Hamas and Genocide in Israel

"Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such..." — Definition of genocide, The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, December 9, 1948.

The Iran-backed, officially designated terrorist group Hamas -- along with other groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- on October 7, 2023, committed genocide in Israel.

Jews were murdered because they were the Jews. Israelis were murdered because they were Israelis. People were murdered because they were presumed to be the Jews or Israeli sympathizers with Jews. The decision to invade, murder, torture and kidnap was made by the Hamas leadership and reportedly "managed and planned" by Iran's Quds Force.

Captured Hamas members, under interrogation, said about their actions in Israeli communities:

    • "The plan was to go from home to home, from room to room, to throw grenades and kill everyone, including women and children"; "Hamas ordered us to crush their heads and cut them off, [and] to cut their legs";

    • "Hamas's orders were to kill young men" and to "kidnap the elderly, women and children".

Many of those hostages, taken against Article 34 of Geneva IV, are still in the hands of Hamas.

One of the Hamas terrorists…called his parents after having murdered 10 Jews in Kibbutz Mefalsim near the Gaza border: "Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!... Mom, your son is a hero!" There are many reports like that….

Israel, of necessity, responded to this massacre. Israel's goals…are "returning hostages from Gaza, eliminating Hamas' military and governing capabilities, ensuring that Gaza will not constitute a threat against Israel and also returning displaced Israeli residents securely to their homes in both the south and the north."

Israel's goal is not to destroy the Palestinians, Arabs or Gazan civilians. Unfortunately, there are innocent victims in every war. If Hamas chooses to fight in dense urban areas, among its own civilians, there will be even more civilian casualties. Israel, which always goes out of its out of its way to prevent civilian casualties among its opponents, is always nevertheless blamed for them…

"Israel Implemented More Measures to Prevent Civilian Casualties Than Any Other Nation in History," wrote the chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, John Spencer; and, "Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare: Why Will No One Admit it?"

To minimize casualties in its reaction to October 7, the Israeli military sent approximately 15 million text messages, 12 million recorded phone messages and made more than 40,000 personal phone calls to residents of Gaza, informing them when and where to evacuate from areas in which they might be endangered.

By contrast, Hamas was broadcasting from mosques with orders for Gazans to stay put; blocking roads leading to safety (here and here), and even shooting its own citizens to keep them from fleeing…

The situation of displaced Gazans -- temporary evacuations are allowed by Geneva IV, Article 49 -- is certainly unfortunate; however, the main problem is the aggressive nature of Iran's and Hamas's totalitarian regimes. That is what has led to the October 7 massacre and is the seminal reason for the war and the Gazan casualties.

Moreover, in the Hamas covenants, there is no room for an Israel or for any "Zionist project". The result of literal, systematic and historical interpretations of the Hamas Covenants of both 1988 and 2017 leads one to conclude that Iran and Hamas want to murder Jews and wipe Israel off the map.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20810/hamas-and-genocide-in-israel

[This view is becoming more prevalent, as seen in U.S. colleges. This is all leading up to a last, overwhelming attempt at genocide. The Lord, however, has this covered, “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah:12:3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
See All...).]