WATCH: What the media is missing about the Gaza conflict
IDF Sgt. Major Chaim Malespin reveals the surprising truth about Israel's military operations. Learn how Hamas is manipulating the narrative in a way that may shock you. See how the conflict is impacting Israeli families in ways you never realized.
We, in Israel, love life. We care for civilians' lives, our own civilians. Here, we build bomb shelters to protect them from the missiles of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Izz ad-Din al-Qassam. We put bomb shelters to protect our people from the missiles of Hezbollah. But quite the opposite with Hamas, isn't it...and the Islamic Jihad. They put their people in danger. They do not care for their civilians. I've never seen an army in the history of the world, in the midst of a conflict, that does what we do to protect their civilians.
Just announcing, "We are going to be bombing in this area, we're going to remove these missile launchers...this infrastructure please leave." Israel's current military operation, as a sergeant major in the IDF, Israel Defense Force; I'll tell you, our military operations in Gaza are restrained...they're targeted, aiming at striking terrorists and their infrastructure while minimalizing, to the best of our ability, civilian casualties. These limited missions demonstrate Israel's respect for ceasefire possibilities even in the midst of ongoing attacks.
But you know what? [Hamas] They're cynically... they're so deceptive. They're liars. I mean, they're murderers. They started this war by doing a massacre; by murdering people, putting babies in ovens, stabbing pregnant women, etc., etc., okay.
They're manipulating the story around ceasefire proposals to make Israel appear like we're some unreasonable aggressor. They accepted their own proposal, ...which was unacceptable. And then they said, "Oh, Israel didn't accept it," but they cried foul because they conveniently overlooked the proposals that were on the table – that were agreed upon by Qatar, the U.S., Cairo, Egypt – proposals that were there. And they ignored them completely but they accepted an unacceptable proposal. What are these games? I mean, they're liars, they're manipulators, they're deceiving. Their real goal is to try to isolate Israel on the international stage. They're willing to endanger their own people and try to bait us into scenarios so their own people will die. It's like they want their own people to die so they can look like... 'Israel's evil,' and when we're in this defensive war and try to get the world to turn against Israel.
You know, too much of the media is really playing right into their game. Treating a terrorist – a dark, a death cult...these Nazi zombie apocalypse – that worship death. Treating this terrorist organization as though they're a trustworthy source to get their information from, and on those campuses. It's just, it's really sad. And it's time for the media to take a balanced approach...to look...to be like journalists are supposed to be, and report in a balanced and true way on what's going on. It's baffling that the United States also would delay a weapons shipment to Israel.
You know, it's been a strong American support that has helped Israel through many, many, many years. And it's absolutely vital to Israel given our shared democratic values, unshakable alliance. We got to bring our people home. There's Americans there in those tunnels of darkness being held right now at the hands of terror. And the U.S. must help Israel to defend itself and our right to defend ourselves. And the constant rocket attacks have done also psychological trauma to Israeli families. Imagine...the animals that are there on the border. They can't live under rocket fire getting bombed there.
...You know, it's ridiculous to think that kids are peeing their beds. They're...sleepwalking into bomb shelters. They hear the explosions. They're so traumatized in Sderot, in all the kibbutzes near the border. And the anxiety and the fear – it's palpable for young children. This is what Israel has had to live with for far too long. And it's enough's enough. It's time to end this.
The Hamas Charter – they tried to revise it a bit but their charter calls for the destruction, the obliteration of Israel. And their past terror attacks left a trail of bloodshed and destruction. It's a refusal to accept Israel's right to exist. They just – they don't want us to be here at all, anywhere.
Palestine. You know, they want the entire thing. Well, that even includes Jordan in Lebanon. I mean, that was the old Roman-ruled area of Israel – they called it Palestine. And then, of course, the Turkish and then, you know, went on – the British had this name. But what are they saying? They don't even make sense, what they're trying to say. And it's just rooted in hatred and intolerance.
And Israel is a country that values freedom, human rights. Look at the Arabs that are here working in the jobs. Look, they used to also come and work. But these Hamas are hurting their own people. You know, who helps them? Egypt? No. Jordan. No. Who helps them?
Israel gives them jobs. Israel gives them water. Israel gives them electricity. Israel is the only one that actually... they have the best life here, more than any other country. The Palestinians. Yes, and of Arabs that live here. Great life – best in the whole Middle East. This contrast highlights the importance of standing with Israel against Hamas' brutality, against their lies. And they're trying to wield civilian lives and distort propaganda even as we enter Rafah. And – I wonder how many people are they going to try to put in harm's way? You know, it's a very hard thing.
You got to pray for Israel. Israel is committed to defending its people, though, while making every effort to make sure that no civilians... You saw, we bought, what is it, 200,000 tents...you know, to move them out. And so the international community, especially in the United States, got to see through these deadly games, through this manipulation, through these lies.
Don't be played, don't be played. Stand with Israel in the face of these unacceptable terror attacks and manipulation. No country should be expected to tolerate its civilians coming under fire from the genocidal terror groups. We got to stand together for freedom, for democracy, stand for the Bible, stand for what's right, stand for Israel, my friends.
And I think of friends that I've lost that have given their lives so freedom can endure. You know, if freedom's not free, just like that, it can be gone for you and your country, too. Remember those who have fallen. What is it, 25,000 since 1948...soldiers...here, that have given their life?
You know, I'm still alive. But I remember my friends who have fallen. And we'll commemorate that coming up soon – the fallen soldiers. But stand for those, bless right now someone you know who's risked their life to make sure that you can enjoy the freedoms you enjoy. God bless Israel.
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Chaim is the director of the Aliyah Return Center, an Israeli non-profit organization based in Tiberias that assists new immigrants in moving to and settling in Israel.