The horrors of war, in truth and reportedly

It’s indisputable that Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack was rife with atrocity

I was astonished by Renée Graham’s column “In the battle between Israel and Hamas, another potent weapon — propaganda” (Opinion, Oct. 18), which cited propaganda as a major issue regarding the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel by Hamas terrorists. While there is no question that misinformation across the board is a significant area of concern, Graham’s parsing of what was or was not a confirmed atrocity was insensitive and cold.

Why has she not cited the ongoing Hamas propaganda against Israel? For example, when the hospital was hit in Gaza, the media were quick to place the blame on Israel. The Israel Defense Forces promptly released intelligence that strongly indicated otherwise.

The indisputable fact remains that Hamas crossed the border into Israel with the intention of massacring as many Israelis as they could. They murdered and maimed innocent people, including the elderly, young adults, children, and even Holocaust survivors. They took approximately 200 people hostage.

Hamas has one objective: to wipe Israel off the map and to annihilate the Jews. Israel should retaliate. The Gazan civilians are victims of their own terrorist government. While Israelis certainly do not want to target them in any way, Gazans’ victimization by a so-called government that doesn’t care if they live or die, sadly, will probably lead to many more casualties in the name of Israeli security.

Graham would be better served to focus on how we can prevent such a horror in the future rather than on whether babies were or were not beheaded.

SUSAN CREDITOR Sharon