Hold Hamas and all of its enablers accountable

One of the things I love most about America is its nearly limitless capacity for charity and empathy.  Americans are consistently among the world’s most generous donors to those in need or crisis.  And particularly now, no one should shy away from sympathy for and support to Gazans.

But one should not confuse sympathy for the destitute or imperiled with support for terrorists.

Especially in times of high emotion, frank-speaking should not be abandoned for fear of hurt feelings. The facts matter now, as much or more than ever: Hamas is as responsible for the suffering of Gazans as anyone.

Moreover, no one should be shocked by Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion — least of all Hamas. 

Indeed, some argue persuasively that the “al-Aqsa Flood” operation against Israel — which included systematic and savage attacks on Israeli families and hostage-taking, not to mention horrific acts of barbarism against young and old alike — was deliberately designed and executed to horrify and shock the world. It was designed to elicit an immediate and ferocious response from Israel.   

It was also designed to provoke the world. Only hours after Hamas militia had posted videos of the execution of festival-goers, the murder of innocents, and triumphant, gun-waving youth celebrating over the unconscious bodies of half-naked girls, Hezbollah and other Iranian satellites threatened to get involved in the conflict if the international community and particularly the U.S. fail to constrain Israel’s response.  

Even worse, much of the world has gone along with this nonsense.

Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran not only demand an examination of the appropriateness of Netanyahu’s every act, but insist through their representatives and proxies that we ignore their own role as instigators of this pogrom as well as their deliberate and continued sacrifice of Gazans.

And because many in the international community believe the only way to peace is through a rule-based order (as we have been taught), media and demonstrators focus almost exclusively on the plight of Palestinians and Israel’s next moves. This is a mistake.

It is past time Americans and the West understood that a “rule-based order” is not something Iran or Hamas believe in. Nor is “restraint” in conflict — quite the opposite.  For Hamas the rules of war, “proportionate response,” and the sanctity of civilian life are weapons to be used against others — in this case, to tie Israel’s hands — not rules to abide by.

To support its cause, Hamas also engages in outright lies and truth-bending propaganda to blame Israel and others for the very crimes it continues to commit. Sadly, it has yet to be held to account.

Instead, Hamas continues to cynically benefit from sympathy for Gazans, even as it is putting those same Gazans in mortal danger by deliberately hiding among them.  

How much respect or concern does Hamas have for people living in Gaza? Here’s a hint: Hamas’s deputy chairman outrageously released a statement claiming that “ordinary” Palestinians — not Hamas — were the ones responsible for the killing of civilians and hostage-taking on Oct. 7.  

And Hamas’ strategy appears to be working. Has anyone publicly asked Hamas whether, having made the decision to attack Israeli civilian enclaves, it undertook preparations to ensure that its people (not just its leadership and those not happily ensconced in Qatar) would be prepared for Israel’s retaliation by storing water, food, or energy for its populace? Did the organization putatively in charge of Gaza prepare routes to safety or medical care? 

Where are the calls for Hamas to account for its apparent lack of preparation for Gazans’ predictable needs in the aftermath of its attack — particularly given its demands that civilians remain in place?

What about the international aid received by Gaza and the huge sums apparently spent on weaponry while this operation was presumably being planned? Are Israel and the rest of the world supposed to be more responsible for the post-offensive needs of Gazans than Gaza’s own leadership?  

To be clear, all those who commit atrocities should be held to account — including the perpetrator of the recent bombing of the hospital in Gaza — regardless of what side they are on.

But has anyone had the stomach to say to Iran, Hamas, and their apologists that, as a practical matter understood by belligerents for millennia, he who starts a conflict cannot dictate how his adversary will respond?  

Is the so-called government of Gaza, as instigator, not at least as responsible for putting its citizens in danger as the Israelis are? 

Is it possible to imagine a discussion centered on whether, having initiated innumerable violations of the laws of war, the leadership in Gaza has a right to expect anything less from Israel?  

Finally, while attempting to minimize the impact of the conflict on innocents and its broadening into a regional conflagration, Americans should not allow their government to stray into self-delusion on the potential strategic implications of the war. 

Why are U.S. officials contorting themselves into pretzels to claim there is no evidence of Iran’s “direct involvement,” when one need only look at the Iranian regime-linked Kayhan newspaper, which claimed that former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani had designed the recent “al Aqsa Flood” operation before this death, in hopes that an “unprecedented” land-air-maritime attack would extinguish Israel?  

The paper, whose leadership is appointed by the Supreme Leader himself, is understood to be a voice for the IRGC. It also claimed the offensive is just part of the “imminent conquest” of Israel that was promised last year. It boasts that the operation included first-time planning and coordination among various “resistance factions” aligned with Iran and will have strategic implications for the world. 

Even if reports that Iran assisted in the incursion or gave its final go-ahead turn out to be inaccurate or simply Iranian bluster, Iran’s long-term support for Hamas in its goal to destroy Israel makes it complicit. Hamas has benefitted from Iranian military training, logistical help, and tens of millions of dollars in weaponry. 

Iran’s decades of support to its terrorist proxies matter. It’s time to drop the charade and hold the Islamic Republic accountable for the crimes of Hamas and other terrorists. 

Mary Beth Long is former assistant secretary for international security affairs at the Department of Defense and chair of NATO’s High Level Group, as well as a former CIA case officer. She is founder of Askari Associates LLC.