While political attention has shifted to Iran and Lebanon, pushing Gaza to the sidelines, bereaved families from the Heroism Forum sent a letter Thursday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding an immediate halt to aid trucks they say are giving Hamas oxygen and being exploited for the terror organization’s renewed strengthening and entrenchment.
The families opened the letter by recalling the government’s commitments since the start of the war that Hamas would no longer pose a threat to Israel’s security. “All international and other attempts to disarm Hamas voluntarily have failed,” they wrote. “It was always clear, and now it’s clear to everyone, that only the IDF and the State of Israel will ensure the security of Israel’s residents in general and the south in particular.”
According to the families, “For political and security reasons, the IDF is currently invested in other arenas. Nevertheless, we remind you—the State of Israel must not forget the southern front. We cannot accept a situation where the Hamas terror organization, or any other terror organization, remains in control of Gaza and endangers Israel’s security. Unfortunately, despite all this, every single day the State of Israel streams goods into Gaza—goods for terror. These goods are being exploited by the terror organization for strengthening, reorganizing, and consolidating its rule. The goods are immediately converted to dollars and funds that flow to terror.”
The families then addressed Netanyahu directly, describing the reality that has emerged despite the signed agreement: “Mr. Prime Minister, all the ultimatums have expired, we’ve passed all the warnings and attempts. There’s no avoiding returning our attention to the southern arena. As a first and immediate step, we ask that you immediately order a halt to the flow of terror goods into Gaza. Every truck that crosses to terror endangers the security of our soldiers, endangers the security of southern residents, and strengthens terror—stop the disgrace immediately.”
The bereaved families sought to strengthen the prime minister’s hand: “We encourage you to continue standing firm on all fronts for Israel’s security. We, the bereaved families, are behind you and behind the government in every determined step against our enemies. We owe this to our beloved heroes who fell, and to Israel’s residents who want to continue living in security. The people are strong, we will prevail with God’s help,” the bereaved families from the Heroism Forum concluded their letter to the prime minister.