We Knew This Would Happen

For nearly two decades, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) has looked at the Israel-Hamas conflict through the lens of Scripture, sounding the alarm about this terrorist organization. If you’re a faithful reader of this magazine, you’ve read our warnings. We knew the current war would happen.

By now, you know that on October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked the Jewish state. It launched 5,000 rockets into southern and central Israel, while Hamas terrorists stormed Israeli towns on the Gaza border. They rapidly overtook Sderot, Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri, and Kibbutz Nirim, butchering infants, children, pregnant women, and others.

By week’s end, more than 1,400 Israelis lay dead, more than 4,500 were wounded, and about 250 were taken hostage. Hamas targeted the most vulnerable, even a Holocaust survivor. Its heinous objective was to ruthlessly murder as many Jews as possible. It was a genocide.

The tragic events were the culmination of years of misinformation spewed by the international community, university faculties, and the news and social media, all of which advanced a narrative of moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas. This propaganda generated a disproportionate level of sympathy for the Arabs, while portraying Israel as the overwhelming force.

For those who say, “Hamas does not represent the majority of the Palestinian people,” we say, “You’re ignoring history.” In the 2006 Palestinian elections, the Arabs elected Hamas to govern both the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas secured 56% of the vote.

Hamas’s victory and popularity divided Gaza from the West Bank (Judea/Samaria) following a civil war between Fatah (the losing party) and Hamas. Hamas got Gaza, and Fatah retained authority over the West Bank.

After Hamas’s victory, Israel My Glory magazine’s “Eye on the Middle East” commentary in the May/June 2006 issue, written by then Editor-in-Chief Elwood McQuaid, predicted the impending peril:

The victory of the terrorist Hamas organization in the recent Palestinian elections imposes the threat of the establishment of an Islamic ministate openly dedicated to committing genocide against its Israeli neighbors. With no visible, decisive counteraction by the international community, these murderers will probably remain in power for years, mentored by Iranian fanatics who make no bones about their determination to achieve nuclear status, rule the region, and ultimately overtake all free nations.

In the March/April 2007 “Eye on the Middle East,” McQuaid astutely wrote, “Hamas members say they exist to annihilate Israel. Believe them. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [then Iran’s president] says he intends to incinerate Israel and its Jews. Believe him.”

Surprisingly, despite Hamas’s overt threats, the UN seemed unperturbed. The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed nearly as many resolutions condemning Israel as the rest of the world combined, all while 25,000 Hamas rockets have rained down on Israel since Hamas rose to power in Gaza. Hamas also has diverted humanitarian aid for the Palestinians in order to build a sophisticated network of tunnels for terrorists to infiltrate Israel and move weapons between Gaza and Israel.

At times, Israel responded to Hamas’s terror by launching military operations, including Operation Hot Winter (2008), Operation Cast Lead (2009), Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), Operation Protective Edge (2014), Operation Guardian of the Walls (2021), and Operation Breaking Dawn (2022).

Yet, it is Israel that usually faces worldwide criticism. Instead of condemning Hamas, the news and social media paint the victim (Israel) as the bad guy and the terrorists (Hamas) as the good guys. As God said through the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isa. 5:20).

At FOI, we offer clarity. For years, we’ve shouted from the rooftops using our loudest megaphone—Israel My Glory. See for yourself. Search “Hamas” at israelmyglory.org, and read the seemingly endless content pointing to a Hamas massacre of innocent Israelis.

Yet even now, many say, “Well, the situation is complicated.” No! It’s quite simple. You either support Hamas and support evil, or you stand with Israel.

We will continue to do our part. We will continue to expose Hamas and its demonic agenda while standing in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. We pray you will too.