A former Navy Seal and combat medic-turned-congressman says the aftermath of Hamas’ slaughter of Israeli civilians Oct. 7 was the most horrific and barbaric sight he ever encountered.
“This is ISIS times 1,000,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who toured Israel last week, told The Post, referring to the jihadists known for beheading hostages.
“I can speak with authority. I’ve done multiple combat tours. People were slaughtered at a level not seen since the Holocaust,” he said of the attack on Israel, which killed at least 1,400 people, many civilians.
“These Hamas terrorists — these savages, these beasts — they specifically targeted children. They were told to cut people’s arms and legs off …It’s gut wrenching,” Van Orden said. “People are trying to legitimize this.”
Van Orden served 26 years in the Navy, 22 of those as a Navy Seal that included five combat deployments.
He blasted the Biden administration for delivering $100 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, from where governing Hamas staged the attack.
“That’s sending mixed messages. It must be clear that HAMAS is responsible for these terrible attacks,” Van Orden said in a statement on X about his trip.
“Neither England nor the United States sent humanitarian aid to Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, or Imperial Japan during the war. There is no equivocation. HAMAS, Hezbollah, and their sponsor Iran, are the enemies of freedom and peace. We must stop aiding them,” the pol wrote.
“Palestinians participated in these crimes — not just Hamas.”
He said Israel has the right to defend itself with its counterattacks in Gaza, dismissing calls for a cease-fire that thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in New York and elsewhere are clamoring for.
“Everything that is happening in Gaza is a result of Hamas’ attack on Israel,” said the freshman congressman.
Van Orden, 54, visited a kibbutzim where scores of civilians were killed, including Holocaust survivors, in the early October slaughter.
He recalled speaking with a 70-year-old grandfather who held off the Hamas terrorists for 16 hours with one other man to protect his grandchildren.
“Sara Jane and I are having our 10th grandchild soon, and I only hope that I would have the courage that this man has if the time ever comes,” the congressman said of his own family.
He participated in a traditional Jewish ceremony of making bread and praying for all the people murdered or taken hostage. The bread was given to soldiers the next morning.
The congressman also helped prepare sandwiches for children and soldiers, donated blood and visited a wounded Israeli warrior.
In addition, his visit included meetings with Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Avi Dichter, a former commander of the Israeli Shin Bet, Israel’s counterterrorist unit, and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, among other Israeli officials.
Aside from helping Israel wipe out Hamas, Van Orden, a member of the House Agricultural and Veterans committees, said he will push to provide food aid to Israel.
He noted Israelis rely on getting fruit and vegetables from surrounding Arab countries, such as tomatoes from Turkey. Those countries may be less willing to provide food to Israel during the war.
“Where are they going to get their food from?,” he said of Israelis.
He also wants to provide funding to help Israeli soldiers recover from combat injuries.
Van Orden urged Americans and the president and Congress to be unequivocal in supporting Israel.
“Now is the time for courage,” he said in The Post interview. “Stand strong with the Jewish people, and don’t get weak in the knees.
“There cannot be peace when the evil that is Hamas exists.”
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