity to fulfil their aim of destroying Israel.

There is no diplomatic solution. It is fanciful to think you can reason and negotiate with a party that is sworn to your destruction. They cannot be trusted. Their agreements have consistently been violated. Their word is not worth the paper it is written on.

Securing the Northern Border of Israel

The day after the devastating attack by Hamas in the South of Israel, Hezbollah, another proxy of the Iranian regime, began a steady onslaught of rockets fired at Israel’s northern border. Thousands of people had to be evacuated. Forest fires raged.

As things quietened in the South, Israeli intelligence identified leaders of Iran’s proxies and eliminated them. Iran threatened devastating retaliation. Israel went on high alert in anticipation of a major attack.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. The Israeli military was aware the attack was imminent.  Hezbollah had thousands of rockets aimed at Israel, threatening to hit civilian targets right across the country in revenge for their leaders who were killed.

On the morning of Sunday, 25 August, moments before the attack was to happen, in a masterful pre-emptive strike, Israel dispatched over 100 jets and precision bombed the Hezbollah rocket launching sites. Their carefully aimed strikes caused few, if any, civilian casualties, but the enemy’s military capability was severely hampered.

Hezbollah’s Flag: The Cedar of Lebanon

The night before this momentous pre-emptive strike by Israel, Pastor Rick Ridings, in the Jerusalem House of Prayer, read the following scripture:

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
~ Psalm 29:3-5

Surely, the Lord, in His mercy, is protecting Israel. Let’s continue to pray for peace in Israel. The prayers of evangelical Christians the world over are having a powerful impact in protecting Israel. Let’s not give up.

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