Hamas Attack on Israel Not a Military Operation but Terrorist War Crimes: State Senator

Smoke plumes rise over Gaza City during Israeli air strikes launched in retaliation for attacks on Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

Americans should be concerned with the war in Israel because it is the only democracy in the region and because America has been the top supporter of Israel, says Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 30 years of military intelligence experience.

Mr. Mastriano is a strategic analyst and a professor at the Army War College.

“The Jewish people have a right to their own homeland. We saw what happened in the ‘30s and ’40s, when they did not have a homeland,” Mr. Mastriano told The Epoch Times. “That is their homeland by declaration of the United Nations and this attack on their sovereignty is not just a threat to Israel, but it’s a threat to us as well. And why do I say that? Because America is the No. 1 supporter of Israel. That’s why, in part, Iran called us ‘the great Satan,’ because we stand in their way of crushing Israel.

“I think there’s a real threat in the United States, of some kind of Hamas or sympathetic attacks, potentially in our own country as a result of this, so we have to be strong in Israel. Those terrorists’ bases need to be wiped out because they could come here.”

The surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 was not the first time the nation has been suddenly and brutally invaded.

“I see chilling parallels with 1973, Yom Kippur, 50 years before,” Mr. Mastriano said. “That war was different. It was a conventional military attack. The Egyptians had a buildup and they kept on practicing attacking the Israeli defenses on a mock-up the Egyptians built, and the Israelis just got used to the Egyptians drilling, practicing, exercising. And then one day wasn’t an exercise and it caught the Israelis unaware. Most were home on holiday, just like this.”

Missed Intelligence

Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano during his 2022 run for governor in Chambersburg, Pa., on May 17, 2022. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Israelis were finishing the seven-day Jewish festival of Sukkot on Saturday. It is a family occasion and a lot of soldiers were home on leave.

“And apparently, Israel had its eyes elsewhere. Apparently, they thought there was a greater threat on the Lebanon border from Hezbollah and a greater threat in the West Bank from Fatah,” Mr. Mastriano said. “I think the Israeli intel assets, although they always have eyes on Gaza, I think their main effort was weighted towards the West Bank and the Lebanon border with Hezbollah. An Egyptian intel official claims that they had warned Israel of what’s going on in Gaza and they warned Israel something big was going to come out there, and they felt like the Israeli intel officials blew him off.”

He believes there will be an investigation in the Israeli intelligence community after the crisis has passed, to understand where the lapse was, but says such intelligence breaches do happen. For example, he said, in 1950 after United Nations forces landed at Incheon and were driving the North Koreans toward the Yalu River, Gen. Douglas MacArthur had numerous warnings of Chinese intervention.

“It didn’t fit his assessment, and his staff suffer from groupthink because of his influence over the staff, and when the Chinese came in with 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers and drove us back, it was a shock to everybody, but the indications and warnings are there,” Mr. Mastriano said. “Why the Israelis would miss this, I don’t know. They have persistent eyes, drones, observation towers, intelligence. With that much persistent coverage of surveillance and reconnaissance systems, I don’t know how they missed it, but we do know, I would say with some certainty, that they have professional help from the Iranians, Quds Force and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command (IRGC).”

Joint Effort

Within Gaza, the two main factions are Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement. Hamas, a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of Israel, is in charge, Mr. Mastriano said. Islamic Jihad had a battle with Hamas about a decade ago, but both are funded and backed by Iran and they worked together in the attacks against Israel.

And there are other groups that could flare up.

“It’s so complex. … I think the greatest threat is actually on the Lebanon border, from Hezbollah which is a Shia group funded by Iran,” Mr. Mastriano said. “Iran is funding both Sunni and Shia groups, and the groups in Gaza are Sunni, which is opposed to them theologically, but they’re together on their mutual hatred of Israel. So, I think Hezbollah is more likely to launch rocket attacks. They have around 200,000 well-trained soldiers, trained by the Iranians, backed by Syria as well—the Assad regime—and they might cause problems on the Iranian northern border.”

This is why the United States must secure its border now, he says.

“I think the steps for America should be, first off, our own national security. Shut down the border and tighten up our security. Start trying to figure out if any terrorists from Hamas or otherwise sympathetic got across the border. Number two, be prepared to support Israel, with intel and logistics in their fight against these terrorists,” Mr. Mastriano said. “America’s geostrategic interests are more in line with Israel and its position in the world and its stability, than any other ongoing war that I can think of.”

“Largely because of the work of Donald Trump vis-à-vis the Abraham Accords, Israel has either diplomatic relations, or is on the verge of having diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and most of the Emirates—most of the Gulf states. This is huge. So who is negotiating on behalf of Israel to get their people free from Hamas? It’s Qatar, of all countries. Wow. This is huge. And so the dynamics have switched.

“I think this is a last desperate kick from Iran, because with this increasing breakout of peace and normalization of relations between Israel and many neighboring Arab states, it’s reducing the influence and power of Iran. So Iran is using its proxies to destabilize the Middle East, to undermine the diplomatic process and try to alienate Israel because right now, I'd say Iran is more of a pariah than Israel in the international community.”