In a shocking and brutal attack on Israeli soil, Hamas terrorists uploaded videos to social media showcasing their horrific actions.
The videos depicted dead bodies of civilians, elderly individuals being forcibly taken away, and women and children being loaded into vehicles while fighters screamed "God is great" at their captives. These disturbing images bear a striking resemblance to the videos shared by ISIS, the extremist Islamist group that sought to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
Seth Frantzman, a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and an analyst on Middle East affairs, expressed his shock at the videos, stating, "Hamas has engaged in 30 years of grotesque terrorism and is a vicious brutal terrorist organization."
Frantzman drew parallels between Hamas' actions and those of ISIS, particularly in their deliberate targeting of young women. He described the videos showing men stripping women's bodies, spitting on them, and stomping on them as "grotesque and horrid behavior that is a clear crime against humanity."
Reports from Israel's first aid agency, Magen David Adom, and Israeli news agencies indicated that the multi-pronged attack resulted in the deaths of as many as 600 people, including both civilians and soldiers. Hamas terrorists breached Israel's border defenses and infiltrated Israeli communities and towns.
Over 4,000 rockets have been fired into Israeli territory from Gaza, leading to the evacuation of thousands of Israeli civilians from the surrounding areas. Many Israelis remain missing, with their loved ones sharing stories of fruitless searches and suspicions that they are being held captive in Gaza.
Frantzman highlighted the similarities between Hamas' attack and ISIS' actions in Iraq, where women and children were targeted for kidnapping, sexual assault, and slavery. He noted that this raid not only borrowed from ISIS' playbook but also reflected a broader trend of extremism in the region, where the goal is to conquer and massacre minorities or groups of different faiths.
Amir Avivi, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), emphasized that Hamas and ISIS share the same ideology, stating, "They are no different, Hamas and ISIS, they are exactly the same." Lisa Daftari, editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, noted that Hamas' adoption of ISIS' style of using technology to spread gruesome videos is not surprising. Terror groups have increasingly utilized technology for marketing, recruitment, and promoting lone-wolf style attacks.
Daftari also pointed out that the recent attack was not solely the work of Hamas but a highly sophisticated plot orchestrated by Iran's regime, utilizing multiple proxies to carry out a coordinated attack by land, air, and sea. The goal of these tactics and weaponry is to shock, terrorize, and murder Israelis in order to achieve the highest death toll and ultimately wipe Israel off the map.
Frantzman added that Hamas' actions during the attack are part of a larger pattern of behavior among extremist groups in the region that sexualize women from minority groups. He described this trend as a chauvinist anti-women ideology present not only in the Muslim Brotherhood but also in the wider right-wing extremist religious theocratic cult. Frantzman concluded that this attack is a stark manifestation of this disturbing trend.
The attack carried out by Hamas on October 7th was not only unprecedented in terms of its level of mass killing but also in its targeting of young women and children. The videos shared by Hamas on social media, reminiscent of those posted by ISIS, have shocked the world with their brutality.
As the investigation into this heinous act continues, it is clear that Hamas and ISIS share a common ideology and that this attack is part of a broader trend of extremism in the region. The international community must condemn these actions and work together to combat terrorism in all its forms.
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