Gaza, Hamas, & Palestine

In my opinion, there is not a difference between 9/11 and the October 7th attack on Israel. If a terrorist group attacked the United States the way Hamas attacked Israel, our response would have been the same. In fact, when comparing the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, there were significantly more civilian deaths from the U.S. military (approximately 500,000). In many ways we tried to protect civilians, but terrorists know this and actively seek to exploit it.

Let’s get the facts straight: it was because Hamas took control in Gaza in 2006 from the Fatah political party that Israel had to create a blockade to the Gaza Strip. Due to Israeli security concerns and continued terrorism originating from Gaza, Israel took measures to protect themselves and closed their border to Gaza.

On the topic of civilian casualties — it is a common tactic that, because terrorists cannot conduct their operations honorably, they will hide behind innocent civilians or use them as shields. This dishonorable, disgusting tactic is well-documented in the United States’ Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

While the estimated casualties currently in Gaza are concerning, there were far greater casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the several air-strike campaigns conducted in previous administrations. In the Brown University Costs of War Project, it is estimated that at least 244,124 civilian deaths have occurred in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan — where the current estimated number of civilian deaths in Gaza is over 29,000.

Understand: there is a real difference between Palestine and Hamas. However, terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi Rebels actively indoctrinate their children to hate Jews. War isn’t pretty. It is gruesome and terrible. We must protect the innocent, but it is near-impossible when terrorism exploits our motivation to do so. Terrorists use this knowledge against us — it is just who they are.

I would encourage people to do the research and seek out reputable sources on these issues. While these topics are hard to watch, we must consider that wars in this region have been raging for thousands of years.