Hani Almadhoun’s Post

Heart wrenching. Heart wrenching. Heart wrenching.

How effective is it to use air strikes to fight terrorism? How legitimate is it to kill children to fight Hamas? How can Western countries support the massacre in Gaza? Research shows that the main causes of suicide terrorism are military occupations (Pape 2005) and personal revenge (see, e.g., Pedahzur 2005). What do you think will happen in Palestine in the next 10 to 20 years? Of course, politicians are only interested in short-term gains. But we cannot remain silent before the suffering and death of thousands of people. STOP THE WAR ON GAZA NOW! https://lnkd.in/eHG4YiJQ

BRET STEPHENS: If Israel were to end the war now, with several Hamas battalions intact, at least four things would happen. FIRST,it would be impossible to set up a political authority in Gaza that isn't Hamas: If the Palestinian Authority or local Gazans tried to do so, they wouldn't live for long. SECOND, Hamas would reconstitute its military force as Hizbullah did in Lebanon after the 2006 war with Israel - and Hamas has promised to repeat the attacks of Oct. 7 "a second, a third, a fourth" time.   THIRD, the Israeli hostages would be stuck in their awful captivity indefinitely. FOURTH, there would never be a Palestinian state. No Israeli government is going to agree to a Palestinian state in the West Bank if it risks resembling Gaza.   This is the fifth major war that Hamas has provoked since it seized power in Gaza in 2007. After each war, Hamas' capabilities have grown stronger and its ambitions bolder. At some point this had to end; for Israelis, Oct. 7 was that point.   Whenever Israel's critics lecture the country on better calibrating its use of force, they don't have any concrete suggestions. The reality of urban warfare is that it's exceptionally costly and difficult. The U.S. spent nine months helping Iraqi forces flatten the city of Mosul to defeat ISIS, with results that looked even worse than Gaza does today. I don't remember calls for "Ceasefire Now" then.   Israel is fighting a war it didn't seek, against an enemy sworn to its destruction and holding scores of its citizens hostage. Around 200,000 Israelis are living as refugees inside their own country because its borders aren't secure. No country can tolerate that. There should be more public pressure on Hamas to surrender than on Israel to save Hamas from the consequences of its actions. (New York Times)

365 Days of Devastating War in Sudan: The Forgotten War. 365 days of heart-wrenching news, haunting nightmares, and unfathomable losses. With almost 15,000 lives lost, over 8.2 million displaced, 3.7 million children suffering from acute malnutrition, and 4.2 million cases of gender-based violence. The toll of this conflict continues to rise and the numbers are increasing every day! Yet, amidst this dire situation, there seems to be no glim of hope for peace in the near future, with the global community largely turning a blind eye to Sudan's plight. Despite facing immense challenges, we, the resilient people of Sudan, persist in our efforts. However, every endeavor has its limits, and we fervently pray for an end to this war and the restoration of peace to our Sudan. The Rapid Support Forces must be designated as a terrorist militia, and their leaders and allies held accountable for every crime they have committed in Sudan. #keepeyesonsudan

Sarai Givaty highlights a recurring and destructive cycle in recent history: 1 - Hamas initiates attacks on Israeli civilians. 2 - Tragically, Israeli civilians lose their lives. 3 - In response, Israel takes action to target Hamas. 4 - Hamas often seeks refuge among its own Palestinian civilian population. 5 - Consequently, Palestinian civilians suffer casualties. 6 - Paradoxically, an increase in Palestinian civilian casualties garners more international support for Gaza. 7 - Calls for a ceasefire from around the world become louder. 8 - Increased support translates into more funding for weaponry and rockets. 9 - The cycle restarts as Hamas once again targets Israeli civilians. This cycle persists, repeating itself. #hamasterrorists

Israel has the right to self-defense and the right to rescue her citizens taken hostage by a genocidal terrorist group whose stated aims are to destroy Israel and to kill all Jews. Today four of those hostages were rescued and returned home. Anyone saying that Israel should not have rescued her hostages has missed the point that those civilians should never have been taken hostage, let alone held by Hamas terrorists and their civilian supporters for more than 8 months. War is brutal. War brings horrors that are beyond words. Anyone who has ever been in or seen war knows that we should all campaign against any wars anywhere and at any time. Hamas and its civilian supporters could (and should) have ended this war months ago by releasing the hostages. Israel could (and should) have waged this war against Hamas in different ways. Today Israel rescued four of her hostages. There are many more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. There are many Gazans suffering in a humanitarian catastrophe. Release the hostages, bring them home, and end this war.

Around 300 pro-Palestinian protesters gather in Astoria, Queens, in New York to mark the 76th anniversary of the "Nakba" or catastrophe, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine when around 760,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes during the 1948 creation of Israel. After receiving support from the British government for the creation of Jewish state in Palestine, on 14 May 1948, as soon as the British Mandate expired, Zionist forces declared establishment of the State of israel, which triggered the first Arab-lsraeli war. Zionist military forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands and captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip. Source: middleeasteye

THE WAR CAN BE OVER TODAY The deaths in Gaza are the fault of Hamas-ISIS, whose main defensive strategy is to get as many Gazans killed as it possibly can in an effort to gull credulous Westerners into misplacing blame for the Oct. 7 carnage upon the Israeli army and agitating for a ceasefire that would save Hamas-ISIS’ skin. In all likelihood, more than one hundred thousand Gazans will have died if the war continued for another six months and if Hamas-ISIS won’t surrender and bring back the hostages. The truth should be stated in a straightforward manner. Hamas-ISIS are a bunch of psychopaths. The Israeli army can easily have a war of attrition, it all depends on Hamas-ISIS. It can be over today.