Larry Elder: How did Oct. 7 become a distant memory?

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

After Hamas’s horrific Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Jews and the seizure of 250 Jewish hostages, the headlines cried out in shock, anger, and astonishment. The New York Times wrote, “As world leaders condemned the attacks — and questions arose about how Israeli intelligence had been so surprised — ordinary citizens tried to make sense of what was happening.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote: “Thanks to defensive systems like Iron Dome, Hamas’s punches, while frequent and menacing, rarely landed. For Israelis, Gaza seemed relatively contained. That was, until this weekend. Whatever happens next in the current war, this concept (to borrow another term from the Yom Kippur War era, related to Israel’s confidence that it wouldn’t be attacked) has clearly failed. Israel has a clear interest not just in punishing Hamas but also in ending its rule for good.”

For much of the world, this was the reaction — at least at first: Hamas must go — and must go by force, given its refusal to live in peace next to Israel. But soon Israel stood accused of “genocide” because of the unavoidable deaths of civilian noncombatants in Gaza. Hamas “fights” by putting military installations in, beneath, or around hospitals, schools, and mosques to guarantee the killing of civilians. Meanwhile, many of Hamas’s leadership reside far from the battlefield in Qatar and Turkey.

The strategy is working. Consider this exchange between influential podcaster Joe Rogan and commentator Coleman Hughes:

Rogan: “I’m saying that when you’re killing 30,000 innocent civilians in response to something that killed 1,200 innocent civilians, and you’re continuing to bomb an area into oblivion, which is what it looks like when you’re looking at Gaza. There are many people who have made the argument that is at least the steps of genocide or a form of genocide. You’re destroying thousands and thousands of people’s homes and killing them.”

Hughes: “So, Hamas says 32,000 people have been killed, civilians and soldiers. Israel says 13,000 soldiers have been killed by Israel. So, if you just — well, let’s not doubt either number. They could both be inflated. But if both of those numbers are accurate, which they may or may not be, that would be 13,000 soldiers killed, 19,000 civilians killed. Which, for urban combat in the Middle East, is a very normal ratio.”

Rogan: “But it’s mostly women and children that are dying, that are dying because they’re in a place where these terrorists are.”

Hughes: “Because the terrorists on purpose embed themselves with the civilian population, which is a war crime. … (T)errorists have found the perfect solution, which is that you can cross the border, go house to house, slaughtering your enemies, and then hide behind your own people, and they can do nothing about it. It’s a perfect strategy. Can we live in a world where we allow that to be an acceptable strategy? I don’t think so.”

After this exchange, Rogan appeared to have a greater understanding of Israel’s dilemma. But this moral problem Israel attempts to navigate does not stop Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and others from accusing Israel of committing genocide.

Genocide? Accepting Hamas’s numbers of Gazans killed by Israel, which does not separate combatants from civilians, this “genocide” represents 3% of the population of Gaza. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia, “By 1945, most European Jews — 2 out of every 3 — had been killed.” Human Rights Watch estimates that the Rwandan mass slaughter of the Tutsis eliminated as much as 77% of their population.

President Donald Trump recently offered Hamas a plan to end the “genocide.” Even Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, one of many Western countries choosing to recognize Palestine as an independent country, said, “Hamas has no choice but to immediately release all hostages and follow this plan.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and ex-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair backs Trump’s plan for ending the war in Gaza — as do Israel, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the European Council.

So, the ball’s now in Hamas’s court to end the “genocide.” Don’t expect much. Terrorists terrorize.

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