Israel Declares War on Hamas (bloodshed again)

Just heard on the news that surprise missile attacks were launched by Haamaas against Israel; many fatalities, many civilians and soldiers taken hostage.

It seems as though the Middle East has been a boiling, flaming cauldron of death, destruction, war, violence, terrorism, and injustices for multiple centuries.

Do you ever wonder WHY this part of the world is so plagued by such intense violence and seemingly-endless conflicts?

God alone knows how long this latest attack/war will last.

I think of the mass destruction, the deaths, the horrors.

What IS the deep-seated cause of so many centuries of unrest and war in this part of the world?

It's all so sad, sobering, and frightening.

And, of course, far too many innocent people perish; those that survive are apt to lose family members, friends, their homes, and whatever freedoms they might enjoy.

Heaven help these poor people................

 

Right now, that area of the world is in free-fall; militants on both sides will only further inflame (and escalate) the tensions that are already beyond the erupting stage.

Some wars last so long that, in the end, the original cause has long since been forgotten.

So much vast destruction......so many innocents maimed or killed.......no one wins......

 

See:

History of Israel - Wikipedia

State of Palestine - Wikipedia

 

I edited the thread title as Israel has now declared war on Hamas.

Hamas launched over 2000 missiles at Southern Israel to cover militants invading and attacking soldiers and citizens as well as kidnapping Israelis and taking them back to Gaza.

Israel of course is attacking Gaza. Meanwhile Hamas militants are still attacking numerous cities in Israel.

 

IMHO, this latest conflict is going to get a lot WORSE before it even begins to ease.

Recall, not all that long ago, the pullout of US troops from Afhghanistan, and all the chaos that ensued.

Of course, we know that BOTH sides will be blamed for this new attack; who knows WHEN this new conflict will be resolves.

For people living in that part of the world, it must be like living on the edge of a volcano, not knowing WHEN it will next erupt, and no way of telling how violent it will be............

 

Here's a very interesting article..........

Arab–Israeli conflict - Wikipedia

 

See also:

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East - Wikipedia

 

Let's not forget the "Yom Kippur War" of 1973, taking place almost a year to the day of today's surprise deadly attacks..........

Yom Kippur War - Wikipedia

 

Was just watching "on the ground" news coverage of the attacks; the images of tall buildings collapsing before your eyes eerily echoed the haunting news images I saw months ago of Ukrania cities under Russian attack.

Many hostages have been taken; also, many kidnappings.

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning, there will be a special session at the UN.

Security is being ramped up in several US cities, including New York.

The 11 o' clock news also pointed out that, as all of this bloodshed, anguish, and mass destruction is taking place, we are without a Speaker of the House..................

 

"We will never learn to live in peace by killing each other's children."
Jimmy Carter

May all beings everywhere and without exception be safe and secure.
May they be content and at ease.
May they be free of the sufferings of fear, anger, and ill will.
May they be free of the sufferings of persecution, deprivation, and injustice.
May they find forgiveness for the myriad harms we visit on one another.
May the people think of befriending one another,
And be at peace.

 

Not going to take sides with this one......*sigh*

Taking the history(religion/ect).............

Dont think it is a smart move from Hamas(politics)..............now the palastians(civilians) will just get bombed out of there pants(with support of most of the world)

Mzzls

 

On an ABC Sunday morning news discussion program this AM, it was mentioned about US support; one of the men from Washington commented on how we are now a "house greatly divided" and what ramifications this might hold.

It would seem that, even during relatively peaceful intervals, the Middle East has always been a seething hotbed of violence, political turmoil, and civil unrest.

I recall hearing a comment, years ago, where someone made the following statement (regarding the Middle East):

"......they've been fighting over there since the time of Christ....."

Ironic, also, when you start thinking of that part of our world, and then recalling the "Holy Land"..............

 

NY News Radio 1010 WINS just had at least 10 minutes on the war; it's getting ulglier and more deadly by the hour.

As is sadly the case during ANY sort of war, far too many innocent people are going to suffer greatly.

I've also have heard that many elderly people, disabled individuals, and children are also being kidnapped/held hostage.

The ongoing war in the Ukraine still taking place, coupled with this new war, is a sure sign that all this intense "sabre rattling" is truly escalating, further demoralizing and destroying our already war-torn, fragile, and weary planet.

On the "Mother Nature" side of disasters, Afgahnistan has been hit with a major earthquake; the death toll, sadly, is very high.

It is almost like the planet itself is finally too weary and too battered to continue to live, and only wishes to expire........

 

This US carrier has now been deployed, heading towards the conflict...........

USS Gerald R. Ford - Wikipedia

 

I think what becomes immediately clear to me is that 90% of Americans don't know what is going on in Israel.

To start, it's important to denounce terrorism. My first priority in this case is to separate Palestinians (who are Muslim) from extremism. What makes this more difficult is that Gaza's leadership is Hamas. The first and impossibly difficult step to resolution is replacing Hamas; which to Palestinians is approximately the same thing as taking away the only thing that protects them.

What can the United States do? Right now, they are protecting an ally from a terrorist threat. Hamas killed a lot of people attending a music festival. It is normal for the U.S. to send armament to an ally under fire.

I think that the best option is to enter peace talks. Represent to Palestine that the United States sees the egregious human rights violation. We see that homes are torn down. We see that evictions are unjustified.

What we can do as the United States is to incentivize replacing Hamas leadership. That puts Palestine on neutral ground. Then the United States can represent to Israel that the human rights abuses cannot continue.

If Palestine replaces Hamas and if Israel stops the razing of property and unjust eviction practices, peace can begin.

I think what Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are saying is that people are in the habit of ignoring human rights abuse in Israel. Why would we remain an ally? I don't think we can if the razing of properties and unfair evictions continue.

The United States has a voice. I think we should represent to Israel that we view razing of properties and unfair evictions as human rights abuse, and go one step further to illustrate what we have done in cases like this with other countries' human rights abuse.

 

If you think Palestine doesn't have 1000 times the human rights violations of Israel, then you're in some kind of dreamland.

If you think Islam can be separated from the terrorists it breeds, that's also a fantasy that's never been proven to work.

If you find yourself in support of evil terrorists the likes of Palestinians and Iranians, then you're some kind of sick in the head.

 

Also, I find a critical misconception is in the mix with our somewhat vague understanding. This is not about who is Jewish and who is Muslim. The place where it is most visible is unfortunately here in the United States.

Our Palestinian children in the cities of the United States have taken to activism, and where they are most visible is unfortunately aligned with Hamas.

We need to disambiguate immediately the idea that Israel against Hamas is also some shadow Judaism against Islam.

There is always this very tragic presumption that Muslims are extremist by nature, or that we support extremism.

I will stand for Islam, but I will not stand for extremism. Where does that have me leave the Palestinians? Are they foregone or forsaken? It seems nothing is done! Where shall I stand? Here in the safety of misconception?

I think the best way to limit this sort of misinformation is to make ourselves responsible to know the difference. That is difficult with Hamas official leadership. The Palestinians do not know where to turn. When anyone points that out though they risk being "Hamas apologists".

I am a Muslim, but I am also an ex-rave attendee. Do I condone the slaughter of ravers at a festival in order to be accountable to my faith? No! I do not value extremism, and in my life and all my efforts I attempt to show the value and opportunity of diplomacy, which resembles weakness next to a militant with a machine gun.

I think it's very important for us to remember our duties to ourselves as spiritual, but also to remember that Israel must stop Hamas, and not some convoluted shadow game aimed at devaluation of Palestinians or Muslims. Palestinians are both Palestinian and Muslim, which makes it challenging to face what is happening here.

 

I don't agree, but you made me realize one thing that is important to mention. If Palestine is recognized as a state, and Israel is an allied state perhaps we can negotiate to end the war.

One thing that always serves as a warning in my heart is when our posts sort of 'normalize' these ideas. In my view, your post normalizes some kind of jingoistic bs charade, a little like the QAnon of yesteryear and January 6's whatever that was...

We should recognize atrocities no matter who commits them.

Also, do you need to denounce my religion?