DALLAS — Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
A Dallas pastor has been caught overseas amid an attack on Israel – which has killed dozens and injured hundreds of others.
News broke Saturday morning that Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday, killing dozens and stunning the country. Israel said it was now at war with Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza, vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”
Several hours after the incursion began, Hamas militants were still fighting gunbattles inside several Israeli communities near Gaza. Israel’s national rescue service said at least 40 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years. Also, an unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians had been seized and taken into Gaza.
At least 198 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed in Israel’s retaliation and at least 1,610 wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.
Rev. Dr. George Mason, president of Faith Commons in Dallas, an interfaith nonprofit group, is in the country amid the crossfire between the two groups. He said Faith Commons was about to lead a trip in Jerusalem, which has since been canceled. Mason told WFAA he got there two days prior of Saturday's attack to participate in a conference at a Palestinian university in nearby Bethlehem.
Mason said scholars from 25 different countries were in attendance of the conference. He said he came to Jerusalem to meet his group that would be meeting him and the attack started at about 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
"One of the strangest things about war is that life can feel eerily normal in parts of the country where just down the road a few miles people are dying, are terrorized, are being taken hostage," Mason said. "It's an extraordinary juxtaposition of life and death taking place."
Mason said it's a strange feeling to be in the midst of quiet streets, but also hear sirens and "rocket booms."
In a televised address, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”
Western nations condemned the incursion and reiterated their support for Israel, while others called for restraint on both sides.
“The U.S. unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the U.S. National Security Council. “We stand firmly with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”
The attack comes at a time of historic division within Israel over Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests over the plan have sent hundreds thousands of Israeli demonstrators into the streets and prompted hundreds of military reservists to avoid volunteer duty — turmoil that has raised fears over the military’s battlefield readiness and raised concerns about its deterrence over its enemies.
Mason called the situation a "humanitarian crisis that has been brewing for 75 years."
"I think it's incredibly difficult because so much of American sympathy is with Israel, for us to recognize that there are Palestinians who are Indigenous peoples to the area, also claim this as a homeland and are seeking a way of peace," Mason said. "Not all Palestinians are terrorists and not all Israelis are supportive of government policy."
The pastor said many Israeli Jewish people are passionately interested in justice for the Palestinians and for their autonomy.
"Rather than simplistic answers, this is an opportunity for people to look deeper. Unfortunately, in the fog of war, people tend not to do that," Mason said. "But this is exactly when people need to look deeper and realize this is a deeply-complicated matter and that many people's lives are at stake in this."
"The way of peace is now more in peril than ever," Mason added. "This is what we should be seeking as human beings – peace and justice for all."
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