Jonah Shepp writing for New York Magazine makes some very
rational arguments.

He says - Don't blame Gazans for Hamas. The terrorist
group has never been popular among the people it rules.
If Israel was to destroy Hamas for good (hardly likely)
it would be doing the Gazans a favour.

However the Israeli governments thirst for revenge is not
coupled with any plan for what comes after.

It appears that Israel is determined to make Gaza totally
unliveable - and drive the Palestinians out of the territory.
Because there are no answers as to - Who will rebuild Gaza.
Who will govern it and how will it avoid falling into an
even greater humanitarian catastrophe?

It's easy of course, not to think about any of this if your
starting point is that the Gazans had it coming.

Shepp argues that if the war leads to both the right-wing
Netanyahu Coalition and Hamas losing popular legitimicy
and exiting the scene, it would be a silver lining to a
very dark cloud since neither Israelis not Palestinians
deserve the mediocre leadership they've been saddled
with.

But at least the Israelis have some power to change that if
they want to, the people of Gaza do not.

"In Canberra a Palestinian teenager is called a terrorist.
In Melbourne a Muslim man picks up the phone to face
a torrent of abuse. In Adelaide a man puts up a sign saying
"Death to Israel" in his yard."

Isn't multiculturalism wonderful?

" The terrorist group has never been popular among the people it rules."

So they keep telling us....and never supplying any evidence for it. Just assertion. Try this poll...its not perfect by any means but gives a hint at how popular Hamas really is...

http://apnews.com/article/hamas-middle-east-science-32095d8e1323fc1cad819c34da08fd87

But even those making the claim about Hamas' alleged unpopularity find it hard to believe. Foxy tells us "That if Israel did wipe out Hamas - another movement would take its place."

But, but, but....if Hamas is unpopular as alleged, why would a neo-Hamas arise from the people who, we are told, hate its policies?

They probably won't understand the lack of logic here, but you can't simultaneously argue that Gazans hate Hamas AND that, if Hamas is destroyed, they will create a new Hamas-style government.

Israel can and, given the chance, will fight their way to peace, or what passes for peace in the Arab world.

Israel's land, air, and sea blockade has trapped more
than 2 million people inside the Gaza strip since 2007.

A United Nations report on the economic development of
the occupied Palestinian territory released recently (2022)
said that conditions in the enclave had been "stifled" by
the many years of restrictions before Oct. 7th.

UNICEF ALSO says "They die slowly every single day. Child
casualties in Gaza is a "stain on our conscience."

Gaza has experienced extensive damage under the prolonged
restrictions and closures and frequent military operations.
This has stifled the economy and decimated infrastructure.

Ending the dreadful restrictions and closures and calling
on Israel and all parties to bear their responsibility
under international law - IS a must.

No part of Gaza's society or economy has been left untouched.
50% of Gaza's population is unemployed and more than half
live in dire poverty.

Although some workers in Gaza have been allowed access to
the job market in Israel the number of permits issued
accounts only for about 1% of employed workers and is too
small to counter poverty.

The border closures and repeated military operations have
set in motion a vicious circle of economic and institutional
collapse that has rendered Gaza a case of "development in
reverse," the UN report said.

This impact is not confined to the short term. Indirect and
long term effects will reverberate through future generations
is what the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) report summed up.

Which should make sense to any rational person
why if Hamas is destroyed a new movement could
take its place.

Hi Paul,

Hatred is an individual choice. I find people saying "Oh, but it's all so complicated." are just making excuses for people who choose to hate. The problem, as AC alluded to, is that the Devil is always whispering in your ear, telling you of the malevolent intentions of the other guy. We saw that with the Voice. Gaza shows how bad hatred can make things. Is this the sort of telly they show their kids in Israel?

https://www.timesofisrael.com/kill-all-jews-urges-hamas-tv-host/

Finger-pointing and playing the blame game
does not produce anything productive.
Neither does the excuse - "We have a right
to defend ourselves."

Not when you have provoked the attacks
by breaking international laws and imposing
land, air, and sea blockades. Deprived people of food,
water, electricity, as well as imposed prolonged
restrictions and closures and had frequent
military operations which stifled a people's
economy and decimated their infrastructure.
Causing them to live in poverty. And the
Land grabs and settlement expansions didn't
help either.

This is not about hatred. It's about changing
behaviour. Both Israel and all parties need to
bear their responsibilities under international
law. This impact of what's currently happening
will not be confined to the short term.

It will have indirect and long term effects that'
will as we're told reverberate through future
generations.