Take bull by horns

Hamas embeds itself deeply in civilian infrastructure, sinking millions of dollars and massive resources into underground networks rather than investing it in the people of Gaza.

Israel has vowed to erase the Hamas terror brand from the face of the earth with its current ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, and it is making massive headway despite heavy losses in soldiers’ lives.

The Israeli Air Force reportedly successfully eliminated Ibrahim Bihari, a senior Hamas commander in Jabaliya, together with dozens of his cohorts.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the killing of Bihari was a significant breakthrough. IDF had classified Bihari as a career terrorist.

His involvement in terrorism dates back to the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s.

He planned the terror attack on the Port of Ashdod, which killed 10 Israeli civilians and wounded over a dozen others.

Bihari was actively involved in killing Israelis ever since, according to the IDF.

He became commander of Hamas’ Central Jabaliya Battalion and played a vital role in the 7 October massacre, deploying Hamas’ “Nukbha” terrorists, the elite commando unit that led the murderous rampage.

The heavily armed horde swooped down from the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli communities to butcher men, women, and children.

When Israel declared war against Hamas, Bihari oversaw the battle efforts of the terror group in northern Gaza.

In short, IDF said Bihari was not “just another terrorist.”

On 31 October, Israeli intelligence and the Israeli Security Agency, the Shabak, confirmed that Bihari was hiding with dozens of other operatives in a Hamas building in Jabaliya.

The Israeli Air Force then launched an operation that successfully targeted them.

The IDF said the elimination of Bihari was a significant part of its efforts to dismantle Hamas and ensure that the massacre of 7 October will not be repeated.

IDF said the successful operation against Bihari highlighted the importance of air strikes in the campaign against Hamas.

Hamas embeds itself deeply in civilian infrastructure, sinking millions of dollars and massive resources into underground networks rather than investing it in the people of Gaza.

Development funds meant for improving Palestinians’ lives are spent on building air-conditioned bunkers and on provisions for Hamas’ long-term existence.

According to IDF, Hamas exploited the people of Gaza, tunneling under their cities for its defense.

Hamas prevented civilians from heeding calls to evacuate to southern Gaza to get out of the line of fire while seeking to amplify casualty numbers to incite international condemnation.

The fact remains, however, that the horrific war crimes of Hamas left over 1,400 civilians dead and some 240 in captivity after its tragic assault.

After killing individuals of diverse nationalities, Hamas then uses Palestinian residents of Gaza as shields to elude reprisal.

Hamas is far from surrendering, as one of its leaders, Ghazi Hamad of the terror group’s politburo, hailed the 7 October assault in which civilians were systematically murdered, saying, “There will be a second, a third, a fourth assault until Israel is exterminated.”

“Israel is a country that has no place on our land,” Hamad said in an interview on Lebanese TV channel LBC. “We must remove it because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nations. We are not ashamed to say this.”

In the interview, Hamad said Israel’s existence must be wiped off all “Palestinian lands,” a term the terror group uses to mean the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel, minus the Golan Heights.

When asked if this meant the destruction of Israel, Hamas replied: “Yes, of course.”

Israel and the world face the prospect of the recurring evil of the barbaric horde that should not be allowed despite the heavy price to be paid.

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Credit belongs to: tribune.net.ph