Page 123 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

Epilogue
As this book was being readied for press, two things occurred that warrant mention in these closing pages.
I will begin with the more recent of the two—an extremely tragic happening. On 31 August 2024 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they had recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from a Gazan tunnel. Reportedly, the bodies had been shot at close range, execution-style, and only a short time before the arrival of IDF soldiers, seeking to rescue the hostages (see also article 23, footnote j). Hamas subsequently released videos of the final messages of each of the six, recorded under duress, created for propaganda purposes and to deter the rescue of other hostages.
This latest atrocity by Hamas was almost certainly intended to be a powerful blow to Israelis and the worldwide Jewish community, a cynical use of psychological warfare. It was a vicious reminder of the October 7 massacre and a continuation of its violence, and a reminder also of the helpless vulnerability of the remaining hostages.
Yet, as the days have ticked by, the hostages have seemed barely to register as a concern for the Australian Catholic community. On 6 September 2024, at LightofTorah.net, I made available a one-page statement and prayer in the hope that it might assist clergy to raise the issue with church congregations the following Sunday. A couple of days later, I came across a statement that had been released by an international body of Muslim leaders and scholars, immediately after the execution of the six. It opened with the words: ‘The Global Imams Council
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