All people with feelings are appalled and aghast at the suffering and all the losses in Gaza and in Israel, but blame needs to be placed where it belongs.

The blame is solely on Hamas. None of this was occurring on October 6, 2023, and none would have occurred but for a nihilistic and racist pogrom of rape, murder, infanticide and arson. The US has indicted the Hamas leadership for murdering 40 americans on Oct 7.

Despite the justice of killing every last Hamas terrorist, Israel just offered the fairest deal imaginable: lay down their arms, release all living and murdered hostages, and the fighting ends. Hamas refused. As was the before this rejection, every death is Gaza is on Hamas, who started the war on Oct 7 and has refused to end it.

What do they gain my keeping it, other than their failed strategy that world sympathy would help them? We Jews learned long ago that world opinion can persecute but not save. The sad truth is that despite all the noise, even the world's Muslim nations don't care-they ignore what is happening to Palestinians, to Rohingya, to Sunni in Syria. Gulf Arab nations are far more interested in Israeli high tech and military alliances than in the well-being of Gaza. There's no cavalry coming to help, nor should there be; the idea is to get rid of Hamas, not prolong their reign of terror.

Turning down the offer to end the fighting is yet more example of what the late Abba Eban meant in 1973 when he said "The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."