‘Feeling only utter revulsion, horror…’: Historian William Dalrymple on Hamas attacks in Israel  

Israel-Hamas war news: Killings and other atrocities carried out by Hamas across Israel ever since their surprise attacks on the Middle Eastern nation have shocked the world. Historian William Dalrymple said that while he supports Palestine’s cause of search for freedom and statehood, he is mortified by the blood-curdling atrocities perpetrated by the militant outfit Hamas in Israel.  

Dalrymple, who is also one of the directors of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), said that the horrifying acts carried out by the Hamas are only going to intensify the ongoing oppression, dispossession and occupation coupled with retaliatory action from Israel, which has already claimed the lives of many children so far.  

Condemning Hamas’ acts as ISIS-like, Dalrymple said that the outfit has not only committed barbarian acts but also done “incalculable and lasting damage to the just cause of their own people”. He added that Hamas has also strengthened those against their cause while making “the search for peace, justice and freedom more difficult than ever”.  

Dalrymple’s comment comes hours after US President Joe Biden called Saturday’s attack as the “deadliest day” for Jews after the Holocaust and said that it brought back painful memories of anti-Semitism and genocide against the Jews under the iron-hand regime of the German dictator Adolf Hitler.  

“It has been hard to find that light during the darkness of these past few days, when terrorist groups like Hamas brought not only terror but sheer evil to the world, evil that echoes the worst and matches, in some cases exceeds, the worst atrocities of ISIS, more than 1,000 civilians slaughtered in Israel,” Biden said on the exacerbating war situation in the country.  

The attacks by Hamas militants have claimed more than 1,000 lives in Israel over the weekend. Hamas fighters also took several Israelis hostage, including toddlers, women and the elderly. Hamas had also said that it is prepared to kill a hostage each time Israel attacks civilian homes in Gaza without any warning.  

The deadly surprise attack in Israel on Saturday was the combined handiwork of Mohammed Deif, the chief of Hamas’ military wind Al-Qassam Brigades, and Yahya Sinwar, the Gaza leader of Hamas, a Reuters report said citing sources close to Hamas. Deif served as the mastermind of the attacks and only select Hamas leaders knew the details of the operation.  

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