Go Beyond

Earlier this month I received an invitation from The Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest to attend a private closed-door screening of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) collected footage from the horrific October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel. My initial response was to turn down the invitation. My biggest fear was that if I attended I would not be able to unsee the images of the massacre.

For the next couple of weeks I debated whether or not to accept the invitation and could not get past a 90% no. I thought of my visits to the Dachau and Auschwitz concentration camps and how they had impacted me. The thought of seeing actual footage of the murders of 1,200 people and that those images would find permanent residence in my memory was a serious matter to consider.

The words “bearing witness” on the invitation finally convinced me that I had to do exactly that — bear witness to what had happened on the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. And so, I went.

After introductory remarks from Livia Link Raviv, the Consul General of Israel to the Southwest, the lights dimmed and the video started. Complete silence and nervous anticipation filled the room.

The 45 minute video was a compilation of raw and unedited footage collected by the IDF, including footage from Hamas’ own GoPro cameras and cell phones, footage captured on the personal cell phones of Israelis, CCTV footage, and images captured by the body cams of first responders.

The coordinated attack by Hamas began early on the morning of October 7 as ground troops moved toward 21 communities in the Gaza Envelope, those towns located less than 5 miles from the Gaza Strip.

The opening scenes of the video evoked thoughts of the surprise attack against Pearl Harbor. The video did include subtitles to interpret both Arabic and Hebrew thus making it possible to understand the dialogue. The entire video was difficult to watch. I had to turn my head away and cover my eyes more than once, especially during the scenes of beheadings.

What follows are a few of my impressions and thoughts about what I saw and heard on the video.

First, this attack was anything but fair. It was an attack on unarmed civilians in their homes, on the streets, and those attending a music festival. With the exception of the few IDF on that morning, all of the civilians who died were unarmed.

Second, I was saddened by the unbridled delight expressed by Hamas soldiers as they killed innocent and unarmed civilians. The shouts of “Allah is Great” filled the air. Many of the terrorists chronicled their satisfaction with what they had done on their personal cell phones.

One Hamas terrorist is heard calling his parents — “Dad, I have killed 10 Jews with my bare hands. I am a hero. I am a hero.” The dad responds with delight. “Is Mom there?” he asks, anxious to tell her his good news. What he does not say is that the 10 Jews he killed were unarmed civilians, likely including women and children.

Third, the callous taking of selfies. The owner of every cell phone now has the capacity to chronicle and publish their own history in real time. Many of the Hamas terrorists did just that. They took selfies with the dead. One guy had a friend take a video of him pumping bullets into a woman lying on the floor. He then checked the video and decided it was not good enough and asked that they do it again.

In another scene, a soldier is heard calling his commander and reporting that they have beheaded several people. His commander tells him to throw the heads on the ground and play with them — but to be sure to take video.

Fourth, the denigration of the victims. Throughout the video the Hamas terrorists refer to the Jews as dogs. “Shoot them,” says one, “they are only dogs.” Dogs, however, are treated much better than the unfortunate victims killed by Hamas.

Fifth, the indiscriminate killing of anyone who happened to be in the dark sphere of the attacks. Scenes of shooting people in their cars, dragging out their dead bodies and rummaging through pockets, stealing vehicles. A man walking down the sidewalk shot by a sniper and then shot again and again by terrorists patrolling the streets.

People in their homes just waking up to start their day gunned down in cold blood. In one scene, two boys covered in blood sit weeping because they have just witnessed the murder of their dad. As the boys weep a terrorist looks in their refrigerator and pulls out a Coke, unfazed by the tears of two young boys covered in the blood of their deceased father.

Piles of bodies covered in blood where they fell — in homes, on the streets, and at an outdoor music festival. The fear and panic were palpable. Escape was impossible. Death was inevitable and came in the worst of ways.

Sixth, the jubilant celebration of Palestinians as Hamas terrorists returned home and dragged bodies out of their vehicles — prompting onlookers to reach for their cell phone cameras to record themselves kicking and stomping on the bodies. In one scene, a commander instructed a guy in his unit to take a body back to Gaza to hang in the square so that people could abuse it.

Seventh, killing was not enough to satisfy the terrorists. The remains of the dead were violated in savage ways — from burning to beheading to being put on public display for further indignities. The intense hatred of the Hamas terrorists for the Jews propelled them across the boundaries of any moral restraint.

Finally, the blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life. The actions of the terrorists reflect a worldview with an impoverished understanding of the sanctity of human life. This is why we hear reports of the terrorists using their own people as human shields. An army should stand in front of the people they claim to care for rather than behind them thus exposing them to danger. Hamas’ disregard for the sanctity of human life expressed itself in the most brutal and evil of ways on the morning of October 7.

Jeremiah, one of the pre-exilic Old Testament prophets to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, had this to say (17:9): “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Therein lies the real problem. The heart of man is deceitful and desperately sick and capable of unimaginable evil.

I have never forgotten a particular discussion we had in my systematic theology class in seminary when we studied the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). This story illustrates how sinners tend to treat other sinners. My professor remarked that he would rather be a sinner in the hands of an angry God than a sinner in the hands of an angry sinner.

The more I thought about his remark the more I agreed with him. The history of human atrocities certainly illustrates the truth of his conclusion. Angry sinners have the capacity to act without regard to any governing constraints. God’s actions are always consistent with His character and tempered by mercy and grace.

My heart aches for all of the people who died on October 7 and for how this unprovoked attack has resulted in even broader casualties. May we look to the only One who can transform hearts steeped in sin and filled with hatred before we all find ourselves in the hands of angry sinners.