There are tough days ahead, says Arye Sharuz Shalicar, spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in an interview with ntv.de. At the moment the army is concentrating on the fight against terrorism and freeing the hostages. However, this is difficult. “We know that Hamas has been building a network of terror tunnels under the Gaza Strip for many years. The fact that these are located under civilian facilities such as kindergartens, mosques and so on makes the entire situation even more difficult.”
ntv.de: Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War, Israel was once again surprised by its enemies. How could this happen?
Arye Sharuz Shalicar: People around the world are asking themselves this question. How this could have come about and where the errors lie will be investigated in great detail, but not during the war. Because at the moment the focus is on the fight against terrorism and of course on the hostages.
Do you fear that the hostages are at risk of rape or murder?
Such horror scenarios play out in all of our heads. But we should take a quick breath and concentrate on what’s important. Of course, we know what situation the abducted Israelis – including young women and children – find themselves in. It’s not an easy situation. This is a wound that will remain open to all Israelis for a very long time and, for many, will never heal. This makes the IDF’s actions in the coming days and weeks all the more important.
Can the Israeli army free the hostages?
This is not an easy thing. We know that Hamas has been building a network of terror tunnels under the Gaza Strip for many years. The fact that these are located below civilian facilities such as kindergartens, mosques and so on makes the entire situation even more difficult. However, one of the most important goals we have in mind is to get every Israeli out of this situation healthy again.
Is an IDF ground offensive coming?
There are several options on the table. In the next few days it will become clear what happens next. For security reasons, I can of course say nothing about operational measures.
There were almost 1,000 deaths in a single day. Is this the worst event for the Jewish people since the Holocaust?
I don’t have statistics, but almost 1,000 Israelis murdered in 24 hours is a number we have never seen in any war in recent decades. Even during the War of Independence in 1948 there was no such massacre, where children were murdered in cold blood on this scale.
People were shot in cold blood at a music festival, women were raped in front of the bodies of their friends and dozens were kidnapped to Gaza. How do you explain this terror?
Until recently, I did not believe that Hamas and Islamic Jihad should be considered [eine weitere im Gazastreifen operierende Terrorgruppe, Anm.d.Red.] can be equated with the “Islamic State” in terms of goals and approach. But in the end it’s the same behavior, because they attacked children and women like beasts, all while shouting “Allahu Akbar”. They roamed the streets in pickup trucks, heavily armed, and shot civilians indiscriminately. This is very comparable to the IS.
So there is no difference between IS, Hamas and Iran?
They are all radical Islamist forms. Sometimes as a state, sometimes as a terrorist organization. They can only do one thing, and that is to terrorize, murder and kidnap primarily their own population, but also their enemies and adversaries.
The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah is threatening an attack from the north. Is there a threat of a second front from there?
First of all, the IDF has been preparing for a multi-front war in recent years because it is believed that such a threat is very real. There have been individual actions from Lebanon in the last three days. Individual terrorists have crossed the border and some have been killed. Others have withdrawn again. Of course, everything happens there under the eyes of Hezbollah. No terrorist group can operate from Lebanon without the Shiite militia knowing about it. It is our first addressee should terrorists attack us in individual locations. I hope they have understood our message, which has been conveyed to them through various channels, and that they do not jump on the terror bandwagon of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, because that would have devastating consequences for Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Did the order for the Hamas offensive come from Tehran?
The commanders of the Palestinian terrorist organizations are definitely located in Tehran and southern Lebanon or in Beirut. This triangle, which also includes the Gaza Strip, has been working together in very close contact for years. Therefore, it is nothing new that the activities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad also have to do with Hezbollah and the mullahs’ regime. Every year hundreds of millions of euros flow from Iran to their proxies in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The destruction of Israel is part of Iranian state doctrine. Is this part of their encirclement strategy?
The mullahs’ regime has often stated that it wants to wipe Israel off the map. As does Hezbollah and other radical Islamic organizations. Even though we are constantly keeping an eye on this, we are initially concentrating on the direct terrorist situation from Gaza, where we are now extremely active, with a view to the other borders around us.
Israel could attack Iran. Is there a risk of a conflagration in the Middle East?
Israel would never attack the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon or even Iran simply on a whim. However, if these terrorists attack us and situations arise like the massacre last Saturday – the IDF will of course react to that.
There was sympathy for Israel around the world, but also sympathy, not least in Germany, for the terror of Hamas. How do you explain that?
The support for this barbaric action, whether on the streets of Berlin, in London or other cities in the Western world, is shocking. These are often young people who were born in these democratic countries and some of them have their nationality. Many are already in the second or third generation in these countries. One wonders how deep the indoctrination against Jews and Israel is that they celebrate and hand out sweets when innocent children and dancing people are murdered in a massacre – and only because they are Jews. It is a problem that is very deep and dates back centuries. The politics of the Western states are required here; they must show 100% solidarity towards Israel, the only democracy in this region, which keeps going up in flames.
Despite the trauma of the Yom Kippur War, it was ultimately won militarily. What kind of success does Israel need to achieve?
There are hard days ahead. The IDF has several options. What is certain, however, is that every single Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist is now in their sights.
Tal Leder spoke to Arye Sharuz Shalicar