The Israeli Occupation Army has justified the killing of its hostages by its soldiers with a statement that reflects the unprecedented situations it has faced. Previously, after the events of October 7th, I wrote with bewilderment but certainty: "We have won." I said this despite being in shock – because I encountered "situations I had never faced before," nor had I ever witnessed or read about a miracle like the "Al-Aqsa flood." This is coming from me, an Iraqi general.
I stress my Iraqi identity not to praise Iraqis or their generals but to clarify that an Iraqi general inherits the legacy of four wars fought in Palestine. The first battle was in Jenin in 1948, led by the Iraqi commander Omar Ali Beyrekdar, when an entire Iraqi mechanized battalion was besieged. He prayed the dawn prayer with his troops, shouted, "Alaali, Battalion Two, Alaali!" followed by "Allahu Akbar" three times, then rushed with his soldiers to break the siege, defeating the enemy and leaving behind 300 dead and a large cache of weapons and vehicles.
It is worth mentioning that Iraq had six brigades; it committed five to the battle while retaining one to protect the whole of Iraq. In the "October War," Iraq contributed five divisions, three armored and two infantry ones. They didn't anticipate that the destruction of homes would provide better artillery and surveillance fields for tanks, nor did they imagine that the demolished homes would become advantageous shelters. They believed the Merkava 4 tank, priced at $150 million, would solve their problems.
No Arab soldier, except for the Iraqi and the Palestinian fighter, has ever experienced a war lasting 3,000 days, fought twice with two major international coalitions, known what it's like to fight against global airpower with no means to respond, experienced invasion and its atrocities, and resisted with unparalleled valor, killing 4,500 American soldiers. Our people in dear Palestine may take pride in this resistance. Yet, I must confess, I have not seen crimes against humanity and genocide perpetrated by the Americans and their allies, as seen in great Gaza, except in the cities of Mosul, Fallujah, and Ramadi during the war against ISIS.
Being a student of history, I am certain that history has shamed the Israeli occupation during the Gaza war, its Western allies, and international organizations, bringing disgrace upon the international community and humanity that has not been matched since the times of Tamerlane or Genghis Khan.
The Palestinian people have faced "situations never faced before" — crimes against humanity and genocide, evoking global envy for their courage and resilience. A channel for the occupation announced that only 9% of the articles published about Gaza since the "flood" began were in favor of the occupation. A friend of mine translated my last article into English, then Hebrew, but failed to get it published in both languages.
Meanwhile, the glorious day of October 7th made the Israeli occupying authority face a "situation it had never encountered before." Palestinian resistance has evolved beyond recognition, lengthened by oppression, injustice, and brutal occupation.
The resistance collapsed the Israeli project and shattered its prestige; they had to accept defeat bravely and recognize the need for negotiations because "they faced a situation they had never encountered before." But instead of retreating, they advanced with a ground offensive against historic Palestine, erroneously believing that their extended reach could suppress a people who have produced the giants of Al-Qassam.
Netanyahu, blinded by hatred and fear, believes that the heroes of October 7th will be defeated in an urban battlefield where tanks become a burden and infantry soldiers anxiously anticipate gunfire from any window, especially since defenders are positioned underground and above. They assumed that demolishing homes would create clear firing and surveillance zones for tanks, not realizing that the ruins would serve as better shelters.
With sheer audacity, after his troops killed hostages, the siege continued under the delusion that "pressuring Hamas will lead to the return of the hostages," as though there was real pressure on Hamas or any reluctance to commit premeditated genocide of an entire people to recover hostages. The steadily growing incompetence of his army is baffling, and it is a mystery how those around him are convinced that indiscriminate ruthless bombardment of Gaza will resolve the hostage situation.
Thus, two declared objectives drive the extermination of the Palestinian people: "Freeing the hostages and eliminating the resistance," echoing the alleged objectives of the American invasion of Iraq, which were also founded on lies: Iraq's supposed close relationship with bin Laden and possession of nuclear weapons.
