Israeli PM’s Office on Hamas: ‘It’s ISIS on Steroids, It Has a State Behind It: Iran’
Babies beheaded, confirmed
According to a press briefing with the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the fifth day of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, among them 165 soldiers, and 2,700 have been wounded. It was reported by US officials that 14 Americans had been killed; and 17 Britons were dead or missing, according to British authorities. Among the missing or murdered are people of other nationalities, as well.
Referring to the events of Saturday, Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Tal Heinrich said that one cannot witness Hamas’ actions without comparing them to ISIS. “We regard Gaza as a huge terror base. This is what Hamas has turned it into,” she said, adding that Hamas’ rule in Gaza has become the new caliphate.
“This is ISIS on steroids,” she stressed, adding that this is because it is backed by a state, Iran, which sponsors over 93% of Hamas’ budget. Heinrich confirmed, without elaborating further, that the Israeli government has new indications about Iran’s involvement in the attack.
In the name of the Israeli government, she warned Hizbullah in Lebanon and all of Israel’s enemies, including the ones on the West Bank, not to open another front against Israel. “Do not try us because we are alert on every front,” she said.
As the war progresses, Israel’s army is securing the southern border. “We are making sure that the border fence around Gaza is fully protected and under Israeli control, and that is the situation as of now,” Heinrich noted.
In addition, she reports that Israel has launched a counteroffensive against Hamas in Gaza that aims to ensure that “Hamas has zero military capabilities and zero motivation to hurt us as they did in this brutal and gruesome attack, in the next decades. They will pay a heavy price.”
The government is also trying to maintain calm in Israel’s mixed cities, suggesting that the goal is to prevent past flare-ups from happening again.
As the days go by, we continue to hear heart-wrenching stories of bodies of children that were found decapitated or tied up and shot in the head
Heinrich confirmed that children and babies were brutally murdered—in some cases, decapitated—by Hamas terrorists during Saturday’s assault on towns and villages along the Gaza border. “As the days go by, we continue to hear heart-wrenching stories of bodies of children that were found decapitated or tied up and shot in the head,” she said.
Journalists were taken by the Israeli army to the sites to witness the atrocities committed by the over 1,000 Hamas gunmen who invaded these civilian towns.
Stories of the music festival are still being revealed. Heinrich spoke of women who were “murdered twice” as they were raped beside the dead bodies of their friends. “We keep hearing many of these stories,” she said as she spoke about a group of around 35 youngsters who entered a pit to protect themselves; only a third came out alive. “They were trying to survive by covering themselves with the bodies of their friends and also smearing themselves with their blood so that the terrorists that kept passing by wouldn’t notice them and would think that they were dead,” said Heinrich.
On that note, Heinrich thanked the world for the wide international support that Israel has received so far, directing special appreciation to the United States and its president. “Biden said what every Israeli wanted to hear,” she remarked.
Heinrich also quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction to President Biden’s speech of Tuesday. “The speech was very important, fantastic,” Netanyahu reportedly said.
A delegation of senators and congressmen arrived Tuesday in Tel Aviv to show support as well. Among the legislators in the bipartisan delegation were Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Representative Donald Norcross of New Jersey, and Representative Jimmy Panetta from California.
“They issued a very supportive statement for the State of Israel and it will soon be released,” Heinrich noted.
Heinrich urged the world to not forget what happened and keep supporting Israel when it defends itself. “We hope to receive as much international support when we come out of this victorious.”
Lastly, Heinrich illustrated how the Israeli people have created a united front to overcome this difficult situation. She mentioned the large amount of civilian volunteerism in every corner of Israel, and how thousands are gathering food and needed items for the country’s soldiers and residents of the south.
She spoke about the role that the ultra-Orthodox community plays in making sure that all the body parts of those who were killed are gathered and buried, and about the volunteering of Arab Israelis, as well. “The civilian spirit is something [special, something] of bravery,” said Heinrich.
Jewish Diaspora individuals and institutions, as well as evangelical and other Christian organizations, have also sent significant aid to Israel from all around the world.
