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I knew there was a storm in Israel, but I never expected to arrive in the midst of one.
Just as my plane landed, a sky to ground lightening bolt flashed about a mile away and the clouds let loose with pouring rain.
Surprisingly, my flight was filled. So, based on my prior experience, I made a dash for customs. There was no need. I was third in line and the room barely filled.
The Hertz counter operated as normal, but again, no crowd. so soon I was on my way to Tel Aviv—the only fly in the ointment being those thunderclaps. I knew they were not rockets, or at least I thought not, because my Tzofar Alert app was silent. My hotel too, usually bustling with tourists, was quiet except for the children of Kiryat Shmona families who had been evacuated to where I am staying. Tired, I went to sleep, untroubled except for those thunderclaps that continued most of the night.
After breakfast the next day, I went for a walk, and then later I walked to a meeting with my first interviewee. It was then I began to sense something different. Where normally the streets would be crowded, they were calm. Where normally the beach walk would be bustling, it was calm. And the mix of people was different. There were some children, old men, women—but very few young men. They had gone off to fight a war. Today was a busier day, two more interviews (I’ll address what I learned in future newsletters), more quiet walks.
And then came the 49th hour. I will not forget it.
Through contacts, I had arranged to see the forty-five-minute video of the horrors of October 7 produced by the IDF. It is composed of raw footage recovered from:
Hamas terrorist GoPro videos.
Videos placed by Hamas on Telegram (taken down a few days later because Hamas realized it was not good PR).
CCTV footage (cameras used for surveillance in schools, at gates, door security, etc.).
Mobile phones of terrorists and victims.
Dashboard cameras.
Israel has recovered hundreds of hours of video and more surfaces every day. The version of the film I saw was #17 because it is continually updated as better footage to tell the story of that day becomes known.
The original purpose of the film was to provide objective documentation to the foreign press corps. Since then, many high-level diplomats and politicians have seen it as have certain influencers and experts. Nevertheless, access is controlled. At first, people could only see it in Israel, mostly at the IDF’s Spokesperson’s office where I saw it along with several high-level terrorism experts form the United States. There, we had to turn in our phones and recording devices. However, recently, the IDF has allowed IDF military attaches to show it abroad with one-time links. I agree with how it is being disseminated. It is too graphic, too personal, too potentially emotionally damaging, too everything to allow it to be seen by anybody for any purpose.
The film itself contains no voiceover descriptions. Sometime there are sparse captions to indicate location or to translate what the killers are saying or the terrified words of the victims.
And it makes one thing abundantly clear. This wholesale murder, rape, and pillage was planned. The gore and savagery were too widespread for it not to be and the Hamas commanders in charge on the ground or by radio often encouraged beastly conduct or received updated reports of it.
That morning, 3,000 animals crossed the border. Some were clearly well-trained and methodical, capable of calmly going about the business of death to Jews. Others were younger, less disciplined, more exuberant. And then some, the IDF estimates a third of them, were just unaffiliated Gazans, so-called non-combatants, coming after Hamas’ minions breeched the Gaza security wall, to loot with guns and gain their share of the blood and booty. These murderers were giddy with glee, ecstatic with their success, and energized by their hunt for Jews. They were hunting. Always hunting. Lusting for more to massacre. More to degrade. More to kidnap. Of them, 1,000 were eventually killed by the IDF, but 2,000 made it back to Gaza where they were lustily cheered by massive crowds of again, so-called noncombatants. I saw the film. These were exuberant crowds cheering their heroes return.
I’m about to give you some idea of what I saw—not everything—but enough. I encourage you to read it, not skip it, because we all need to know what Israel faces on its Gaza border if Hamas survives and still faces on its northern border with Hezbollah whose plan Hamas took for its own.
I saw:
Bodies badly burned, some with their skulls misshapen and some with flesh flaking away or ingrained into the ground.
Two boys, one of which their father carried into a safe room, followed by a terrorist who killed their dad and forced the boys out leaving them to cry and wonder if they were going to survive while the killer raided the refrigerator in front of them for a drink.
An extended audio segment contained a Hamas murderer proudly bragging first to his father, and then asking for his mother, so he could relay that he was a hero because he had killed ten Jews with his bare hands.
There were innumerable scenes of Jewish kids trying to escape and being mowed down.
Other scenes with tens of bodies with their lives snuffed out—likely due to anti-tank rounds.
I watched them burn homes with people inside.
I watched them shoot into safe rooms.
I watched them shoot into a row of temporary toilets to kill anyone inside—and saw one couple cowering inside one and then just blood.
There was a literal highway of death with scores of cars riddled with bullets and burned. Some with occupants still inside, some with their bodies dragged into the streets, bloodied and misshapen by the carnage.
Some cars tried to drive through the storm, but failed, the driver killed, the car crashing into other vehicles.
One person, hopefully dead, caught the eye of one of the terrorists brandishing a long, sharp knife. With effort he sawed that person’s head off and dragged it away.
Another girl, clearly dead, caught the attention of family members looking for their daughter. The lower half of her clothing was gone, her face swollen, her arms stiff--but they had no choice as they resolutely tried to determine if she was their loved one. “Look for tattoos,” one of them said. Fortunately, she was not their child. But she was someone else’s. And their search for closure continued.
In other locations, the madmen just hunted their prey—when they saw signs of life they fired—sometimes admonished to shoot the heads of their victims with one shot to save ammunition.
Even dogs were targets. One dog trotting without a care in the world took a gunshot in the shoulder and almost seemed surprised. The next one put her down—permanently.
Those that made it through the initial onslaught were dragged away to captivity—some thrown like cordwood into the back of pickup trucks. Another sat on, partially naked, and spit on in Gaza. Others pulled by the hair and at least one ripped from the pile of bodies piled around him because he was still alive.
None of this bestiality was an accident. It was pre-planned slaughter and used by Hamas to sow terror, just like ISIS did.
The film documented the death of 139 by either showing their bodies are showing their murder. It does not document the deaths of the other 1061 that died that day—many in far more gruesome ways than I saw.
Before the 49th hour, I thought I knew all I needed to know as to why it is so important to win this fight for Israel’s security. But living in America, as painful as that day was, it is more an intellectual pain. That’s not the case for Israelis. They feel the pain through the loss of their loved ones, friends, and sense of security because their homes were violated and their children massacred. It has left them realizing that there is no perfect defense and that they must ensure that nobody can do this to them again. Having seen this video, I get it from a visceral level. When the lights turned back on, I was shocked, saddened, and angered but also resolute. I understand even more so why it is so desperately crucial that this current fight ends in victory not diplomatic half-measures that will be the breeding ground for another October 7. I understood when I walked the streets of Tel Aviv afterwards that each person that died October 7 had a vibrant life story snuffed out. Just like the ongoing stories of people I saw on the sidewalks tonight. That it was just chance that ensnared the 1,200. That it is just chance that it was not me—or you—even though we live in America.
Now I understand a little bit better what it is like to be hunted because you are a Jew. I understand a little more what it must feel like to be surrounded by hate. And, I understand that we cannot duck our heads and hope that type of hatred goes away, but that we must support those that fight it and stand up to it ourselves. Resolutely and always.
I hope you understand too.
Alma Weekly update: Israel at war – December 13th, 2023, 8:00 PM Israel time
10 IDF Soldiers, Including Battalion Commanders, Killed in Gaza Battle—By Yonah Jeremy Bob for the Jerusalem Post—December 13, 2023—See the written account and video contained within the article.
America Must Plan for Israel’s Likely 2024 War with Hezbollah—Written by Eric Mandel for The Hill—December 13, 2023
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As Fighting Grinds on in Gaza, Some Israelis in the North Want a War with Hezbollah — Brian Mann for NPR —December 13, 2023
Bias and Betrayal: The extensive rot at the heart of Human Rights Watch—Written by Gerald M. Steinberg for Quillette—December 6, 2023
Seawater Flooding of Hamas Terror Tunnels Begun by IDF, U.S. Officials Say—Flash Brief for the Federated Defense of Democracies
Israel’s F-35I Combat Experience Is Providing Lessons For Future Pacific Fight—Written by Howard Altman and Tyler Rogoway for the War Zone—December 13, 2023
My Little League Team has Gone to War—Jack Levy for the Times of Israel Blogs
Israel’s Struggle with Hezbollah—A War Without End is now available in eBook and hardback format on Amazon and IngramSpark. This compelling narrative explores Hezbollah’s origins and cancerous growth, traces Israel’s response, and reveals Israel’s present readiness to meet Hezbollah’s challenge.
Cliff Sobin
Important Link—Alma Research and Education Center: Understanding the Security Challenges on Israel’s Northern Border