Within days of the horrific terrorist attack of October 7th, the world’s focus seemed to shift to the terrible plight of the innocents living in Gaza. We were told how there was no food, no reliable energy sources, no water. My question at the time was how Hamas could have the resources to mount such an attack, fire thousands of rockets, and built miles of underground tunnels without any money. Obviously, the millions of dollars sent to Gaza from Qatar and the other Arab countries were either diverted from the needed infrastructure or were mixed, with the donors’ blessings, with the Iranian funded war machine. Well, it was obvious to me.
My friend, Steve, asked a better question. Yesterday he asked, “What did they do with the dirt?” What a great question. No one is denying that Hamas has built hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath Gaza. Videos show the tunnels are deep, long, and wide enough to store weaponry and transport troops. One tunnel was wide enough for a tank. What did they do with the dirt?
His question has haunted me for over 24 hours. Many of our elected officials as well as the newspaper and television reporters constantly tell us that there is a huge difference between Hamas and the rest of the Gazan population. It was Hamas, not the Gazans that staged a pogrom. How could the ordinary citizens of Gaza have known about the plans, the weaponry, the tunnels? We are asking the wrong question. We have been asking “Who Knew” when we should have been asking “Who Didn’t Know”.
We have been told that Gaza is overcrowded. Who didn’t see trucks and heavy equipment moving through the streets to the entrances of the tunnel construction? Who didn’t see the convoy of dump trucks hauling away dirt and rock? How did none of the doctors or administrators notice the command centers located on/under hospital grounds? Nor did these same doctors think it odd that some of the hostages were brought to the hospital? So who didn’t know?
We hope and pray that the rest of the hostages will be returned alive. And we hope that they receive the long term support they each will need to recover from this terrible ordeal. But that goal does not negate the important task of destroying Hamas. Who rules Gaza next? I don’t know. An Israeli puppet would not be successful. Another Iranian surrogate would lead to more attacks. What lessons have they learned in Gaza? Have the Gazans learned that leadership like Hamas only brings poverty and destruction?
We can’t begin to find workable solutions until we start to ask the right questions.
Dave
Picture – There Is No Reason To Hide If Nobody Is Looking – David L Cunix