Six months ago, the world for Israelis, Jews, and many more changed forever. On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdered almost 1,200 Israelis, and kidnapped more than 250 others. This weekend, the memorial of that brutal day was marked—to the minute. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in advance comments published by Israel on Saturday, said, “Tomorrow at 6:29am, we mark six months since the cruel terror attack and the horrific massacre. Half a year since this crime against our sisters and brothers, against our state, this crime against humanity. Six months of a bloody and difficult war.”
Herzog listed off a litany of horrors and challenges that began on October 7: the ongoing hostage crisis, which plagues loved ones who long for the hostages’ return; the many Israeli civilians who still cannot return to their homes in the north and south of Israel due to the conflict; and the ongoing fight being waged by the IDF “in every arena, on every front, with all their might—to bring back the hostages and to fight terrorism.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his comments on the 6-month-mark published by Israel on Sunday, evoked Holocaust-language when describing the “murderous attack”. Said Netanyahu, “We will never forget the horrific crimes of the Hamas monsters, who still hold hostage 133 of our brothers and sisters. As of today, we have returned 124 hostages and we are committed to returning them all home.”
The Israeli leader further highlighted the array of Iranian-backed enemies that have attacked Israel in the last half-year: Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi group in Yemen, militias in Iraq and Syria, and more.
Netanyahu also recapped the achievements of Israel’s defensive war launched in response to the Hamas assault. These include eliminating 19 of Hamas’s 24 battalions and killing, wounding or capturing a “large number of Hamas terrorists” including senior commanders. Israel has also “destroyed factories for producing rockets, command centers, and stores of weapons and ammunition, and we are continuing to systematically destroy underground installations.” Nonetheless, the Israeli leader also noted that “the price that we have had to pay has been painful and high,” as more than 250 Israeli soldiers have died since the Gaza campaign began.
The six-month mark was also marked by others outside of Israel. In a post to X (formerly Twitter), the German Foreign Ministry wrote on Sunday: “Six months ago today was a dark day. Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. They abused, raped and murdered innocent children, women & men with unimaginably brutal violence—out of hatred against Jews & out of hatred against all people living in #Israel.”
The series of posts highlighted the hostages that remain in Hamas captivity and ended by stating: “Hamas has brought war and endless suffering upon Israelis and Palestinians with its terror. It must end this suffering, release the hostages immediately and lay down its weapons.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz thanked German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for her own relaying of the comments in German on her X page. In a post to X, Katz expressed appreciation for her “unconditional support of Israel’s just cause,” adding, “This is how friends act.”
Not all of Israel’s friends were so unconditional in their support. United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in his comments published to the British government’s website on Saturday, called the “terrorist outrage” of October 7 “the most appalling attack in Israel’s history, the worst loss of Jewish life since the Second World War.”
However, while Sunak said they “continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas,” he also pivoted to say “the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed” in the Gaza war before saying the “terrible conflict must end.” He called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire “leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire.” It was unclear on what conditions such a ceasefire would established. Israel continues to insist the war will not end until Hamas is defeated and October 7 can never be repeated.
Meanwhile, the highest levels of the Administration of United States President Joe Biden were conspicuously silent on the half-anniversary of the Hamas terror massacre. No statements were published or posted to the office websites or the X feeds for President Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or their offices commemorating the six-month mark. US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew did post to X a video calling for the release of the hostages, but otherwise only marked the attack that started the conflict by noting that “the brutality of October 7th lives with us every day.” The limited public comments come as President Biden faces political pressure in the US from supporters who are ardently opposed to Israel’s war against Hamas.
The horrors of October 7 remain staggering as Israel fights its longest war in decades. Elad Strohmayer, Director of the Congressional Affairs Department in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), wrote in a post to X: “It’s 6:29am in Israel. Today we commemorate 6 months to the deadliest terror attack on Israel in history. 6 months to the deadliest slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust. 6 months since Hamas declared war on Israel. Almost 1200 were murdered that day, and hundreds more the months after. More than 250 men women and children were taken hostage in Gaza, 133 are still there.
“6 months later I’m still with pain, I’m still with anger. 6 months later I’m still waiting to the release of all hostages and I’m enraged the world is forgetting that Hamas started it all. There’s no moral equivalence. 6 months to the October 7 attack. I remember. We should all remember.”
In the midst of the pain, anger, and somber remembrance, Herzog ended his comments with the hopeful Hebrew phrase that the “People of Israel Live!”. Said the Israeli President, “Half a year has passed, and it is difficult to know what challenges still lie ahead of us. But despite the long and difficult journey, I look at you, citizens of Israel, and I know—we will rise again, we will heal and build, we will plant, we will reap with joy what we sowed in tears, and we will prove to the whole world: Am Yisrael Chai!”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, April 7, 2024)