Hamas strike on Israel - mod warning in OP updated 19/10/23

A fine measured response to a particularly redundant question. This "both sides" bollocks is truly nauseating, when one side is absolutely determined to scupper the process that would see a ceasefire of any relative solidity get put into effect, up to and including the deliberate slaughter of women and children in the middle of the night as they sleep in their makeshift tents.

That doctor is entirely correct.

Is it because they are muslim? I would hope and expect younger Irish people see the nonsense and perils associated with religion. Are people maybe on a wind up? Is it that people are incapable of changing their minds about situations? Is that not cool or something? I honestly don't get it. I'd be so embarrassed and ashamed if I was trying to justify the bombings of women and children in refugee camps. Is there no honour anymore?

Well, some people not only lack empathy, they also lack the ability to feel shame.

I don't think you understand the points that people are making. I am very sad at what is happening in Gaza, that people are suffering and being killed.

But I am clear that the blame for this lies primarily with Hamas. Hamas have chosen to put their own wealth, their own prosperity and their own egos above the safety and security of their own people. They are like the Japanese generals who wanted to fight on to the last man in the face of overwhelming destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

How evil do you have to be as leaders to bring down unnecessary suffering on your own people?

40-50 years of an anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment rammed down the West's throat to justify bombing the **** out people in that part of the world may have something to do with it, or perhaps there are folks who are fearful that once the Hamas lads are done with stealing Gazan Aid they'll be clearing out a Centra near you.

Either way it lacks a certain amount of consistency. Anti-semitism (although I would say that criticizing a state actively engaged in ethnic cleansing is not anti-semitism, if so, well then Jewish people have bigger problems…), that's bad, Islamaphobia, well that's pretty much in vogue and has been for a while now. Lets not even go into the details of what constitutes what being Semitic is. We'll leave that to the non-book burning radical lefties….

Woah there horsey.

The Japanese were a force to be reckoned with. The Americans were able to work out how many lives would be lost if they invaded mainland Japan. There is no comparison here - Hamas are beaten. How many IDF soldiers have they killed in the last 6 months??

Why does every response begin with "What about Israel?".

Hamas leaders are to blame primarily, that doesn't mean anything about anything else, stop trying to conflate it.

Do you accept that Hamas leaders are to blame primarily? That is where we need to start.

I believe we can all agree that it is incredibly tragic that Israel has been forced to resume large-scale airstrikes in Gaza. The Israelis have been left with no other option at this stage.

What utter shite.

Israel's hand hasn't been forced in this. Netanyahu has chosen to resume the murder of innocents because he wants the slaughter to continue.

Your deliberate misreading of this is thoroughly disgusting.

"Israel has been forced to resume large-scale airstrikes in Gaza. The Israelis have been left with no other option at this stage"

In what alternate reality is this going on?

I agree that Hamas are responsible for the atrocity on Oct 7th. I agree that Israel has the right to defend itself within the rules of law. And I have consistently stated both since the start of this conflict. My stance has not changed and will not change.

Palestinian civilians are dying by the 10s of thousands - 1000 killed in the last two days. I blame Israel for that.

Do you?

It's hard to witness such delusion or lack of analytical thought.

So basically, Israel have agreed a ceasefire which guaranteed the release of their hostages based on certain conditions, that the other side (a jihadi terror group) also agreed to. The jihadi terror group stuck to their side by all accounts I see.

Then Israel, after hearing that the US president put forward a plan to genocide Gaza of its people, tried to completely upend the agreement it signed (risking its own hostages), change the terms unilaterally, and blockaded food and aid to Gazan civilians to pressure these new terms. Now this hasn't worked out, they are left with no other choice than to blow up hundreds of women and kids. And all this makes sense to you??

How does a jihadi gang of scumbags come out of this looking like the more honorable party.

Israel are completely responsible for the brutal actions they take and any of the choices they have made in this war.

I don't agree they have been forced into this in any measure. The should have stuck with the terms of the ceasefire they signed.

The Health Ministry in Gaza operating under Hamas. The skepticism that once existed about the reliability of casualty figures and reports from that source — especially among those who view Hamas as a terrorist organization — appears to have faded. The Health Ministry in Gaza is now treated as a reliable, even authoritative, source of information about Gaza by many who support the Palestinian cause.

The once clear distinction between supporting Palestine and supporting Hamas appears to be increasingly blurred as the conflict continues.

You won't get an answer.

The question didn’t really relate to what I posted. I made a comment about Hamas being the source of the figures and the fact that data provided by Hamas is now treated as reliable. It’s interesting to note that the poster doesn’t seem to disagree with what I said.

I’m happy to answer his (@A Dub in Glasgo) question regarding carpet bombing. You don’t carpet bomb civilians; you carpet bomb an area, which inevitably results in death. As I’ve said many times, I’ll shed no tears over the death of a member of Hamas or any other terrorist organization. I’ll shed no tears over the death of anyone who supports them, directly or indirectly. My heart goes out to the innocent people in Gaza who will suffer.