(No) Ceasefire in Gaza

A pound of that same merchant's flesh is thine: 

The court awards it, and the law doth give it. - The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

A fragile 5 day ceasefire in Gaza appears imminent .  This comes as welcome news.  According to The WaPo reporting the deal;

A detailed, six-page set of written terms would require all parties to the conflict to freeze combat operations for at least five days while an initial 50 or more hostages are released in smaller batches every 24 hours. It was not immediately clear how many of the 239 people believed to be in captivity in Gaza would be released under the deal. Overhead surveillance would monitor movement on the ground to police the pause.

The stop in fighting is also intended to allow a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, to enter the besieged enclave from Egypt.

I am grateful for the efforts of President Biden and Secretary’s Blinken and Lloyd Austin and all the administration officials working on to contain this situation.  It matters having competent and trusted people running the US State Department.

The Israeli forces at the behest of their Extremist government have exacted 10 times the pound of flesh taken by the Hamas fighters on 10/07.  Netanyahu, of course, claimed the IDF killed “thousands and thousands” of Hamas terrorists.  He could hardly have claimed otherwise because that would have been a blatant admission of his failures and reckless policy positions.

I don’t agree with the conventional wisdom that Hamas goal was to draw the surrounding Arab nation and wider Islamic world into conflict with Israel.  That’s an out-of-date idea from 60 years ago.  The disproportionate and frankly criminal Israeli response to the brutal attack 50 days ago has harmed Israel internationally in a way not seen for decades.  This is the end of Netanyahu’s political cater and has turned a large focus on the vile Settler violence in the West Bank.

Of course, the bloodthirsty extremists on both sides will not be placated but that lends more credence and urgency for the Israeli people to work with the Palestinian Authority and other moderate groups to reach a longer lasting 1 state solution in the region.