Meanwhile on the International front....

Hostage Deaths Fuel Israelis’ Doubts About Netanyahu

In the face of increasing pressure from the United States, Britain and Germany, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on his opposition to what these allies see as the future of Gaza: an interim government overseen by the Palestinian Authority and an eventual Palestinian state existing alongside Israel.

Speaking only hours after the army admitted to shooting three Israeli hostages as they held up a white flag in Gaza, fueling consternation and anger among Israelis, Mr. Netanyahu appeared to be trying to change the subject, boasting that he had prevented the creation of a Palestinian state in the past and would continue to do so.

 

Israeli Military Reveals Tunnel It Says Hamas Built for Large-Scale Attack

GAZA—A quarter of a mile from a civilian border crossing between Israel and northern Gaza lies what Israel’s military says is the largest tunnel discovered in the enclave. It is large enough that large vehicles can drive through it, and yet, until recently, Israel didn’t know the tunnel reached right up to its border.

Israeli troops uncovered the tunnel exit buried under a sand dune a few weeks ago. Israeli officials believe that the tunnel, up to 50 meters deep at points, and 2½ miles long, took years and millions of dollars to build and was meant to facilitate a large-scale attack on Israel.

“This is for moving massive assets,” Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters on Sunday. “It’s strategic.”

 

Israel’s ‘killing rage’ will fuel conflict for 50 years, warns ex-UK defence secretary

https://www.reuters.com/world/middl...oward-vote-demand-aid-access-gaza-2023-12-17/

In Israel, the US defense secretary is expected to press for a more targeted approach in Gaza

 

When you compare the tactics of both, you are comparing both, at least in their approach to the current war. That is why the way these wars started and the stated goals of their enemies matter.

 

Here you go with links and no comments at all again.

I will take on the first one. Do you really think the would-be terrorists are going to decide to play nice 50 years from now if Israel is a little more careful with its bombs? Come on.

 

As always, spare a thought for our colleagues.

Israel-Gaza War - Committee to Protect Journalists

 

Maybe. Maybe not.

But in any case Israel's current conduct of its self-defense is going to reverberate for the next century.

It's also fair to assess Israel's progress in getting those hostages back.

 

Ignatius reporting from the West Bank.

https://wapo.st/48jMcHk

I watched backups at Israeli checkpoints near Bethlehem and Nablus that were over a half-mile long and could require waits of more than two hours. The delays, indignities and outright assaults on Palestinians have become a grim routine. “If I’m in a yellow-plate car, does that change my blood?” asked Samer Shalabi, the Palestinian who was my guide in the Nablus area.

My tour of the West Bank was a reality check about what’s possible “the day after” the Gaza war ends. President Biden and other world leaders speak hopefully about creating a Palestinian state once Hamas is defeated. I’d love to see that happen, too. But people need to get real about the obstacles that are in front of our eyes.

On the ground, amid the grinding daily pressure of Israeli occupation, the shared hope for a Palestinian state can seem like a fairy tale — soothing to hear but a version of magical thinking. Standing in the way are the Israeli settlements and outposts laid across the hilltops of the West Bank, their high fences and concrete walls symbolizing their apparent immovability.

 

There is no maybe about it. The hatred driving this thing goes back a very long time. It isn't going to go away because Israel is a little more careful where it drops bombs. It is just unrealistic and ignorant to think otherwise.

Hamas was never going to give all of the hostages back. Did you even pay attention to the shit they pulled during the cease-fire?

 

They've released 105 hostages.

Now what?

 

How many did they take?