Image 01 Image 03

Gaza Tag

Next time you hear the usual suspects complain about the Israeli military blockade of Gaza, or how Gazans have not been able to rebuild since the 2014 war, keep in mind how many resources the ruling Hamas diverts to missiles, terror, and most of all, attack tunnels. The Hamas tunneling effort diverts huge amounts of concrete, steel, fuel and electricity that could be used for civilian purposes. I discussed in July 2014 how Hamas' tunnel effort demonstrates that it has no interest in building a civil society, One People built tunnels, the other a nation:

On Friday, April 6, 2018, Hamas staged another "protest" under the banner of the Great March of Return. We already have documented how the previous March 30 "protest" was in fact an attempt to infiltrate terrorists into Israel under cover of civilians. Almost all of the people killed on March 30 were military members of Hamas or other terror groups:

Today was the second attempt by Hamas and other terrorist groups to breach the Gaza-Israel border under cover of civilian "protests." When this was tried a week ago, approximately 18 Gazans were killed, almost all of them documented to be military members of terror groups, as we documented in two posts, PHOTOS: Most Palestinians killed at Gaza border clash were terrorists. and 15 terrorists now identified among dead from last Gaza border clash, as Palestinians plan toxic tire fire.

The confrontation at the Gaza-Israel border during the so-called "Great Return March" last Friday reportedly resulted in 18 deaths of Palestinians, at least 11 of whom have been identified as Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other terror military members. When more information becomes known, it is likely to result in all or almost all of the dead being terrorists. See my prior post for details, PHOTOS: Most Palestinians killed at Gaza border clash were terrorists.

According to recent Israeli security assessments, more than a third (420 out of 1,027) of the terrorists released in a November 2011 swap for captive soldier Gilad Schalit have gone back to planning terror attacks. As noted by senior Israeli security officials, some of these freed murderers have taken up leadership roles in Hamas in Gaza, from where they are “working with Iran to execute terrorists attacks and kidnappings.”

One of our Top Ten "Fun" posts for 2017 concerned Muhammad Hemada Walid al-Quqa, the Hamas explosives chief who accidentally blew himself up. It's what's often called a "work accident." There was just another supposed work accident by another senior Hamas terrorist, who shot himself in the head while inspecting his weapon. Or at least it's being claimed it was an accident.

The Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula has been attacking the Egyptian military and is responsible for massacres of civilians. There has been a symbiotic relationship between ISIS and Hamas, which controls the adjoining Gaza strip. Military supplies from Iran and Hezbollah are smuggled through the Sinai into Gaza for Hamas, and Hamas is accused by the Egyptians of helping ISIS. Many of Hamas' best fighters have defected to ISIS, as The Times of Israel reported in February 2017:

The Israeli army blew up an attack tunnel, "stretching from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said in the deadliest incident in the coastal enclave since the 2014 Gaza war," reported the Times of Israel Monday.

Hamas provoked the 2014 Gaza war through relentless rocket launches at Israel. In retaliating, Israel faced a dilemma -- Hamas used the Gaza civilian population as human shields. Hamas also intimidated journalist into trying to cover up this human shield strategy so that the media focused primarily on the civilians killed or injured when Israel attacked rocket launch sites. And it worked. Civilian casualties (which were exaggerated by Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities) created a media and international firestorm meant to limit Israel's ability to defend itself.

Public executions by Hamas in Gaza are quite common. But some are more equal than others, and the public execution today has received quite a bit of attention, in fact more than Hamas wanted. The execution was livestreamed -- apparently against Hamas wishes -- by the Gaza Now News Agency from a window in a building overlooking the execution site. The background is that the three men executed were allegedly involved in the killing of a senior Hamas terror planner in March, as we reported at the time, Senior Hamas Terror Planner Mazen Faqha Assassinated in Gaza:

Mazen Faqha was a Hamas official responsible for organizing a 2002 suicide bombing attack in Israel. Found guilty and given a life sentence for the crime that killed nine people and injured scores more, he was among the over 1000 terrorists—many of them also with blood on their hands and serving life sentences—released in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange to free hostage IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Faqha was deported to Gaza. From there, according to Israeli officials, he became a “key planner” in setting up Hamas terror cells in the West Bank, directing them as they organized and launched deadly terror attacks against Israelis.