A retired Israeli General could hear and see a huge barrage of rockets as he was riding his bicycle home.

Israel Ziv rushed home, put on his unform, grabbed his gun and rushed to take on Hamas.  His actions over the last weekend straight into the battle zone and organising several soldiers needing support and direction has made him a national hero.  It demonstrated Israel’s spirit of DIY.  Many New Zealander’s can relate to this spirit and instinctively knowing when something is wrong and stepping up, rushing to help. 

Last weekend 1500 terrorists, motivated by hate, murdered over 1300 innocent men, women, children, young & old, able bodied and disabled, and took hundreds of hostages as bargaining chips, all because those victims were in Israel. These prisoners of war include babies and elderly.

Nothing! can justify those acts of barbaric terrorism which happened on Oct 7.

For Jewish and non-Jewish people living in New Zealand, many have friends, relations who are in Israel. Some of them lost friends and relatives last weekend, and they are horrified, and afraid for those who are caught up in this tragedy that continues to unfold.

But only those who live in Israel can really understand the impact of it all,  and their response is the response of a country which has just had its biggest loss of life in one day in its entire history.

These are the contexts which shape the consideration of the facts.

The next weeks will not bring a solution, and all of us know that many more lives will be lost, on both sides.

We all wish for peace. And none of us want to see the loss of innocent lives.

But Israel has to deal with the consequences of this monstrous act of terrorism which took place last weekend.

We must stand against brutal and personal terrorists acts like this and take a stand.

We need to support them in their time of grief, and we wish for a speedy end, and one which brings peace to all.

Henri Eliot is the Honorary Consul State of Israel in New Zealand.