Operation: Saxon Needles; Week 4, Day 6.

To be read as a direct continuation of; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2023/11/operation-saxon-needles-week-4-day-5.html

Not only didn't the Muslim world leap to Hamas' aid and recreate the 1973 War. Hamas wasn't even able to hold the territory it had seized for very long.

That Saturday (7/10/23) was a day of epic battles, fire-fights and tales of derring-do. Not only am I sure that medals will be awarded and battalion legend was written. They might even make a few movies about it.

Take for example The Battle of Sufa Base. Immediately as the Hamas attack began an all female squad from the Caracal (Desert Lynx) Battalion raced from Battalion HQ to the base in armoured vehicles, under artillery fire. 

Arriving at the base they found it had been overrun by Hamas. The IDF soldiers on the base who were still alive had been taken hostage and were being held in the central dining hall by Hamas fighters armed with anti-tank missiles.

Rather than losing their heads and rushing in to storm the base, likely getting everyone killed. They established a perimeter around the base and waited for reinforcements to arrive. While they were waiting Hamas sent for its own reinforcements. For the next four hours that squad of 12 held off wave-after-wave of Hamas attacks. Earning 100 confirmed kills between them, how success is determined in battle.

Eventually reinforcements in the form of Shayetet 13 - "The Unit," the actual unit -arrived to relieve them. After 14 hours the remaining Hamas fighters were killed, the hostages were released and the base was secured.

Then there was The Battle of Kibbutz Be'eri, scene of one of the worst massacres of the day. Within two hours a 20 strong unit of IDF Special Operations Forces (SOF's) arrived and started doing battle with hundreds of Hamas fighters. After 8 hours further IDF reinforcements arrived and cleared the Kibbutz of Hamas fighters.

They cleared the Kibbutz everywhere except for the main dining hall. Where Hamas had gathered 50 civilian hostages. The IDF responded to this in the same way that any civilian police S.W.A.T team would respond to a barricaded person/hostage call. 

They surrounded the building and waited until the terrorists realised that they didn't have any choices. Their only options were the ones the IDF were prepared to give them. 18 hours after the start of the attack the terrorists surrendered and the hostages were freed.

Those are clearly not the actions of a military which is traumatised, panicking and generally losing its sh*t.

The Battle of Kibbutz Sufa itself was the longest engagement of the attack. Lasting until the early hours of Tuesday (10/10/23) when Hamas' offensive was brought to an end and all of Israeli territory was liberated. Although the IDF did have to spend the next week or so responding to Hamas stragglers who'd be left behind the line.

Unfortunately Hamas seemed to understand that its primary aspiration was unlikely to be realised. So in launching the attack Hamas also planned to take a large number of hostages. Each one representing an ongoing Crime Against Humanity. Contrary to Article 7.1(e),(i),(k) of the Rome Statute of 1997.

The current total of hostages stands at 242. However the Israelis are still recovering bodies from places like Kibbutz Be'eri. So the final total could be as high as 294. Or 882 Crimes Against Humanity currently being committed by Hamas.

It is this taking of hostages which further underlined to me. That Hamas' actions have absolutely nothing to do with the Israel-Palestine Conflict.

To those familiar with the Israel-Palestine Conflict there is an absolutely legendary Israeli Human Rights organisation called; "B'Tselem." Its name being taken from the Biblical Book of Genesis. That all of mankind is created in the image of God (b'tselem elohim).

B'Tselem was established in 1989 with the stated goals of; Documenting Israeli Human Rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. Combating the denial of the existence of those Human Rights violations. Whilst fostering a Human Rights culture within Israeli society.

B'Tselem is really hated to the Israeli right and the Settler community. In 2011 then Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu demanded a parliamentary investigation of B'Tselem. Declaring;

"They are clearly not concerned with human rights. They spread lies, they slander and incite against the State of Israel and Israeli soldiers.[...] They are abetting terrorism and their only objective is to undermine Israel."

In 2014 B'Tselem's Executive Director, Hagai El-Ad addressed the UN Security Council (UNSC). He demanded that the UN take action to stop illegal Israeli settlements on the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. As they were compromising any hope of a Two-State Solution and peace between Israel and Palestine.

The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu responded by banning Israelis from doing their National Service with B'Tselem. National Service being the civilian alternative of Israel's Compulsory Military Service.

One of the current Directors of B'Tselem is Vivian Silver. She was taken hostage by Hamas amid the horror of Kibbutz Be'eri. Or we hope she was. No-one's heard from her since and we've yet to find her body.

On October 23rd (23/10/23) Hamas released two of its hostages. One of whom, Yocheved Lifshitz, is a lifelong peace activist who has spent the last decade volunteering to drive sick Palestinians from Gaza for Cancer treatment in Israel.

I can see no crime that either of these women have committed against the Palestinian people, either individually or collectively. They are simply Jews.

Again. This is the desperate last roll of the dice by an organisation for whom it hasn't been their day, their week, their month or even their year. So I don't doubt there were all sorts of wild aspirations buzzing around inside their heads.

However Hamas' initial aspiration in taking hostages seemed to be that while the Muslim world wasn't prepared to rush to their aid on the battlefield. It would still be prepared to rush to Hamas' aid in the diplomatic arena. Hamas' parent organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood, has certainly invested heavily in the US Biden Regime.

So the hope was that when the UN Security Council (UNSC) inevitably met on the issue, as it did on the Sunday (8/10/23). The UNSC would impose an immediate ceasefire on Israel to protect Hamas. That would then allow Hamas to force Israel to release all of the Hamas combatants held in Israeli prisons in exchange for some of the civilian hostages Hamas seized.

Failing that Hamas were hoping that it could use the charade of negotiations over the hostages to delay and disrupt Israel's counter-offensive. To that end foreign and dual-national hostages are particularly valuable. As they can be leveraged to get their governments to exert pressure on Israel on Hamas' behalf.

Hamas were, understandably, very concerned with delaying the ground element of Israel's counter-offensive.

On Sunday (29/10/23) Hollywood movie star Angelina Jolie took to Social Media. To demand that Israel ceases its bombing of Hamas. I called her out on this. Asking what her plan was to end Hamas' ongoing Crimes Against Humanity without using bombing?

That wasn't a cheap shot. In the past I have called in airstrikes. I have done actual Carpet Bombing. I have also seen what airstrikes I have called in have done to civilians. Iraq and Syria are full of buildings that I've helped destroy.

So if Angelina Jolie, or anyone else, has a plan of how to end Hamas' ongoing Crimes Against Humanity without me having to do that again. Then I genuinely, desperately want to hear it.

Likewise I have sent troops into ground combat. Knowing that not all of them will come back. Reassured only by the knowledge that they've chosen to go out there knowing that not all of them will be coming back. Some of them will, inevitably, be killed.

It is certainly not something that I want to have to do again. However I know there is no way of bringing Hamas' ongoing Crimes Against Humanity to end without doing it. If Angelina Jolie or anyone else knows better. Then I really want to hear from them.

The only alternative I can think of is that rather than calling on Israel to ceasefire. They instead use their time calling on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally surrender. As Hamas is obligated to do under actual Customary International Humanitarian Law.

Ideally Hamas still wants the protection of ceasefire imposed on Israel. Failing that it definitely wants stop Israel from launching the ground element of its counter-offensive. Failing that it wants to delay the ground element of Israel's counter-offensive for as long as possible. In order to secure the protection of a ceasefire.

As I've said airstrikes are an essential and valuable part of any military counter-offensive. However there is only so much you can achieve without those famous; "boots-on-the-ground." Eventually you just run out of things to bomb. At which point it not only starts looking cruel, it actually becomes cruel.

It is fair to assume that a key part of Hamas' strategy is; "Atrocity Propaganda." It has been a core part its strategy since the group was formed in 1987. This is something I term; "The Martyr Mentality." It was best summed up by a Palestinian negotiator during the Second Intifada; "Our Suffering Is Our Victory!".

The idea is that the more suffering Palestinian militants like Hamas can inflict on the Palestinian people. Then the more footage they'll have of suffering Palestinians. Which will motivate people in Western Democracies to come out in protest in favour of groups like Hamas. Pressuring their governments to put pressure on Israel on behalf of groups like Hamas.

This strategy hasn't worked for the Palestinian people for the last 75 years. I really don't know why they still think it's going to work for them now.

Already this war has given us a clear example of how Hamas' Atrocity Propaganda is supposed to work. The events at Al-Ahli Hospital on October 10th (10/10/23).

Firstly. Israel warned staff at the hospital that was in a combat zone and should be evacuated. The staff refused. Deciding that the suffering of their patients would be their victory.

On October 10th (10/10/23) and explosive projectile struck the hospital. Palestinian authorities immediately declared that it was an Israeli airstrike and over 800 civilians had been killed.

It was then made clear to the Palestinian authorities that we could prove that it was a Palestinian rocket, not an Israeli airstrike. The deathtoll immediately fell to below 500. In reality it was closer to 15.

It really shows the difficult position that Israel is in. That everyone has looked at the evidence and agreed that it conclusive proved that it was a Palestinian rocket and the Palestinians simply lied about the deathtoll. Yet that hasn't stopped Hamas' supporters from continuing to tell the lie of an Israeli airstrike on the hospital.

Likewise it seems to be being repeated as fact by Hamas supporters, particularly western leftists, that Israel is; "Carpet Bombing Gaza!" Take it from someone who has actually done carpet bombing. Israel really isn't carpet bombing Gaza.

For a start Israel doesn't even have the aircraft you need to do carpet bombing. Although they've got a few F-35 Lightning's Israel's main ground attack aircraft is the F-15 Eagle. To do carpet bombing you need a strategic bomber like a B-52. Israel simply doesn't have B-52's or any equivalent aircraft.

Carpet Bombing is just as it sounds. You are trying to cover the ground with bombs, as if they were a carpet. In carpet bombing you don't even count the number of individual bombs you're dropping. Instead you count the "sticks" of bombs you are dropping. A single stick is typically 24 230kg bombs. An aircraft like the F-15 Eagle can only carry a maximum of 4 230kg bombs.

If Israel had been carpet bombing the Gaza Strip for nearly five weeks. Then the Gaza Strip simply wouldn't be there anymore.

It is similarly being claimed as fact that; "Israel is Committing War Crimes in Gaza!"

A; "War Crime" is an act which contravenes a specific; "Law of War." So anyone claiming that war crimes are being committed anywhere should have absolutely no problem telling you exactly which law of war they think is being broken.

21:11 on 2/11/23 (UK date).