There are a number of stories coming out of the weekend, but the one that stands out above all is the al-Shifa hospital. Again. Despite endless probing and rumours it was for many in western media hard to believe that Israel had justification to attack the facility as no one seemed prepared to accept that Hamas was using it for its combat operations and worse. Well the evidence is trickling in, from the discovery of tunnels underneath the hospital to actual video footage of hostages being taken into the al-Shifa building on October 7. At the same time confirmation got in that two hostages were likely murdered at the facility, their bodies were actually discovered in a building adjacent to al-Shifa.
There are a few aspects to this. One of is course the tragedy itself of using a hospital for terrorist activity, something which for Hamas has been an incredibly successful move given all the media uproar once Israel started closing in on and entered the building. But the Israelis had sourced their intelligence well of course. The deeper issue is that many multinational and non-governmental entities, the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, UNRWA, possibly even the Red Cross who all had direct dealings in and with the hospital must have been aware of this. How come it has taken so long for this information to come out other than from Israeli sources? Why is it - given the huge multinational support present in Gaza - up to Israel to not only indicate what was going on, but also to act on cleaning out the al-Shifa based terror facilities? And get criticized for it? Maybe these organizations were terrified of leaking info to the international press, but would that not have been the right thing to do?
At least there is some good news coming out of that hellish place as some 28 pre-maturely born babies were evacuated to safety in Egypt. So that border can be opened if necessary it seems. The NYT argues the babies are ‘a symbol of the suffering at the hospital’ but when I read that sentence my mind also goes to those who have been locked up in the dungeons of that same building while the world essentially turned a blind eye on them.
The other thing this weekend that got traction was how the October 7 attacks singled out women, the evidence of rape and sexual abuse on that is truly beyond anything most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Very hard to read, but linkable and Eve is your go to place for more background. That said, there are those who will go out and deny any of this ever happened, as did the director of the University of Alberta’s Sexual Assault Centre. Her signing a letter denying Hamas’ involvement in this took social media by storm and before the weekend was over Samantha Pearson was out of job. There are some bastions of sanity left, but you got to wonder how so many academics, journalists, politicians, government officials and anyone of import can, in the face of clear evidence, maintain the opposite of what is right in front of them. Whether you are employed by a university in Canada or a medic deployed in Gaza. See it, name it. But they often don’t: it’s scary. Truly.
And that brings us to Hamas. A hostage deal is imminent and the Israeli government is deeply divided over making such a deal, in particular one that includes the release of captured Hamas fighters. But it is time to move on this as reports are beginning to emerge that Hamas’ operations commander in Gaza Yahya Sinwar is starting to lose his mind which, for someone already known for extreme cruelty, is probably not a good sign. As the noose tightens around Hamas with Israel more than ever determined to completely destroy the organization, it would be naive to think that this is another backdoor diplomacy game where a deal magically pops out the funnel once all the boxes have been ticked. It is not. The one Israeli who historically has talked directly to Hamas has checked out, as did his Hamas counterpart. Not a good sign and now all the hope is on the Qatar connection.
The analogy with an ever crazy Adolf Hitler in his bunker in Berlin is gaining currency. A murderous regime on its last legs. And the ultimate crime, after everything else the Nazi leader had done, was to stick it to the German people, his own people. You wanted this war, now fight it for me and with me. Hamas has always operated under this premise. It is your war and you will fight it with us, and if not, we will make sure you will and die with us in the trenches. Gaza today is no different and Israel is playing a similar role as the Russian troops that liberated Berlin: an extreme focus and determination to end a battle that it is slated to win, once and forever. A lot of people still do not understand the existential determination that is driving the IDF to completely wipe out Hamas.
If you consider all the hate and anger directed at Israel for invading Gaza, just reflect on the history and this eerie analogy. We have been here before. The bad guys will be destroyed, but the cost is high for all parties involved.
Photos: the entry to al-Shifa on October 7th as a hostage was dragged into the hospital. Also: Gershon Baskin (centre), managed to find a photo I took of him during a tech tour we did in Jerusalem a few years ago.