Hanaguma

So, you trust Hamas' reports of casualties? The same group that falsely claimed a hospital was bombed and 500 people killed? No need to be so credulous, my friend. Let's be honest. It may take a while, but Hamas as a threat will be eliminated. Israel is taking time, to MINIMIZE civilian casualties. Would have been easier to simply carpet bomb Gaza City on October 8. Easier and less costly in terms of IDF soldiers' lives. But instead they are being as careful as possible, even at the cost of their own soldiers, to save as many Gazans as possible.

You are freely and without care posting Hamas generated numbers for the casualties in Gaza. May I ask why? Why should Israel stop bombing Gaza? Hamas is stlil hiding in the shadows and cowering behind the children you care so much about. You could always turn this around and say, "Iran could make Hamas stop rocketing innocent Israelis tomorrow if it wanted"...

I do. Much the same as I did for innocent German or Japanese civilians in WW2, who were caught up in the madness of their governments in a time of war. But sympathy is not the point. The point is to destroy the enemy with minimal cost to ones' own side. Israel is being very careful to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, but those casualties that ARE caused are 100% the fault of Hamas.

IMHO a large part of the IDF's mission is to destroy the terrorist infrastructure that has been built (using UN and other donated relief supplies) over the past 15 years. Clear out the tunnels, the underground bunkers, the command structure built under schools/hospitals/mosques, the storage facilities for rockets, etc.

There is a large gap between "not much protest" and "dancing in the streets in ecstasy and spitting on the desecrated body of a young murdered girl".

Beautiful mountains, amazing temples, 25 Unesco World Heritage Sites, cool cities (especially Osaka), reasonably priced booze and wine. Other than that, not much.

The area called Arashiyama in the west of Kyoto has amazing fall colours, and a lovely river to boot. Good place to walk around, scenic gardens, well worth an afternoon. Plus of course Kiyomizu Temple in the east. Amazing place, plus it is the start of a walking path called Tetsugaku no Michi (Philosophers Path) which goes along the Gion River and is very scenic.

If you have time, the Otaru Brewing Company in the downtown has some very tasty beverages. There is also a fresh fish market called the Triangle Market where you can get huge portions of quality sashimi fresh from the fishing fleet. One of my fav towns in Japan.

If the cowards of Hamas did not hide behind civilians, this would not be necessary. The IAF does not gleefully bomb civilians fot no reason.

If Hamas surrenders, peace would happen in an instant.

The only vacuum is in Guterres' logic. Israel's actions so far do not rise to the level of war crimes. If they do, talk to me. Hamas by contrast was rather proud of their actions in raping and murdering the innocent.

Yes, restraint. Relative to what they could do if they chose. So, if the bombing campaign is not the path to victory for Israel, what is YOUR winning strategy for eliminating Hamas? It is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize, but time to get in the game with your path to victory.

Don't make promises you are unwilling to keep. Otherwise what did I say that was factually incorrect?

Perhaps that is because Israel is not slaughtering civilians wholesale. Even using Hamas' inflated figures, about 8,000 Gazans have been killed in 3 weeks of bombing. "Wholesale slaughter" in a crowded urban area, should Israel choose to do so, would result in 8,000 deaths in an hour. It is actually a remarkably low number, considering the difficult conditions the IAF has to work with, and a testament to their professionalism and restraint.

Yeah, it's not like leftist ideas killed anyone in the last 100 years. Just a hundred million people or so. Chump change really...

Haven't seen any yet. Maybe Singapore? My wife was shocked when we were in Toronto that drivers actually STOPPED at pedestrian crossings.

Hardly "isolated incidents". A co-ordinated attack by something like 2,000 men. An attack that did not happen in a vacuum. An attack that needed support, training, materiel, and planning. Kind of like thousands of rockets flying into Israel. Not "isolated incidents". They require co-ordination on a larger scale. An "isolated incident" would be a random knife attack on a bus. Not a slaughter of 1,500 people. Gaza has supported Hamas for years. Put up with their nonsense. Let them build tunnels and bunkers under their schools and hospitals and mosques. Let them brainwash their children. It is a bit late in the game now to suddenly cry "we are shocked, SHOCKED by what is happening".

Interesting story. You forgot one rather significant part though- Israel found the criminals who did it, put them on trial, and they were convicted of murder. Hamas treats their murderers rather differently...

You decide. What kind of society creates such monsters? People who are confident that their atrocities will be lauded and celebrated and even paid for- Hamas was paying $10,000 for each hostage brought back to Gaza.

Eli Beer, a volunteer paramedic, testified to it. He saw babies with no heads, and heads with no babies, and no way to match up the proper remains.

It takes an even more "special" person to record themselves on GoPro and livestream themselves as they commit atrocities. Also to stip their victims naked, parade them around the streets, then behead them. Also to call their families (on the cell phone of their victim) and BOAST about what they did. Also to hear your son boast about mass murder of innocent people and say 'bless you, my son'.

That is like saying the only people who could wipe out the Nazis were Germans. Or the only people who could wipe out the Japanese imperialists were Japanese. Both patently untrue- the Allies did a pretty good number on both as I recall. Wipe out Hamas and their supporters, destroy their terror network, roll up the outside funders and make them all room temperature, then work on a reasonable political solution for Gaza. One that involves a modicum of democracy, backed up by aid so that they can become self sufficient. Prevent the young from being taught hate and anti-semitism at school. Allow human rights and freedom. Gaza could bloom if given the right incentive and without Hamas holding it back.

You're right, I forgot. In 2005. 8,000 Israelis moved out of Gaza. They foolishly left behind greenhouses and materials for the Gazans to use. Millions of dollars in outside aid also came in. But the Gazans wisely refused to copy the dirty Jews and try to make money by growing flowers and other valuable crops. No, they wisely decided to loot and burn anything left behind by the departing Jews. Turned the piping onto rockets to get revenge on them. So yes, the Jews in way sowed the seeds of their own discomfort.

If you want to know why Gaza is so poor, in spite if massive infusions of aid money, look no further than Hamas. They have built a tunnel system that some say is 500km in length under and around Gaza. It honeycombs the area beneath the city. One of the recently released hostages described it as like a spider's web. This is the key to wiping out Hamas. Smoke them out of their tunnels and destroy the facilities.

It is so nice to see many members of what Salman Rushdie calls the "but brigade" posting here. "of course the Hamas attacks were wrong but....", "sure Israel can defend itself but..." There is no place for that here. There is no moral equivalence between a professional military defending its people and a group of barbaric thugs trying to KILL their own people. We can endlessly debate the politics. We cannot debate debauchery and acts that would make Genghis Khan blush. October 7 was not a political statement, it was an attempt to kick-start a genocide.