Ann Marie Hoff

Days before October 7, 2023, Egypt's intel chief flew to Israel to warn that Hamas was likely preparing to make a major attack. This was not the only warning. Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned, and his security officials were repeatedly notified of a possible attack in the days and weeks before, including by the president of the United Arab Emirates. We grieve for the Israelis who were taken from their families too soon and who are dealing with the losses and ramifications three years later. Some of those families are protesting Netanyahu's inaction in the streets of Israel today. Benjamin Netanyahu calls these reports, sourced by NPR, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Haaretz, "fake news" and has spent three years refusing a state commission of inquiry into what happened. Families want answers. So does the world. In 2018, Qatar began sending cash into Gaza with the backing of Israel. One $15 million transfer arrived in suitcases. In 2019, a source in Netanyahu's Likud meeting said he told colleagues that those who are against a Palestinian state should approve of sending the money because it kept Gaza and the West Bank divided. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned over the policy, saying it was Israel funding terror against itself. Netanyahu was warned, at least twice, that the money was reaching the military wing of Hamas. After the hostages were taken on October 7, 2023, Israel had a chance to bring them home almost immediately. The same evening, the Qatari prime minister called Mossad chief David Barnea and said Hamas is ready to release all civilians now. They were ready to mediate. Netanyahu's government declined. The next morning, according to Haaretz, a second channel opened. An intermediary said Sinwar's right-hand man told him Hamas had "no problem releasing all civilians without anything in return." The unofficial answer that came back from the Shin Bet was that Netanyahu "only wants war." A senior defense official told Haaretz the release of the hostages "did not even enter the list of war objectives" the government formulated that night. And Netanyahu chose to start a genocide instead. In the three years since, we have seen one report after another of the depravity of this extermination campaign: children shot in the head for "fun," medics and doctors targeted with "triple tap" strikes, humanitarian aid sites turned into killing fields, refusing entry of baby formula and wheelchairs, training dogs to rape Palestinian hostages. But the complete lack of humanity runs deeper than anyone believed possible, revealed in a shocking new documentary. "I hack into the phone of a 12-year-old girl. If a girl calls her mom, 'Mummy,' she says, 'When are you returning home? Daddy just came back.' That's a message that would alert the system because it contains the words 'return' and 'daddy.'" That's a quote from an Israeli intelligence officer in the documentary film NAZA describing his work. Another officer in the film says, "Gaza became like a factory of targets." A soldier in the film says he believes he took part in a genocide. The United States is complicit in all of this. In January, Jared Kushner presented a master plan for Gaza, complete with beachfront towers and a coastal tourism zone. The first phase is Rafah. A mapping done by Hebrew University found that 89% of Rafah's buildings are completely or partially destroyed by Israel, using bombs created and paid for by the United States. We built a before-and-after slider so you can see what that looks like. Drag it across and see for yourself at destruction.trackaipac.com. Rafah is nothing but dust. Yet the United States Envoy for "Peace" is drawing resorts on top of it while children are still being killed. Enough. Americans are not okay with this. Americans do not support genocide and ethnic cleansing. Election Day is in 27 days. We are working to elect anti-genocide members of Congress. No more killing, that is how October 7th should be remembered.