🇺🇸 Israel at War With Hamas

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QUICK CLICKS

Israel Orders Siege of Gaza, EU Suspends Palestinian Aid, Hezbollah Takes Advantage

World: Israeli defense minister orders ‘complete siege’ of Gaza, as Hamas threatens hostages (CNN)

US: At least 11 Americans killed, may be among those held by Hamas (ABC News)

US: Israel seeks missiles, artillery from U.S. following Hamas attack (POLITICO)

US: House GOP debates ditching ‘motion to vacate’ rule that unseated McCarthy (The Hill)

US: RFK Jr.'s independent run for president draws GOP criticism and silence from national Democrats (AP)

US: Misleading videos alleging to show Israel-Hamas conflict circulate on X (CBS News)

World: European Union reverses earlier announcement that it was suspending development aid to Palestinians (AP)

World: Hezbollah fires on Israel after members killed in shelling (Reuters)

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MIDDLE EAST

Israel at War With Hamas

On Saturday, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza, and infiltrating Israel’s border by air, land, and sea. Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif said 5,000 rockets had been launched and called on Palestinians everywhere to take arms.

Reporting from the Left: Israel strikes and seals off Gaza after incursion by Hamas, which vows to execute hostages (AP)

Reporting from the Right: Former US Ambassador to Israel: Hamas' attack most successful 'murder campaign' on Jews since the Holocaust (FOX News)

From The Flag: The attack caught Israel off-guard as the country is celebrating a major holiday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared mass army mobilization in a televised address: “We are at war. Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.” Israel has since launched retaliatory attacks on Gaza in response to Hamas.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Varied: Hamas Is Responsible, Peace Efforts Should Not Be Abandoned, Civilians Under Attack

• The world may support Israel now, but they may turn against it when Hamas hides behind Palestinian casualties to justify attacking Israel.

• “As Israel retaliates against Hamas’ brutal attacks, all parties should work to restore stability and prevent a wider conflict.“

• Some Palestinians celebrated the attacks on Israel, but others fearfully braced for deadly retaliation. As innocent Israeli civilians were targeted by Hamas, innocent Palestinian civilians are now also under attack.

Now comes the test of who supports Israelis’ human right to self-defense Natan Sharansky, The Washington Post: “Today, the world seems to understand this. World leaders have denounced Hamas’s barbarism and affirmed the legitimacy of Israel’s right to self-defense. But what about tomorrow? What will happen as the Palestinian death toll rises? At that point, I fear, the same leaders will forget that Israel and Hamas are fighting on radically different terms and focus their efforts on restraining Israel instead of condemning Hamas. … Hamas has a powerful unconventional weapon, one far more sophisticated and effective than missiles and drones: Palestinian civilians, used as human shields. The more Palestinians who die because Hamas terrorists cynically hide behind them, the more the free world will turn against Israel. …. The only way to help neutralize this despicable unconventional weapon in the coming days would be for leaders of Western democracies and responsible Arab rulers to make this message absolutely clear: Every innocent Palestinian killed in this conflagration is the victim of Hamas.”

The World Must Support Israel’s War Against Terror The Editorial Board, Bloomberg: “Israel’s old, new, and prospective partners in the Arab world do themselves no favors by not condemning the Hamas attack more forcefully. They understandably fear public opinion, which has never embraced the normalization of ties with Israel. Still, there can be no excusing the slaughter of civilians. Pretending otherwise will only bolster the extremists and their backers in Iran. Countries with influence over Hamas, including Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, must pressure the militants to pull back and release their hostages before the violence escalates dangerously. Palestinian Authority leaders are being equally shortsighted by blaming Israel for inviting the attack. … Ordinary Palestinians will pay a heavy price for Hamas’ wanton and unprovoked massacres of innocent Israelis. … For now, Israel’s priority must be to destroy the ability of Hamas and its ilk to further threaten the country’s security. … Yet all parties should recognize that, once the fighting is over, [peace] efforts will also be more important than ever…”

One more opinion piece from the Left: ‘Nowhere to go’: Ordinary Palestinians live in fear as Israel retaliates against Hamas Ibrahim Rahman, CNN

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Varied: Hamas Must Be Stopped, Israel Is Justified In its Retribution, Biden Is to Blame

• The only viable conclusion to this barbarity is for Hamas to be completely eliminated, and no longer be a figure in this conflict.

• Many will try to claim the situation is “nuanced” and this is a complicated situation, but they’re wrong. Israel is well within its right to do what it deems necessary to protect itself.

• President Biden’s regular foreign policy failures, specifically in the Middle East, gave Hamas the opportunity to carry out these attacks.

Israel Must Eradicate Hamas And Accept Nothing Less Than Unconditional Surrender John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist: “Gaza will now be reduced to rubble. Israel, on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, is once again in a fight for its existence, and the gloves will come off. Given the long-established facts of the Israel-Palestinian question, this is as it should be. For all the talk about Nazis in Ukraine lately, the truth is that the real Nazis are in the Middle East, and they are all enemies of Israel. It’s time to deal with them for good. Hamas must be eradicated just as the Nazis were eradicated. Any end to this war that doesn’t achieve that will be a catastrophe for Israel. For its part, the U.S. should make clear that it will veto any U.N. ceasefire resolution before Israel declares victory. And an actual victory will require Israel seizing control of all Gaza’s territory… The Israelis will have to keep this up until the unconditional surrender of Hamas.”

Israel’s Retribution Will Be Righteous Noah Rothman, National Review: “Israel’s retaliatory response is coming. But when the initial shock of Hamas’s horrific attack has worn off, you’re sure to hear false equivalences and fallacies designed to stay the hands of officials in Jerusalem. You’ve probably already heard or seen them. The predictable special pleading is unconvincing, strategically unsound, and at times morally reprehensible, and it deserves to be dispensed with now. … Israel’s response to this unprecedented atrocity will change the complexion of the Middle East. It would be justified and within its rights to dissolve the regime in the Gaza Strip by force. Even short of that, there can no longer be an accommodation with Hamas. … There will be those who think this crisis is more nuanced than all that. There are shades of grey, sprawling trans-generational grievances to account for, and regional dynamics that complicate this situation. They are wrong.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Reckoning needed after Biden’s failed foreign policy gave Hamas’ terror the element of surprise Miranda Devine, New York Post

FLAG THIS

Americans See Israel As a Partner, But it Doesn’t Share Our Values

Before the attacks, a poll conducted in mid-September found that Americans generally view Israel as a partner or ally, but many are questioning whether the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aligns with American values.

About 4 in 10 (43%) Americans described Israel as a partner with which the US should cooperate but also noted Israel doesn’t share American values. Only 3 in 10 (32%) said Israel is an ally that shares US interests (AP).

FLAG FINDS

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