You are welcome to believe what you want to believe but plenty of people throughout History believed something as strongly and self righteously as you do and turned out dead wrong. To think you are immune to that and suggest that no voice to the contrary should be allowed is ridiculous.
The fact that innocent people are purposefully being killed in Gaza is just that - a fact.
What you can do is argue that that's okay. What you CAN'T do is argue that that isn't happening.
For example, it is a fact that the US slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
You can argue it was justified and the lesser of two evil - people do it all the time. What you CAN'T argue is that hundreds of thousands of innocent people werent slaughtered. They were, it just happened.
I'm sorry, you just have to live with that and live with whatever resulting beliefs you may have.
If you want to end the war, then pressure Hamas to return the hostages. Don't pressure Israel to bow to terrorist demands.
I'm wondering if you'd apply the same standard on the flip side? Per Hamas, they are engaged in a war with Israel, so by your standard they are justified in their rocket attacks killing Israeli civilians who have nothing to do with the war?
There are a LOT of videos from Gaza when Israel notified civilians to leave a building before it destroys it. That seems contrary to the goal of killing civilians.
The other obvious thing is - since Israel is already totally smeared as a genocider (eg this story) it could be argued that it can do whatever it wants and suffer no further PR damage. So to the extent that it still shows restraint - it's either because they don't want to kill civilians or because they are still playing to an audience with a discerning moral compass internationally.
I mean I don't think anyone will argue it's good but "crimes against humanity" is certainly a massive exaggeration.
Even an increasing number of Israelis call this for what it is: ethnic cleansing and genocide.
I'll help you with that. It's not the side that would regularly take Gazan children into Israel for medical treatment before the Gazans started a war against Israeli children. Or do Israeli children mean nothing? Because I personally know two women whose children were burned to death on October 7th.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_health_workers_in_t...
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/20/nx-s1-5370617/israeli-probe-k...
The one shooting doctors.
What happened on October 7 has been a tragedy. 38 children died that day, and you know two of the mothers. I can't even relate with their suffering, in no way I can understand their pain like you do.
But I don't know either any mothers of the 32'000 killed and wounded on the other side.
"One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this."
> The one shooting doctors.
That's nicely tautological. Hamas shoots at doctors. > What happened on October 7 has been a tragedy. 38 children died that day, and you know two of the mothers.
Yes. Additionally, I know half a dozen of the hostages personally. My older daughter's classmate, his brother and sister and both parents, were all slaughtered in their home. My younger daughter's teacher was a hostage, he was murdered in Gaza. My son's camp counselor was likewise taken hostage and murdered in Gaza. Shall I continue? > How many mothers of the 32'000 killed and wounded on the other side you know?
I'm not sure, but I do know a few Gazans who have told me that they lost family members. One just lost an uncle a few days ago, we talked about it. Yes, I talk to Gazans.I can never understand your pain but for me this reads like bloodlust coming from revenge. That is a path that will never lead to an end of bloodshed.
Given the actions of the Netanyahu government continuously siding with actions prolonging the genocide despite whatever action Hamas takes what do you propose?
What do you think of the colonialists/settlers/occupiers on the West Bank stealing Palestinian land and forcing people from their homes?
> This is absolute straight up lying, you should feel nothing short of shame.
One of the first Hamas Gopro videos of October 7th was the shooting of an ambulance. Shall I find it for you? Also, Hamas stormed the clinic at Beeri and killed the entire staff and patients. And my local hospital has mentioned that one of its doctors was killed while treating the wounded on October 7th. > As long as it's reckoning for October 7th there's no amount of blood and suffering that will stop your people.
It's not reckoning, it's a war to get our hostages back. Don't like the war? Neither do we. Start pressuring Hamas to return the hostages and the war will end. Or, if you like wars, then continue pressuring Israel to capitulate to the demands of terrorists.Nobody's ever denied that October 7th was a tragedy and that similar things happened. Not even once.
Don't get your point besides "if some of us suffered, it's fine to inflict 1000x the suffering on anybody associated, related or even just in proximity of those who caused us the suffering".
> It's not reckoning
I've never seen a war in which only one side has an army, and the other one loses almost exclusively civilians.
A friend of mine is in the Red Cross staff, they had more than 20 casualties since 2021 in Palestine. Their staff was literally shot at because they were doctors.
It's sickening.