'We're proud to defend our nation': Israeli tech expert on joining military amid Hamas war

Shaun Bolnick, an Israeli tech expert who drafted himself into the country's military force to fight the Hamas militants, spoke exclusively to the Republic on Tuesday, shedding light on the motivations that pushed him to join the armed forces during the ongoing conflict with Gaza. So far, the death toll has risen to nearly 1,600 on both sides since the war broke out.

“Nobody wants to spill blood and go to war. We want to defend our country, our brothers, sisters, and parents," said Bolnick, adding that Hamas militants invaded Israel, and committed multiple war crimes by taking hundreds of hostages, women, children, babies, and old age people back into Gaza.

They also massacred hundreds of innocent civilians while they were in their homes, and gunned them down mercilessly, he added. “We're here to defend our country and our fellow countrymen. So more than anything, I think we're proud to be able to wear the uniform and be able to defend our nation,” he said.

‘Just want to protect people behind me’

When questioned about his family's response to his choice to defend Israel against Hamas attacks, Bolnick remarked, “My family, like all Israeli families, are worried about their children, fathers, uncles, nephews, and nieces. Obviously, war is the worst thing imaginable, and nobody wants to send their family to war. But everyone is proud that we have an army to defend our country and defend them. Personally, I'm a bit nervous and I don't think I would be human if I wasn't nervous. But more than anything, I just want to protect the people behind me.”

Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, unleashed a surprising attack on Israel, which combined gunmen infiltrating the Israeli territory with a barrage of rockets being fired from Gaza. In response to Hamas militants' blood-cuddling attack, Bolnick said, “They made an enormous mistake. They thought that we were weak due to internal matters. But the country is fully united. Everyone is standing behind the government and its troops. I'm sure we'll inflict a price on them and make their leaders think twice before they ever launch such an attack again on us.”

He added that there's no time to compromise on Gaza and the West Bank with Palestinians who deny the rights of Israel and plan to wipe off the country from the map. “In terms of the West Bank, I think we're not going to annex it de facto because of the legal implications. But for Gaza, the military is more than capable of taking over it.  I do hope that we dismantle Hamas and wipe out its entire leadership structure,” he said.

Amid the infiltration of Hamas militants into Israel, several foreign nationals were killed, injured and kidnapped. Many of such affected foreigners had attended an electronic music festival in southern Israel, where they found themselves fleeing amidst a barrage of bullets.