The Israeli government misses every opportunity, but on Tuesday night the IDF spokesperson provided us with another justification for applying pressure in an unjust war. For months now, Hamas has been in no hurry to go anywhere; Yahya Sianwar is sitting with his hookah in peace and slowly stirring the pot. Until now, we were told that it is impossible to suddenly stop humanitarian aid from going into Gaza. Are the blood stains of our brothers on the tunnel walls not red enough for you?
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IDF Spokesperson in the tunnel where hostages were executed
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In a normal world, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari's video would reach us accompanied by the prime minister's response video. After all, Netanyahu has visited the Gaza Strip more than once since the beginning of the war. If there was someone here who thinks about advocacy, about diplomacy, about our existential need to use the blows we take and turn them into useful tools, Netanyahu himself would appear in this tunnel. This is an event that would have been worth mobilizing an entire IDF division to clean the area ahead of time.
In the proposed video, the prime minister would appear to be shocked by the moldy and crowded tunnel. Immediately afterward he would announce: Yahya Sinwar, forget it. From now on you can forget about the distribution of thousands of tons of fresh food that you receive directly from us every day.
Footage from the tunnel
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In an absurd reality that has never been seen in human history, Israel on one hand fights against an enemy that does not hesitate to murder and kidnap babies but at the same time has been providing essential supplies of food, medicine and fuel for the past year. What price does Sinwar pay in this situation? He is sitting in the tunnel, the air conditioning is running because there is no shortage of fuel or fresh food, with fruits and vegetables in abundance.
Israel fights against an enemy that does not hesitate to murder and kidnap babies but at the same time provides essential supplies of food, medicine and fuel
Why hurry? The Gazan public, the one that rejoiced at the sight of the terrorists and looters returning to the Gaza Strip on the day of the invasion with blood on their hands and loot on their backs, also eats well. Can anyone be surprised that there is no pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal? Should we be surprised that Hamas is setting the tone for all the different proposals? How does it not drive people crazy that nothing pressures Sinwar? It is unimaginable that Israel, which is four times Gaza's population, a thousand times stronger in military capabilities and technology, cannot break Hamas.
Not anymore
After this intolerable situation in which we feed our enemies with our own hands, it turns out that they are starving our hostages who are with them in the tunnels? Not anymore. Regretfully, the whole world will know that we cannot bring more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, except for a few trucks of flour and water.
If our government knew how to work, if it really wanted to win, the least relevant language for the video is Hebrew. If we had a functioning government, that knows how to do diplomacy, engage in international outreach, and manage to shift this war in our favor, by this evening the whole world would have gotten the video in English, Russian, Arabic, French, Chinese and Spanish explaining to them that what was will no longer be.
Amihai AttaliPhoto: Matan TzuriThe members of the Israeli government used this expression until it was no longer usable. And yet, after the Gazans kidnapped, murdered, raped and butchered more than a thousand of our people, they continued to fight us for 11 months while receiving unlimited humanitarian aid from us, and now we find out how they keep our hostages. After all this, how could we let this continue. If this government is unable to turn the war around, there is no reason for it to continue to exist.