We often think of 7 October as the moment Hamas unleashed evil on Israel. In reality, 7 October was the catalyst for antisemitic hatred to be unleashed on the world. This evil must be confronted with prayer and the bold proclamation of God’s Word.
Since that world-changing event, we have witnessed a surge in antisemitic hatred against the Jewish people worldwide. It was the spark that ignited the deep-rooted hatred of antisemites, allowing them to freely express their unbridled hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. We have seen no better example of this than the treatment of the Bibas family.
We have seen posters of the Bibas children being torn down in broad daylight by people cursing and threatening those filming them. We have seen anti-Israel protesters mocking the fact that a nine-month-old baby had been taken by Hamas. We even saw antisemites disrupting a second birthday party in London for Kfir Bibas. Nothing was off limits to these people. So intense was their hatred that they could not let people show any form of sympathy towards Jewish babies without insulting those gathered or disrupting their commemorations.
This week, the world received a serious wake-up call when we witnessed the way in which Hamas was willing to parade dead Jewish babies and use them for their propaganda against Israel. And it was only made worse when we discovered that the Bibas mother, Shiri, was not returned with her children.
Today, we discover from Israeli forensic experts in Israel, shared with experts worldwide to verify this fact, that the Bibas children were murdered by Palestinian terrorists who killed them with their bare hands. They then mutilated the children’s bodies to make it look as if they had died a different way.
Just think how much fear, confusion, and pain these precious children must have experienced as their bodies were brutalised in such a manner. And it is reported that the Bibas children were not even killed by Hamas, but by civilians in Gaza. Remember that the Bibas family was not abducted by terrorists, but was dragged into Gaza by unarmed men. These same men could be the ones who killed the children.
The people of Gaza have been so brainwashed by a radical and evil form of Islam that they have been convinced that Jews are lower than animals and that it is their duty to fight the Jews until they are destroyed.
Even after the children’s deaths, they were humiliated further when their bodies, in caskets, were paraded through Gaza, surrounded by cheering crowds celebrating their deaths, and they were used by Hamas as propaganda to attack Israel.
As one mother in Gaza declared, “Victory! They entered Gaza alive, but today they are leaving in coffins. Our fighters are the ones who memorised the Quran. They are full of morals and respect.”
Think about that. A woman is celebrating the murder of children. God created women to have a nurturing nature towards children. Only someone filled with evil would celebrate the shedding of innocent blood in this way.
The final insult came from another twisted move by Hamas when the body of the boys’ mother, Shiri, was not returned with them. Hamas sent over the body of a dead Palestinian woman instead. The media is already running headlines as if this was a mistake, that the bodies were hard to identify. However, now that we know from the forensic evidence that the boys were not killed in an Israeli airstrike, as the terrorists lyingly claimed, we are quite sure there was no mistake in this. It was pure evil from Hamas to exact torture on the father/husband, Yarden Bibas, but also an insult to all of Israel – a final cruel gesture from Hamas to mock their enemies.
The worst part is that those precious babies, who endured the unthinkable in life, are denied even the simple mercy of being laid to rest beside their mother.
This barbaric display by Hamas has even woken up Islamic countries to condemn Hamas, with the Grand Muftis of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issuing separate statements. In fact, condemnations of Hamas have poured in from all over the world, from heads of state to the heads of the United Nations and other international organisations.
Are they finally waking up to reality? We are not entirely convinced.
The world is at a crossroads when it comes to confronting this evil, and while it is good to see strong condemnation of Hamas, more must be done.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It is no longer possible for Christians to be neutral on Israel. There is no other way to look at this news and read the Bible without seeing the contrast between good and evil. God is on Israel’s side, and we are commanded by God to act in support of Israel and to confront evil.
The Church must be praying for Israel. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.’” – Psalm 122:6
The Church must be speaking out against evil. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” – Ephesians 5:11
The Church must be prepared to defend the things of God, understanding that we are in a spiritual battle. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
The only way to defeat the evil of Hamas is with the truth of God’s Word. The West, in particular, which were once Christian nations, need to turn back to the God of Israel; people need to start going to church again. We cannot defeat this evil with carnal weapons or with plain activism – it can only be defeated by God Almighty. Only He can turn people’s hearts away from the sway of the wicked one.
