Slaughter

Two Filipinos have been confirmed killed as Hamas militants stormed into Israeli villages close to the border, slaughtering on sight. We might find more casualties as the fog of war lifts.

In all, about a thousand Israelis and foreign visitors have been confirmed killed in an assault that saw maximum brutality. The militants were primed for maximum beastliness. They slit the throats of babies and casually threw grenades into bomb shelters crammed with horrified civilians. They were obviously ordered to inflict as much casualties as possible before being driven back to their side of the border.

Whatever historical injustices animate Palestinian hatred towards Israel cannot possibly justify this murderous orgy. Hamas invalidated the historic claims of the people they say they are fighting for.

The violence is not yet over. Israel pledged to obliterate Hamas as an organization. It is expected that Israeli forces will embark on a heavily armed incursion into the Gaza Strip to rescue hostages taken by the militants and destroy whatever is left of the terrorist group. This is going to be bloodier still.

The Gaza Strip is the densest human settlement on earth. Its population of two million is crammed into very limited urban space. Since the attacks began last Saturday, Israel has put the settlement under absolute siege. No food, no water and no electricity is flowing into the settlement. A recent report says Israel bombed the Gaza port, effectively shutting down a vital facility through which humanitarian assistance may flow.

There are an estimated 30,000 Filipino migrant workers in Israel and a few hundred in Gaza. Most of them are caught in the midst of fighting.

Since its assault began, Hamas is reported to have fired 4,500 missiles targeting Israeli cities. For its part, Israel is said to have bombed 2,000 targets in Gaza. The barrages are continuing without respite.

Several dozen Filipinos in Gaza are desperately asking Manila to repatriate them. While the fighting is intense, we have no means to get to them – let alone to get them out.

With Israeli airports partially operational, we expect a surge in Filipino repatriations. We do not know yet how many Filipinos will want to be evacuated. Our resources for rescuing distressed migrant workers will be pushed to the limit.

This week, Filipino consumers enjoyed the substantial rollbacks in fuel prices. The joy might not last long. After Hamas began its assault, crude oil prices spiked. Historically, oil prices remain elevated for long durations after each war in the Middle East.

Reduced pump prices for fuel gave is hope we could continue decelerating our inflation rate in the coming months. That hope is now dashed.

It is possible the murderous Hamas assault on Israel’s southern border could trigger a much wider conflict. Hamas is calling on Palestinians in the West Bank and in southern Lebanon to join in the war against Israel. So far, the other Palestinian groups have not responded to the Hamas call.

A few rockets were fired from southern Lebanon. It seems these were initiated by Hamas units rather than by the Hezbollah. That should be reassuring to Tel Aviv.

The Hezbollah, supported by Iran, is estimated to have as many as 80,000 rockets. Most of these are vastly superior to the crude rockets Hamas uses in the south. Israel’s defenses will be stretched thin should the Hezbollah join in the fighting.

Should Hezbollah join in the fray, that could draw its patron Iran closer to a direct confrontation with Israel. Israel could preempt Iranian participation in the war by hitting facilities associated with Tehran’s nuclear weapons build-up. These weapons are being developed with the stated goal of obliterating the State of Israel.

The Hezbollah is a strong pillar of the Assad dictatorship in Syria. It could draw Damascus into the fray.

One of the major reasons for the timing of the Hamas attack was to derail the impending deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. That deal involves recognition of the State of Israel. It will be a major breakthrough for Tel Aviv.

Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other radical Islamic groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a political entity. It is a position that is quickly losing its constituency in the Islamic world. This assault is a last-ditch effort to prevent the looming diplomatic settlement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The US and its allies have thrown full support behind Israel. Washington has moved its carrier battle group in the Mediterranean closer to Israel’s shores to help if the war escalates. The Biden administration also “surged” its delivery of vital weaponry to Tel Aviv. The exact nature of the new weapons delivered was not disclosed.

Although Russia has had good relations with Israel for years, its relations with Iran became closer the past few years. Iran supplies Moscow drones used against Ukraine. Moscow, in turn, is believed to be assisting Iran’s nuclear weapons development program.

Moscow might want to see an escalation of the fighting in the Middle East if only to exhaust the western powers supporting Ukraine. Kiev, for its part, has sided with Israel in this battle.

In a word, there are enough factors that could produce an escalation of this military confrontation. But the frontline powers – the Assad regime in Syria and the dictatorship in Tehran – seem to be weighing their options very closely. They could lose even more international support by siding with the murderous Hamas.