The night we watched a CNN video of Hamas' surprise attack on revelers attending an Israeli Dance Festival last week, we felt sick and disgusted — nauseated even — by the sheer brutality of it all.

The immediate reaction was one of shock and horror. Scenes of terrorists gunning down helpless youngsters scampering for safety as rockets flew overheard fired from neighboring Gaza were just too much. Those who were able to reach bomb shelters realized too late they weren't the safest places to hide in as members of the marauding evil lobbed teargas and grenades, forcing them to get out, only to be felled by bullets. 

The early morning violence and cruelty came from all sides — from the north, west, and south — as the obviously planned attack on innocent civilians using paragliders was executed with precision. Only an open field to the east was left for the revelers to run for, but then they proved to be open targets for the armed beasts who found thrill in executing their prey. 

Others, trapped in the parking area as their vehicles got entangled in the mad dash out of the festival grounds, were taken as hostages, mostly women, who later reports said were raped.

Who would have thought that a night of revelry and fun would turn into a nightmare of this magnitude?

For Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, the attack that killed 1,400 of his countrymen in such a dehumanizing manner was their new Holocaust, their own 9/11 that need not happen again.

"The main target was the civilians. We were able to get the war plans of Hamas, and it was obvious in their planning that the main target was Israeli civilians — to murder, to kill, and to take hostages to Gaza. They were very well organized, very well prepared," Fluss said the day he visited the Daily Tribune office Monday.

Indeed, watching a video that depicts the atrocities of man against man can evoke a wide range of powerful and overwhelming emotions. The feelings that follow such an experience are deeply personal and can vary from one individual to another. The collective spirit pervading in Israel, however, is one of anger and outrage. Those whose relatives perished in that attack are obviously in anguish while burying their dead but otherwise one in their resolve to win this war, according to the Ambassador.

"They want those responsible to be held accountable," he said.

One could feel the rage in the Ambassador's voice, too. But of course, as a diplomat, he has to rein in his emotions. Truth be told, the disturbing images and experiences from the video have led to intrusive thoughts that continue to haunt us.

Will Israel's counter-offensive on Gaza lead to a prolonged all-out war? Will the death toll continue to rise amid the horror of it all? When will we ever get back our humanity? The Israeli Ambassador has a ready answer.

"This is a war of survival. It is not just a war to gain more territory. We are not against the Palestinians. We are going against a terror organization that wants to eliminate Israel at all costs and kill all the Jews. The Hamas charter explicitly says there is no political agreement that can be reached with Israel," Fluss said.

This being the case, the Ambassador said they have no choice but to win this war. "We don't expect anybody to fight for us."

Despite being such a small nation surrounded by adversaries, Israel, he stressed, intends to stay.

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