Brit at the heart of Israel’s bloody war with Hamas is 'ready for all scenarios'
The family of a Brit at the heart of Israel’s bloody war with Hamas spoke of their fears as the death toll rose again.
Lieutenant colonel Richard Hecht, who was born and grew up near Glasgow, has been providing the world with a blow by blow account of the conflict which has killed hundreds in a matter of days in his role as international spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
He was appointed to his role in August last year and described at the time how he had left a “very comfortable lifestyle to live in spartan Israel in the 80s”.
He joined the army at 18 and served in a combat unit in the West Bank and the Lebanese border before gaining vast operational experience as a battalion commander. Speaking from Tel Aviv amid rocket attacks at the weekend, he said Hamas “want the annihilation of our state". He said: “We are going to respond very, very severely to this. The style of the attack is barbaric. In a way this is our 9/11.”
Smoke rises over a buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike (Sameh Rahmi/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)He added: “There is more to come. We have been telling the world for years who Hamas is and I think we saw yesterday their real colour. Right now our main goal is to bring safety back to the communities around the Gaza strip. The Israeli military is united and ready on all fronts. We’re ready for all scenarios and we are motivated to defend our country.”
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The 47-year-old’s uncle, Walter Hecht, has been watching the scenes of devastation unfold in Glasgow and said relatives in Scotland were “obviously concerned” for family in Israel after unprecedented attacks by the Palestinian militant group.
Speaking to Daily Record, Walter said: "Richard is a nice young man who is dealing with horrific situations and having to witness horrendous scenes. It must be traumatic for anybody in that situation, so I feel for him.
"But he is a Lieutenant Colonel. He is very strong and has a job to do. He’s got a very balanced view on the Israel-Palestine situation and he is trying to convey that in a difficult situation. He must be under pressure but will be dealing with it.
"His father made a decision to leave Scotland and live in Israel and the Jewish homeland a number of years ago. They have been there so long they are effectively Israelis but they do come back and forth because they have very fond memories of Scotland and it was a great country for them to grow up in.
"We are obviously concerned. We are horrified like every civilised person at the barbaric behaviour of the Hamas terrorists acting in the same manner as ISIS."
The 47-year-old man has been providing the world with a blow by blow account of the conflict (Daily Record)
Brits take part in a Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration in Central London (PA)Walter spoke as his nephew, who grew up in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, vowed that Israeli forces would “go aggressively and severely after Hamas” following the deaths of more than 700 people there.
The 76-year-old is treasurer for Glasgow Friends of Israel, which has run a “peace stall” in the city centre for eight years with the motto “Pro-Israel. Pro Palestinian. Pro-Peace.” He said: “There has been a lot of past criticism of the way Israel defends itself. Now I hope the world better appreciates why it has to defend itself firmly - it is dealing with terrorists who are prepared to act in this way and have done so in the past with a stated aim to commit genocide against Jews and are prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way.
“Whether you’re Jewish, or of any denomination or none, you can only make judgement as a human being when you see terrorists intent on killing as many people as they can manage. Prepared to go into a concert and clinically shoot over 250 young people dead of various nationalities, targeting and attacking houses, murdering civilians of all ages, grandmothers, women babies, taking families as hostages, abusing dead bodies and publicly parading corpses and hostages around Gaza. That is the message that has to be put across.”
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