On October 7, peace was taken away from Israeli citizens.

In the early hours of October 7, a Palestinian militant group called Hamas began Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel and launched a large-scale attack on Israeli military facilities while simultaneously sending ground troops to slaughter not only Israeli soldiers, but also elderly Israeli citizens, children, and babies. The scene spread all over social media in the blink of an eye.

The Israeli government estimated that 224 Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas, of which 138 of them have foreign passports. The government positioned the surprise attack as “Israel’s 9/11” and embarked on a mission to destroy Hamas.

However, it’s not easy to wipe out Hamas militants who are hiding in civilian residential areas in northern Gaza. As in the past, Hamas has adopted a tactic of using civilians and hostages as a shield. The number of civilian casualties in Gaza are rising to record levels, and if this continues, it’s certain that more people will condemn Israel’s offensive. Meanwhile, Hamas, with an inferior military force, is not allowing civilians to evacuate and wages a “public opinion warfare” to lower international support for Israel.

On October 24, the Pentagon announced that between October 17-24, unmanned drones and rockets attacked U.S. military bases in Syria and Iraq for a total of 13 times. Four U.S. soldiers were injured in Iraq and roughly 20 U.S. troops suffered injuries in Syria. Attacks targeting the pro-Israel U.S. are rapidly increasing.

The U.S. has also analyzed that there’s a possibility Iran is backing Hamas and encouraging the Hamas attack.

Amid these circumstances, on October 24, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations that “if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security – swiftly and decisively.” On the evening of October 25, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. would respond if Iran continued its attacks.

The next day, on October 26, the U.S. launched airstrikes on two bases in Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and other militant groups.

The U.S. has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East to prevent clashes between Israel and Hamas from escalating. The goal was to deter Iran or Hezbollah from entering the war, but it has not been effective. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that this conflict is about the U.S. and Israel against Iran and Islamic militant groups.

Was Iran Involved in Hamas’ Surprise Attack?

The looming question now is whether or not Iran was involved in Hamas’ surprise attack. The U.S. and Iranian governments have officially denied Iran’s alleged involvement, but the Wall Street Journal has reported Iran’s involvement in the planning stage as well as the training of Hamas fighters. Israel has made it clear that if Iran was truly involved, they will attack Iranian leadership.

If Israel, a nuclear superpower, were to launch an attack on Iran, it may as well be the start of the Battle of Armageddon predicted in the New Testament. Iran’s population is over 80 million people – its collapse on neighboring countries would be unparalleled to that of Iraq.

So, how can we prevent the final war?

Mercy Taught by the Lord God

To begin with, Israel’s national security strategy is to not let Iran, with nuclear ambitions, possess a single nuclear weapon.

Thus, if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, it is already a possibility that Israel would launch an offensive against Iran – even without Hamas’ surprise attack.

In a lecture in 2021, Happy Science CEO Master Ryuho Okawa sounded a strong warning:

“To the people of Iran, I daresay, you must not rush to build a nuclear weapon. If you do, you are destined to become the next Iraq. If Israel and Iran both possessed nuclear weapons, the only survivor will be Israel. Iran will perish. So, listen to my word and hold on. You need to westernize. You need democracy. This is how you survive!”

“Islamic fundamentalism needs change! If you don’t change, all of you will fall down the wrong path. Many [Islamic countries in Africa] are poor. Communism-like regimes are spreading. But the true God says, the path to wealth begins with your own effort!” (Lecture “The Earth says: All you need is Love”, the EL Cantare Celebration on December 14, 2021)

Already in 2010, Master Okawa commented on the similarity between the political regime of Islamic countries and communism in that they are both totalitarian.

“From the viewpoint of countries that value freedom and democracy, communist autocracy looks similar to Islamic politics, with its monotheistic political regime, in that they both appear to be totalitarian.”

It goes without saying that Israel must revise its ethnocentric democracy – oppressing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and degrading domestic Arabs into second-class citizens. Particularly in recent years, Israeli settler violence in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank has been a concern. Radical Israeli settlers have been attacking, assaulting, and exploiting Palestinians, and U.S. President Biden has condemned this as well. Furthermore, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must not be pressured by the ultra-hardliners among the current coalition government to take extreme actions against Iran.

Meanwhile, over in Iran, a woman was beaten to death for wearing a hijab improperly. Women are still suppressed, and they are seeking freedom.

“Even among religious believers, there exist people who bring down a country to destruction. Ultimately, you need to steer in the direction where the value of each individual is heightened,” Master Okawa said in the same lecture in 2021.

Today, the mercy of Allah includes respecting each and every individual as a child of God. Whether or not we are able to lend our ears to the voice of the Lord God who has guided the three brother religions –the key to humanity’s survival lies herein.