On a visit to Israel, I have seen the horror that the world must never forget
By Social Links forDouglas Murray
Published Nov. 9, 2023, 1:45 p.m. ET

It is the nature of the news cycle that huge things get passed over.

But what happened just over a month ago in Israel should not be passed over.

The scale and catastrophe of what happened is still becoming clear.

Yet the world seems to have moved on.

Already the international media are focused not on the atrocities Hamas committed against Israel but on the response of Israel to the terrorists of Hamas.

Every day the New York Times and other papers give their views on how Israel should bring the war to a draw.

And every day there are protests across the world made up of people who are either evil or ignorant.

That some of the anti-Israel protesters are ignorant is provable.

Two girls interviewed at one pro-Hamas protest in London were asked what their reaction was when they first learned that Hamas had attacked Israel on October 7.

"I don’t believe they did, did they," said one.

"Honestly, I think I need to be a bit more clued up on everything that’s going on, so I feel I'm not really qualified to answer that too well," said the other.


Douglas Murray visits a kibbutz in Israel, after the October 7 massacres.
New York Post


Douglas Murray visits a kibbutz in Israel, where bloody handprints were seen inside many of the buildings.
New York Post

Well, she appeared to feel "qualified" enough to turn up at an anti-Israel demo.

Her friend, holding a banner, actually said, "I mean, I'm not sure I’ve seen anything that shows that that’s actually happened."

These two ignoramuses should have come to Israel with me this week.

Specifically, they should have come to the site of the music festival massacre, and seen the remains of that “peace rave” where people their age, and very similar to them, were gunned down and raped just as the party was “coming up.”

Or perhaps they should have come with me to the small community of Nir Oz on the border of Gaza.

I have been to kibbutzim like this many times in the past. The citizens of these small towns and communities are often very left-wing. Often “peaceniks.” They have been accustomed to rockets for years.

Ever since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and Hamas got elected and killed their rivals, the people of these communities have known that their neighbors might not love them.

But few could have imagined the sheer human hate and evil that came down on their community one Saturday morning last month.

Nir Oz is — or was — a community of 400 people. Today it is a ghost town.

Within sight of the Gaza border, the terrorists came in from four different entrances on October 7 and went from house to house.

One of the surviving members of the community took me around.

We moved carefully through the burned-out ruins of his town.


Bloodstains are seen on a floor in a kibbutz house in Nir Oz.
Ron Haviv/VII/Redux


A childâs bicycle is seen at Kibbutz Nir Oz following the deadly October 7th attack by Hamas.
REUTERS


The destroyed contents of a dishwasher and household goods are seen at a home at Kibbutz Nir Oz after Hamas’ attack.
REUTERS


Homes were destroyed after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
AFP via Getty Images

He knew the families who had lived in every one of these houses. He knew their names, their stories, their hobbies.

It was a scene of utter carnage.

Of the community’s 400 people, at least 30 were murdered in their homes and over 80 were kidnapped and taken into Gaza, many very badly wounded.

Most of the modest houses had a safe room built into them in which the families could shelter from the rockets fired at them regularly from Gaza. But these were not enough on the morning of October 7.

In house after house, I saw the results. Each was left as it was left that day. Many were burned out.

Tables were overthrown and belongings strewn everywhere. In some of the houses, the bloodstains spoke for themselves.


Murray witnessed a room where Thai workers at the kibbutz were executed by Hamas.
New York Post

The safe rooms didn't lock, because nobody expected such a battalion-style invasion of terrorists.

As a result, the residents of Nir Oz met their ends in their "safe rooms," trying to hold the doors shut as the terrorists of Hamas tried to open them from the other side. The bullet holes around the handles told the story in most houses.

An elderly woman struggled to keep the door closed, and was shot repeatedly from the other side of the door before the terrorists burst in and finished her off.

One old man who had not been able to get out was burned alive in his home by the terrorists. "He always said he had the best view," my guide said, as we stood on this dead man’s balcony overlooking Gaza.


A burned-out house in the community where 400 people once lived.
New York Post


Blood stains are seen on a wall at a damaged family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen.
REUTERS

Worst was when we came to the home of my guide's sister. She had been out of the house when the terrorists came in.

Her two teenage sons barricaded themselves into the safe room. Surrounded by their toys and magazines, you could see all the signs of the struggle these brave young lads put up.

But the terrorists broke in, wounded them and stole them — taking them into Gaza.

Then there were the Thai workers who helped in the kibbutz and had their own accommodation. The terrorists had gone from door to door, shooting them.

As in so many other places in the settlements, you could see the stains on the floor where someone had crawled during their last moments or been dragged out half-dead. At the end of this row of accommodation was their bomb shelter.

It was plain from the inside that this was the site of a massacre.

Hamas packed the Thai men and women into this small room and then butchered them. The floor was still thick with their congealed blood.

And here it looked like Hamas had tried to save their bullets. The walls and ceiling — even the air conditioning unit — were all covered in blood spatter.

Here, like so many other parts of the community, there were occasional handprints in blood, where people had tried to stand or avoid being dragged in their dying moments.

These imprints should not be forgotten. These were all people who had done nothing wrong.


The teenage sons of Murray’s guide’s sister were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the massacre.
New York Post

To a man, woman and child, they were all just going about their lives.

Most had some dream of peace. Some houses still had their shopping lists on their fridge doors. Others had signs saying “Live and let live.”

Hamas didn't allow them to live. The world must never forget this.

Israel cannot live with Hamas. The world must realize this.

nypost

JASONjnr:
They went as far as executing Thai workers.....


Hamas will be leveled and their descendants forgotten in the history man.


Touching God's anointed..... Is like inviting the wrath of God upon your slamming head.

Two girls interviewed at one pro-Hamas protest in London were asked what their reaction was when they first learned that Hamas had attacked Israel on October 7.

"I don’t believe they did, did they," said one.

"Honestly, I think I need to be a bit more clued up on everything that’s going on, so I feel I'm not really qualified to answer that too well," said the other.

cjudy:
These are the people Yeroba Muslims support. Coronaviruspro, hellanus and others support this Massacre.
It shall never be well with you Terrorist.
iDF must finish and smoke you all out. How wish there’s a way to select the Yeroba Muslim out and push them to go and fight for Hamas in Gaza, that would have been a great thing.

All my life, I thought the Northerners Muslim are the illiterate and terrorist, I never knew the most wicked, terrorist and out of human sympathy terrorist are the Yeroba Muslim. This Isreal and Gaza war exposed many things about the Yeroba Muslim

AntiTerrorist:


I have also watched a video of an elderly American lady who was protesting against Israel but when an interviewer asked her questions about Hamas, she was entirely clueless. Most people protesting and supporting Hamas are naive while some others are propelled by the hatred they have for Israel. Typical examples are APC supporters on this platform.

misreal:

No need to lay curses on them.
The Israelis I know will not forgive Hamas,they will make sure Hamas never forgets oct7.
Forget all these online terrorist,if them get mind,make them enter Gaza.

cjudy:
These are the people Yeroba Muslims support. Coronaviruspro, hellanus and others support this Massacre.
It shall never be well with you Terrorist.
iDF must finish and smoke you all out. How wish there’s a way to select the Yeroba Muslim out and push them to go and fight for Hamas in Gaza, that would have been a great thing.

All my life, I thought the Northerners Muslim are the illiterate and terrorist, I never knew the most wicked, terrorist and out of human sympathy terrorist are the Yeroba Muslim. This Isreal and Gaza war exposed many things about the Yeroba Muslim

CoronaVirusPro:


Fvck you!

cjudy:

Is that all?

CoronaVirusPro:


No!

Fvck you!

cjudy:

You don’t have anything to say except fvck?

CoronaVirusPro:


Yes!

Fvck you!

OLAADEGBU:
How worrying numbers of young people are falling for Hamas's dirty tricks in the propaganda war, writes AMI H ORKABY

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