Gaza’s tunnels are a powerful equaliser, neutralising the IDF’s superior weaponry, tactics and technology OCTOBER 15, 2023 by Daphné Richemond-Barak
The red alert sounded through loudspeakers at 6.30am on Saturday October 7th. This was not an unusual event in Nir Am, a kibbutz of 700 people located two kilometres from the fence separating Israel and Gaza. But that morning the alarms kept sounding, again and again. The electricity went off and phone reception suddenly became patchy.
In one of the kibbutz’s orchards, a farmworker called Nabil Barawi looked up at the sky and saw rockets arcing overhead. Barawi, 53, was from Gaza, but had worked for 40 years in the fields of Nir Am. He supervised a group of ten Gazans who grew pomelos, a large, sweet citrus fruit. The sheer quantity of rockets made Barawi think something unusual was happening. “When the mess started”, he told me later, “I said to my workers, ten other Gazans, ‘Let’s go’.”
In the kibbutz Adam Peled, an army veteran who spent ten years in the Israeli special forces, heard gunfire. He grabbed his Glock pistol and jogged towards his ex-wife’s house where his children were sleeping. |
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A week has passed since the tragic and shocking events of the 07.10.23, and the difficult feelings are far from healing. The horrifying stories from survivors and the overwhelming quantity of such stories do not allow for rest. Although each of us experiences the pain personally, each one's individual experience is also collective, and the difficult emotions are filled with existential fears and fears of what the future holds.
We are in pain and broken now, mourning the loss of each and every one of the hundreds of victims and their families who are now paying the highest price.
Israel experienced an unjustified and monstrous wave of terror of a magnitude we could never have imagined. The massacre committed by Hamas against the residents of Israel is one of the most terrible war crimes seen in our region.
Women, babies, and elderly people are now in the hands of a ruthless terrorist organization in Gaza. The thought of the fate of children who have been taken from their parents by the hands of heartless terrorists is unbearable.
Every day and every hour is critical. After all the terrible failures that have occurred, we have an obligation to save lives, and therefore, we must call for the release of the captives now. |
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These days, we are struggling to understand what has happened and what should be in order for our place, our space, our home, to be just, normal, and safe. As Peace Now, we have an important role, and it seems that many in the public understand that what was is not what will be. We all know about the government's failures, the unworthy people who have been leading us, who preferred annexation, settlements, and dictatorship over the state and its citizens. We all understand the military's failure, its lack of readiness, and the intelligence that didn't warn. And, worse still, an army that left citizens for hours exposed to ruthless terror. We all understand the state's failures, which still today do not address many citizens in their time of need. On the other hand, we also see the courage of Israeli society, coming together to help, to fill the void of a dysfunctional state. Of all the failures, our role in peace now is to point out the massive political failure. That they preferred to pay a "protection fee" to a ruthless terrorist organization to allow for the continued annexation of the West Bank and the undermining of the Palestinian state. They thought they could completely ignore the Palestinians, treat them as "straw in the wind" that needs to be "managed," or in the best case, "reduced." They told us we could make peace with Saudi Arabia and prosper. So they said. The questions that trouble us all right now are existential questions. We do not know what the future holds, and we fear that it will be tough and full of violence. The war has only just begun, and it seems its end is not near. But we know that in order to truly secure our home, we need a political solution. This is not just a slogan or wishful thinking. It is the reality of our lives. We know what the top security leaders have been saying for years: there is no military solution without a political horizon. Only through this can we ensure deep and true security, not just a false sense of security that exists in a Sparta-like state with armed residents and a permanent cycle of wars. We need a political agreement, just as we have with Egypt and Jordan. We also know what the leaders of Zionism and the founders of the state knew: that a political solution is a guarantee for the existence of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and as a democracy. |
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A 'Peace Now' sticker was seen on a shattered window in Be'eri, following the tragic terror attack by Hamas a week ago. |
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Hamas is indeed a reprehensible and murderous terrorist organization, an absolute evil group. It seems that the clear and immediate conclusion of its recent terrorist actions is that Hamas will never be a legitimate player in the political arena. However, alongside this, we must preserve our humane image. The desire for revenge and destruction, even if understandable and human, will not lead to a solution. In the right-wing camp, there are already calls for a second round and the reintroduction of settlements in the Gaza Strip. We, who take pride in our morality, in wise military actions, and in the knowledge that we must never take lightly harming the innocent, know that we cannot awaken in a few weeks to the clash of swords. These actions may give rise to even more ruthless terrorist organizations. While we mourn our loved ones and friends, and what may be in store for us in the coming weeks and months, we also know with clarity our role and purpose: to present the only alternative to the future of this place. This is possible because we have no choice, because we have no other home. With hope that from this disaster, salvation will emerge, and in prayer for a day when peace will eventually come, Lior Amichai, Executive Director of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) |
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