There are human beings who are suffering on both sides of the war | Opinion

The war forced on Israel by Hamas reminded us that we are all human beings.

Adi Efrat is a human being. On Saturday morning, Oct. 7, she was awakened by loud knocks on her door. Living in Be’eri Kibbutz, bordering Gaza, she naturally thought that it was the security squad coming to alert her about some threat, something that had happened many times before. When she opened the door, Hamas terrorists stormed in, dragged her outside and pushed her in front of them, using her as a human shield while launching their murderous raid.

Miraculously, Adi survived. Others, though, were not spared. In nearby Kfar Aza, all of the members of the Kotz family were found dead, hugging each other: the parents Livnat and Aviv, and the children Rotem, Yotam and Yiftach. They were all human beings, slaughtered by the Hamas terrorists.

In another home, two children were found handcuffed, facing their parents, handcuffed as well. Their bodies were mutilated, and then set on fire. No bullet holes were found, which means that they had been burnt alive, perhaps one by one, so that the others could see. And as more gruesome stories follow, this one — believe it or not — is not the worst.

Esther Borochova, 19, was one of the thousands of happy young Israelis attending the Supernova festival, not far from Be’eri, celebrating music, peace and unity. They were all human beings, cherishing the moment of togetherness, until suddenly attacked by Hamas terrorists, who sprayed them with bullets and hand grenades. Esther hid for many hours under dead bodies and pretended to be dead herself, until rescued by the IDF.

Then there is 12-year-old Noya Dan, from Nir Oz, another human being, on the autism spectrum, abducted to Gaza with four other family members, including her 80-year-old grandmother, Carmela. She desperately needs her drugs. So does another abductee, Yaffa Adar, 85.

Another human being is Linor Harari, a police officer, who lives in Sderot, the city next to the Gaza Strip, which has suffered many rocket attacks over the years. Except that this time, there was a terror invasion. Linor woke up, put on her uniform, grabbed her gun and ran to the police station, only to realize that the terrorists had already broken in and were overwhelming the policemen inside. She fought gallantly and survived to see the attackers killed. Her comrade, police officer Ravit Assayag, wasn’t so fortunate. After saving many civilians in the community of Yachini, she fell victim to Hamas’ bullets.

Retired Gen. Noam Tibon received a call on Shabbat morning from his son, Amir, a journalist at Haaretz newspaper, who lives in Nahal Oz, another kibbutz on the Gaza border. “Dad,” Amir whispered, “Hamas terrorists are in the house. We are in the shelter, but they are breaking in.” Tibon responded: “Stay calm, I’m coming to rescue you.” Which he did. Racing south, he joined forces with Israel Ziv, another retired general, who couldn’t stay at home when such things happened. Both generals, in their mid 60s, fought their way into Nahal Oz, grabbing guns and protective vests from dead soldiers, killing the Hamas terrorists who had ambushed them, until finally, Tibon knocked on his son’s window, calling his name. His grandson opened, and cried: “Grandpa is here!” These human beings hugged each other, sobbing.

And Manal from Gaza is a human being,as well. She is a mother of three, and works in a hospital. The building next door has been demolished by the Israeli Air Force, and her children are afraid. She tells an Israeli media outlet that at night, they sleep in her bed. “I comfort them, saying that if we have to die, at least we die together.” She dares say nothing about Hamas, which couldn’t care less about her plight of her or that of rest of the people of Gaza.

Another human being is the sailor on the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, sent by their commander-in-chief to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, not to protect American interests in the region only, but to stand by Israel in the fight for shared democratic values. President Biden’s speech will go down in history as the ultimate sign of leadership.

Who are not human beings? The Hamas terrorists this month committed heinous crimes. Israel is now going after them, spearheading for the free world the fight for humanity.

Uri Dromi is the founder and president of the Jerusalem Press Club.