An Israeli woman explains why this war has been a humanitarian disaster for the Israeli people, yet at the same time argues that surrendering to Hamas is a non-starter. She supports an invasion of Gaza City to bring the war to an abrupt end.
By Rachel Avraham
Like most Israelis, I am tired of this war. I am tired of being forced to run to a bomb shelter at all hours of the day due to incoming Houthi missile attacks. I am tired of having my work, my studies, my sleep, and my meals interrupted thanks to the Houthis. Aside from that, the Houthis have caused the port of Eilat to shut down and dramatically reduced the number of tourists visiting the Holy Land, which has adversely affected the Israeli economy. This affects many people’s livelihood. So many tour agents and others who were once part of Israel’s thriving tourism industry are now out of work thanks to the war.
However, not only people who work in Israel’s tourism sector have been adversely affected by the war. The fact that I can only fly El Al abroad for any other flight can be at the last minute canceled due to incoming Houthi missiles is a major burden for me, as El Al tickets are generally more expensive than other airline tickets. Due to the Houthi threat, I paid 800 USD just to go to Germany for Sukkot. In the past, that was almost a ticket to the United States, but now that budget just gets me to Germany. The drastic rise in prices due to the Houthi threat has effectively cut me off from my family in the United States, leaving me alone in Israel with just my children, cut off from my parents, brother, and the rest of my family. And I am not alone. Many Israelis are opting just not to travel because of the Houthi threat.
Going abroad as an Israeli these days is not an easy thing to do. I am tired of the fact that whenever Israelis travel abroad, they are systematically harassed for the crime of speaking Hebrew. My children, age 7, age 8, and age 10, recently did a trip with their grandparents to Greece. Instead of having the time of their life, they were harassed by anti-Israel protesters, who greeted their cruise boat upon arrival on Greek shores with hateful chants that small elementary school children should not be exposed to.
This war is causing the people of Israel to suffer immensely. 1,200 Israelis were brutally massacred, raped, mutilated and burned to death on October 7th and 251 others were abducted to Gaza. 50 Israelis remain in Gaza, of whom only 20 are believed to be still alive. Every single day, the hostages that remain in Gaza are being starved and exposed to other inhumane forms of torture. These figures do not even include the 30,000 Israelis in Southern Israel who lost their homes on October 7th and the over 80,000 Israelis who lost their homes in Northern Israel following October 7th. Almost 100,000 acres of land in Northern Israel was burned, thus completely destroying what was once a thriving agricultural community along the Lebanese border. For the Israeli people, this war has been a humanitarian disaster.
The nation of Israel needs time to heal and recover from such a trauma, but is not granted that at this time, for the war is not over yet. Every day, there are soldiers dying in Gaza. Each one of these soldiers has friends and family, who are grieving over their loss. Many of the present soldiers serving in Gaza have wives who are struggling alone to raise children in their husbands absence. For these people, every day their loved ones remain in Gaza feels like eternity. Because of these reasons, the war cannot go on forever. However, surrendering to the whims of a murderous terror organization responsible for massacring, raping, torturing and mutilating Israeli men, women and children for the crime of being Jewish is also not an option. For that reason, the State of Israel simply must enter Gaza City and finish this war once and for all, even if such moves are opposed internationally. It is the only way to decisively defeat Hamas and to bring this war to an end once and for all.
Photo from Lizzy Shaanan Pikiwiki Israel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war_protests#/media/File:134483_begin_road_-_demonstration_for_the_hostages_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg
