Atrocities Test America's Commitment to Israel

But for Iranian money and missiles and American appeasement of mullahs, Hamas terrorists wouldn’t have had means to carry out a massively savage surprise attack on Jewish residents in Gaza.

Just weeks ahead of human carnage that at the time of this writing has already left more than 700 dead, 2,000 injured, and perhaps hundreds of hostages, the Biden administration authorized the release of $6 billion in frozen Iran funded ransom money for release of five U.S. hostages.

The ugly irony here is that many of those kidnapped and held by Hamas as human shields against retaliatory Israeli air strikes are believed to be American citizens.

Whereas Biden administration spokespersons and supporters are quick to point out that the money which is being held in South Korean bank accounts located in Qatar have yet to be paid, and is restricted for use to “humanitarian uses,” the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had previously told NBC News host Lester Holt that the money will be spent "wherever we need it" which the government will decide is best.

As pointed out by former DNI John Ratcliffe on yesterday’s Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures show hosted by Maria Bartiromo, Biden White House relief from oil sanctions imposed by the Trump administration may be many times that amount.

According to Iran’s oil minister in May, “Over the last 20 months, Iran’s oil production has reached levels above 3 million barrels per day and natural gas output has reached more than 1 billion cubic meters.”

Much of that oil and gas is going to China, with at least $100 million per year of that revenue funding proxy terrorist organizations.

As reported by the U.S. State Department, these partner groups in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen include Hamas, its semi-independent Islamic Jihad affiliates , and Hezbollah.

Notwithstanding the fact that Hamas and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Islamic militant organization aren’t always on friendly terms, they share a common hated for Israel.

On Saturday, Hezbollah joined with Hamas as a second assault front in firing mortar shells and a missile at Israeli targets from locations in southern Lebanon.

Altogether, the combined air, land and sea operation was expansive and brutal, with thousands of rockets fired at Israeli cities and Hamas militants crossing the Gaza Strip border into Southern Israel throwing hand grenades into crowded gatherings, randomly shooting people in cars and on streets, and entire families slaughtered and kidnapped in homes as hostages against expected retaliatory air attacks.

Victims killed, wounded, and captured included both soldiers and civilians.

And America’s Iran appeasement policy roles in this?

Following strongly pro-Israeli Trump policies including relocation of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, weak Democrat White House and congressional support for Israel sends a strong message throughout the Middle East.

The Obama and Biden administrations’ obsessively disastrous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – better known as “Iran Nuclear Deal” – has most certainly emboldened Tehran while angering Middle East counties including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco that previously joined with Israel as signatories of the Abraham Accords engineered by the Trump administration.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that JCPOA has provided Iran with an open pathway to advance uranium enrichment to 83.7% near weapons grade purity at its Fordo plant south of Tehran.

JCPOA is currently being brokered on America’s behalf by Russia at a time when Tehran is supplying weaponized drones used against Ukrainian defenses we support and now also for targeting Israeli tanks by Hamas.

Equally disturbing, JCPOA never addressed ICBM development restrictions to prevent Iranian nuclear warheads from reaching American targets.

The Biden administration’s feckless Afghanistan debacle is globally seen as further evidence of U.S. weakness.

Add to this Biden’s apparent disrespect for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whom he has publicly criticized for overhauling Israel’s judicial system and neglected to meet with over the first nine months of his presidency. He then only did so in Manhattan rather than inviting him to the White House.

And whereas in September 2021 the U.S. House of Representatives provided Israel with $1 billion in new funding for its Iron Dome missile system defenses against Iran proxy assaults, that vote came just a few days after a group of progressive Democrats blocked an earlier attempt to include this funding in a $3.8 billion Israeli military budget measure that had been previously passed that year.

Major questions remain regarding how such a massively large and coordinated upcoming attack wasn’t anticipated by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) who as recently as March reported having intercepted a Panamanian-flagged civilian cargo ship headed for Gaza from Iran carrying Syrian-manufactured surface-to-surface rockets.

The IDF also recently reported having stopped two suspects affiliated with Hezbollah from planting a bomb near the Israel-Syria border.

We can be very certain, however, that Israel will swiftly and aggressively retaliate as more than 20 of their communities adjacent to the Gaza security fence are being evacuated for protection in preparation for a declared war on Hamas inside the enclave.

Further expect the Israeli counterattacks to employ boots-on-the-ground responses with all possible attempts to avoid collateral damage against kidnapped Hamas hostages now serving as airborne attack shields at weaponry and other strategic sites.

After paying $6 billion for a five-person hostage swap, and affording far more for Iran economic sanction relief, perhaps we’re beginning to recognize along with Israel that terrorists can’t be trusted to play nice.

Perhaps we might apply this same wisdom to protect our own open southern border.