"If Israel were to rest the security of the Jewish State on international approval, there would be no Israel. Choose security over popularity!”
—Congressman Ritchie Torres
A Special Report by Dr. Dennis Augustine
Yonathan Haber, 23, is a member of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade on the Israeli Defenses Forces (IDF). He spent 60 days in the Gaza strip, one of two Palestinian territories on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. On that fateful day of the October 7 massacre, this young man who has lived near the Gaza border for years, found himself battling Hamas terrorists with his team after receiving news of the attacks from his superiors on Telegram Messenger and WhatsApp. The 23-year old Israeli Defense Force (IDF) reservist who returned to service after the vicious and deadly attacks by Hamas, was invited by our friend, Rabbi Mendel Weinfeld, the CEO of Chabad House Almaden in South San Jose to share his front-line war experience with over 40 attendees including Cecile and I at 7:30 PM last evening.
Yonatan and his team arrived in a village next to the Gaza border to rescue families and dogs and bring them to a place of safety. He confirmed what had been reported in international news outlets around the world: beheaded corpses, babies placed in ovens, torture, rapes, scores of dead bodies, burned homes, weapons used by Hamas, including rocket-propelled grenades, evidence of kidnapped hostages from the village resulting from systematic house-to-house searches using maps provided by traitors of the Israeli residents noting where everything was. For two hours Yonathan had our undivided attention. He did a slide show presentation, showed us a video clip him and his team, and was eager to answer any questions.
Following three days of fighting, Haber and his unit cleared the village, resulting in the deaths of over 100 Hamas fighters. During their searches, weapons, cell phones of hostages left behind were discovered inside school and mosques as well as books about the Nazis. Though, he didn’t witness humanitarian relief being caravanned into Gaza, he did say that under international law the area must be declared a war zone. That said, he did witness the dropping of leaflets in Gaza, warning residents that any place suspected of hiding places for Hamas terrorists would be bombed and warned Palestinians to evacuate. He spoke about the painstaking method of engaging Hamas, who had no qualms in shooting civilians attempting to evacuate. The IDF has to evacuate most of them before entering any homes.
He showed us a map of Gaza and Israeli border, and pointed to Khan Yunis, the second largest urban area, after Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, notably the home of 55 year Yahya Sinwar, second most powerful member of Hamas after billionaire Haniyeh, who refuses any kind of compromise with Israel. He has made it known he would rather die a martyr.
According to Pew Research Center published on March 21, 89% of U.S. Jews say Israel’s reason for launching a war against Hamas are justified, compared to 58% of Americans overall. 68% of American Muslims said Israel’s conduct in the war was unacceptable.
According to "Hamas-run" Gaza health ministry, more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war. However, Israel says more than a third of those are combatants and blames Hamas’ hostage taking terrorists for embedding themselves in civilian populations and using their own people as human shields.
When someone asked where does he see the war going, he said his personal opinion is that if there are still hostages in Gaza, it's their duty to free them. They can’t back down. It’s war, and they try their best to avoid civlian casualties. If Hamas releases the hostages, there is room to back down.
Before heading home, Cecile and I thanked Yonathan for his presentation and wished him well, and gave him some cash, as did a few others to continue educating people as to what’s going on behind the scenes.
