UNRWA

From The Wall Street Journaal ...

Hamas Leader Killed in Lebanon Was Also a U.N. Staffer

Palestinian militant group Hamas’s top leader in Lebanon—killed in an Israeli airstrike Monday—also was a high-ranking employee of the main United Nations relief agency serving Palestinians, a revelation likely to heighten suspicions about Hamas’s influence in the aid organization.

Palestinian militant group Hamas’s top leader in Lebanon—killed in an Israeli airstrike Monday—also was a high-ranking employee of the main United Nations relief agency serving Palestinians, a revelation likely to heighten suspicions about Hamas’s influence in the aid organization ....

No! Really? I'm shocked, shocked, I say! Israel has been telling the world all year, since the Oct 7 attack, that UNRWA employees are Hamas members, some of them participating in the attack. UNRWA has denied that, even as it fired a number of it's employees for, you know, being members of Hamas and taking part in the attack. Meanwhile, most European countries still fund UNRWA, and some 60 Democratic lawmakers work to restore aid from the US to UNRWA (House lawmakers maintain support for restoring UNRWA funding despite new Hamas revelations).

More from The Los Angeles Times: Top Hamas commander killed in Lebanon was U.N. relief agency employee

The State Dept on Nasrallah's death

Certainly, I think it is an unalloyed good for the people of Lebanon and the people of the broader region that Hassan Nasrallah is no longer walking the face of this Earth. He is someone, as I said, who held Lebanon's political governance from moving forward, he is someone who has attacked the civilians of Lebanon over the years, he is someone who has attacked obviously civilians of Israel, he has attacked American citizens, and he has attacked civilians in Syria. So, it is good for the region and the world that he is no longer with us ....

[Israel] has a right to go after legitimate terrorist targts like Hassan Nasrallah, and we support them taking those steps, just as we have brought terrorists who targeted American citizens to justice over time ...

Comments by Matt Miller at today's State Department press briefing, on being asked about Israel having killed Nasrallah.

Yoda

Yoda is is trying to enjoy a peaceful morning, lounging on her cat furniture, looking out the screen door, thinking "If Crystal doesn't leave me alone, I'm going to chomp her".

General McCaffrey

Makes no sense to call for a cease fire. Hezbollah has fired 8000+ missiles into Israel since the 7 October Hamas brutal murder and abduction of Israeli civilians. The IDF and Mossad have paralyzed this terrorist group. Next.. destroy the missiles.

— Barry R McCaffrey (@mccaffreyr3) September 29, 2024

The Pope in Belgium

- the Grand Place in Brussels

So, the Pope, who has been visiting Belgium, has criticized Israel for a disproportionate response to almost a year of daily rocket attacks from Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis somehow flips the script and demands that pedophile priests in Belgium be held accountable ...

‘Condemn the abusers’: Pope demands judgement for pedophile priests as Belgium tour ends

[...] Since 2012 there have been over 700 reported cases of clerical child abuse in Belgium. Among the most excruciating episodes was the Church’s indulgent treatment of Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who was allowed to retire in 2010 after admitting to having sexually abused his nephew for 13 years. The bishop was only defrocked by Francis earlier this year in an apparent effort to draw a line under the saga ...

I find it hard to get upset about this anymore. Nothing changes, and no one cares.

Authorities can't make the Pope do anything, can't hold him accountable ... he's basically the lifetime dictator of his own country, with sovereign immunity. Why do you think B16 retired in Vatican City? (Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican)

And the people who might be able to force a change, ordinary Catholics, seem happy to let things continue as they are.

People ask, what can be done. The Pope has many concrete steps he could take to make clergy sex abuse less likely to happen. Just one of those steps would be to make all priests mandated reporters of sex abuse to civil authorities (like teachers, etc.).

The Pope won't do that. Instead he decided that priests should be obligated to tell their superiors in the church about sex abise they knew of (but not stuff learned in confession). Do you see how that works? Pedophile priest asks his superior to hear his confession ... problem solved. (Critics say pope's law requiring priests, nuns to report sex abuse does not go far enough)

But we'll all just go on seeing the Pope as some kind of moral authority, while he evades any responsibility for past and future crimes of his church.

Nasrallah

The Times of Israel's daily briefing, discussing the death of Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah.

Donovan

This song was in my head today. Donovan, Jennifer Juniper, 1968, on the Italian tv show Senza Rete.

It was written about the sister of Patty Boyd (former wife of George Harrison and Ertic Clapton) ... Jenny Boyd (former wife of Mick Fleetwood). Among other things, she's a writer ... Jennifer Juniper ...

Disabled

John Oliver talks about disabled people in the US (there are about 70 million), and the programs that support them. For me, those were SSDI and Medicare/Medi-Cal, which I qualified for when I was first diagnosed with Stargardt disease just after college.

I'm grateful the government gives disabled people an income and health insurance, but the problems surrounding which program you can qualify for, how much you can receive, how getting a part-time job, or getting a finacial gift, or trying to save money, or even getting married can doom you .... it's depressing.

Hezbollah

OP-Ed in The New York Times by Brett Stephens ...

Hezbollah Is Everyone’s Problem

In 2006 Hezbollah launched a guerrilla raid into Israel. It led to a 34-day war that devastated Lebanon, traumatized Israel, and concluded with a U.N. resolution that was supposed to disarm the terrorist militia and keep its forces far from the border.

The resolution did neither.

Instead, a combination of international wishful thinking and the willfulness of Hezbollah’s patrons in Tehran have brought us to where we are now — the cusp of a conflict that could dwarf the scale of fighting in Gaza ....

Is it just me?

You know how the Biden administration tried for a while to sell "Bidenomics" ... the idea that the economy was great .... but many people didn't believe it because their own lived experience, like my own, told them that wasn't true? An example: Increases in homelessness broke records in 2022 and in 2023. - Homelessness in the United States

I think the same must be true about crime.

From CNN - Did you know violent crime is down? Not if you’re watching right-wing media

But it's not just that.

Today was the second time in a week that police cars raced down my street, while a police helicopter circled above, the bullhorn telling the people below to get inside and lock our doors, because an armed and dangerous suspect was at large in the area, and they were coming after him with dogs. Really.

I wish the Democrats running for office would notice those less fortunate, as well as their favorite voters in the middle class. Our experience should matter too.

Lebanon

Awful to see the fighting intensify between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah started this on Oct 8th, but I'm sure Israel will get the blame for it. Below, former PM of Israel, Naftali Bennett, with Jake Tapper ...

בראיון עכשיו ברשת CNN פניתי באופן ישיר לאזרחי לבנון: צאו נגד חיזבאללה! pic.twitter.com/Tl8lE5pIbX

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) September 24, 2024

For reference on the situation in Lebanon, read about United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 ...

a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War. The resolution calls for a full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon to be replaced by Lebanese and UNIFIL forces deploying to southern Lebanon, and the disarmament of armed groups including Hezbollah, with no armed forces other than UNIFIL and Lebanese military south of the Litani River, which flows about 29 km (18 mi) north of the border. It emphasizes Lebanon's need to fully exert government control and calls for efforts to address the unconditional release of abducted Israeli soldiers.

It was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006. The Lebanese cabinet unanimously approved the resolution on 12 August 2006. On the same day, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his militia would honor the call for a ceasefire. He also said that once the Israeli offensive stops, Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel would stop. On 13 August the Israeli Cabinet voted 24–0 in favor of the resolution, with one abstention. The ceasefire began on Monday, 14 August 2006 at 8 AM local time, after increased attacks by both sides.

As of 2024, the resolution was not fully implemented. While Israeli forces did withdraw from Lebanon, Hezbollah and other armed groups in southern Lebanon have not ...

And then, on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah started firing guided rockets and artillery shells at Israel, in solidarity with Hamas.

Debate

A debate between Eylon Levy and Mehdi Hasan about the Israel/Hamas war. The debate took place last weekend.

I like Mehdi. He used be on MSNBC and he is a fierce debater - he's written books on it - but on this subject, I am squarely on Eylon's and Israel's side. It appears that most of the audience and the moderator are on Mehdi's side.

War with Hezbollah

Amid all the recent attacks by Israel against Hezbollah operatives, I've seen news headlines saying that Israel is dangerously escalating the conflict. But let's remember how this conflict started.

On 8 October 2023, Hezbollah started firing guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions in the occupied Shebaa Farms, which it said was in solidarity with Palestinians following the Hamas attack on Israel that took place a day earlier ....

In northern Israel, the ongoing conflict has forced approximately 96,000 individuals to leave their homes, while in Lebanon, approximately 111,940 individuals have been displaced,[59][54] with Hezbollah saying it would not stop attacks against Israel until it stops its attacks and military operations in Gaza ...- Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)

One of the more newsworthy recent strikes by Israel on Hezbollah was the killing of Ibrahim Aqil ...

In the 1980s, Aqil was a senior member in Hezbollah's cell responsible for the 1983 US embassy bombing and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. On 21 July 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Aqil under Executive Order 13582 for his role in Hezbollah. In September 2019, the U.S. Department of State listed him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The Rewards for Justice Program offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to his capture ...

The bombing of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings killed 307 people: 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians, and two attackers.

On hearing of Israel's killing of Aqil, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, according to Reuters, "Any time a terrorist who has murdered Americans is brought to justice, we believe that that is a good outcome.”

Despite the recent attacks by Israel against Hezbollah, I don't think Israel wants to escalate the conflict. In fact I think these strikes are meant to do the opposite. Here's an op-ed by Lazar Berman in The Times of Israel: String of IDF successes might cause Nasrallah to back down, but won’t lead to victory

For more about the killing of Aqil and the continuing conflict, listen to the daily briefing at the top of the post.

The Rings of Power

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.



I've been watching season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ...

an American fantasy television series .... Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth .... It begins during a time of relative peace and covers the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men.

I would say the main character is that of Sauron, who is bent on getting the rings made, with which he plans to control the elves, dwarves, and men.

This season is pretty good - we get to see Tom Bombadil, a mysterious character from the books who didn't make it into the movies. And there are Ents. And there's a sea monster :) ...



I'm really enjoying the series - if you liked the books and movies, you might like it too.

More on exploding pagers

In today's news: More Wireless Devices Explode in Lebanon

For a second day, hand-held communication devices exploded across Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, in an apparent attack on Hezbollah. At least 14 people were killed and 450 injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Learn more about yesterday's pager explosions (and by extension, more about today's explosions) by listening to The Times of Israel's daily briefing, with military correspondent Emanuel Fabian ...

The pagers

Watching the State Department's press briefing today. Spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed that the US was not involved with, and did not know beforehand about, the explosion of pagers belonging to members of the terrorist organization, Hezbollah - Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel for deadly pager explosions across Lebanon

Asked by a reporter if he thought Hezbollah was a legitimate target for the pager attack (about 10:15 in), he responded that he didn't have all the info about this specific attack yet, but in general ...

Obviously we believe that civilians are not legitimate targets for any type of operation and that no country should be targeting civilians. No country, no organization should be targeting civilians. Terrorist members of a terrorist organization are legitimate targets for countries to launch operations against, and those are the principles that we hold ourselves to, and those are the principles we expect other countries to uphold in their operations.

When asked by another reporter whether the US supported an action like the pager attack (about 19:05 in), Matt said again that he couldn't yet speak about this specific attack, but ...

[I]n general, yes, of course we support operations to target Hizballah militants, who continue to launch terrorist attacks against civilians. Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorism and a right to carry out legitimate attacks against terrorists – not civilians, but terrorists. So as a general proposition, yes, of course.

I'm not surprised that the State Department would take this stance, but many of the reporters did seem to be.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel the next day after the October 7 attack by Hamas. The leader of Hezbollah called the attack on Israel "heroic". Since then, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets, drones, missles at Israel. One of those killed 12 children in the Golan Heights. Tens of thousands of Israelis living in the north have been displaced for almost a year. Hezbollah remains in the south of Lebanon, on the wrong side of the blue line. And that is not even mentioning the tunnels - Gaza’s Vexing Tunnel Network Pales Beside Hezbollah’s Land Of Tunnels. What are the Israelis to do?

Christopher Reeve

Here is the trailer for the documentary mentioned above ...



I really liked Christopher Reeve and thought his Superman movies were great, especially his portrayal of a dorky Clark Kent ...



Sad that he's gone.

Another attempt

Disturbing to see that there was another attempt to assassinate Trump.

Trump accused Democratic rhetoric for causing the attack. Biden and Harris denouced inflammatory political language that would lead to violence.

Yes, no candidate has used inflammatory language against others as much as Trump, but I have to say, Harris has, in her own way, fanned the flames of outrage against the other side.

A couple of examples of this from the recent debate ...

At one point, Harris accused Trump of predicting a "bloodbath" if he did not win the upcoming election ...



Actually, that isn't exactly what Trump said. He was at a campaign rally and he was speaking about his tariff plan and how much money that would bring in for the economy. And then he said that if he didn't get elected, though, it would bea bloodbath, meaning economically ...



Harris took that sentence out of context in order to turn people against her rival.

Another instance from the debate was when the subject of the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio came up, and Trump mentioned the idea that residents' pets were being eatem. Democrats have treated this subject in two ways: as a joke or as a terrible moral faux pas. I think this is a mistake - the subject of immigration is not a joke, and it's also not a fall from grace to believe our system is flawed.

But anyway, when that came up in the debate, did Harris treat the subject as serious? Nope, she just grinned from ear to ear as she saw a "gotcha moment" from whcih she could profit ...



Democrats must find a better way to make the case against a Trump presidency.

Again

NBC - U.N. condemns Israel after 6 workers killed in Gaza school strike

The Times of Israel - IDF names 9 Hamas operatives, including 3 UNRWA staffers, killed in strike on school

First, we do all know that these schools in Gaza are not actually operational schools full of children, we know these are "former" schools, right?

Second, we also know that it has been shown in the past, by the UN itself (Washington Post - U.N. fires Gaza staff, citing possible involvement in attack on Israel), that many UNRWA employees are also terrorists, right?

For once I would like to see a headline that doesn't just state "x number of Palestinians killed" but instead states "Hamas claims that x number of Palestinians were killed. Of those killed, x number were terrorists justifiably killed in a war".

9/11

Jane

The latest song in my head is Jane by the Jefferson Starship (1979).

I think I mentioned before that one of the then band members, lead guitarist Craig Chaquico, was someone my sister and I knew in high school. Strange to watch the famous him ;)

The Debate

I'm watching it now.

I'm at the point where Trump is lying about the Democratic abortion policy .... that it is ok now to "execute" a baby after it is born. Do Republican voters actually believe this crap? At least the ABC hosts pointed out after his rant that there is no state in America where it is legal to kill a baby after it is born.

I read that part of the Harris strategy for the debate was to make Trump lose his cool, and I think that effort is working. Trump is now going on and on about immigration, from his plan to deport millons, to the idea that immigrants are eating our pets. Harris is smiling.

Now the upset Trump is going on about crime. He says it's really bad now, but David Muir points out that the FBI disagrees. Boy, Trump does hate the FBI - he's accusing them of lying. This is a great opportunity for Harris to point out that Trump is a convited crook, and she takes it. Is that smoke coming out of Trump's ears?

Uh oh - Trump is talking out of his acceptable time period. Isn't his mic supposed to be muted when it's not his turn? He's going on about how Biden's DOJ has been weaponized against him. Persecution complex on display.

Hah - the moderators are asking Harris why she has changed her stance on things like fracking and healthcare for all. The answer seems obvious ... she wants to win over more centrist voters ... but I don't think she's going to admit that. As a progressive, I'm disappointed in her change in policy. She went on for a bit, but still didn't mention why she changed her position on fracking. Trump is taking advantage of this opportunity to list all the changes she had made in her stance. Ouch.

Oh, now the moderators are asking Trump about the Jan 6 riot. Trump denies all responsibility. He says Nancy Pelosi was responsible for security on that day, not him ... a bold-faced lie. Now Harris is commenting on Jan 6, and I think Trump's hair may soon burst into flame.

Yep, Trump's self-destructing now. He's going on about how he really won the last election. He didn't really lose them. It was all rigged. Hard to see how anyone not a member of the Trump cult could believe this rubbish.

Now they're being asked about the Israeli/Hamas war. I don't like Harris' answer .... immediate end to war with release of hostages, and a 2 state solution. It's hard to understand what Trump's answer is on this ... gobbledygook.

Om Ukraine, Trump says he'd make a deal between Russia and Ukraine because Putin likes him so much. Now he rants about NATO.

They talk about Afghanistan. Nobody does well.

Racism comes up. Then the economy. Then healthcare. Guns - hmmm - Harris is a gun owner? And climate change. And Trump brings up Hunter Biden/China.

Help. I'm pooped. How much more is there? At this point I don't care about anything anymore. Oh good - closing statements.

I'm not thrilled with Harris. I heard someone comment that she is the candidate for everyone. That's not true. She is the candidate for the middle class. Yes, that's better than Trump as the candidate for the rich and the crazy, but I'm sad to say that I doubt I will ever see a candidate in my lifetime who is for the poor, the disabled, the homeless, the elderly. Cuz, you know, they don't vote, do they? But anyway, I do think Trump lost the debate. I must say, credit goes to ABC news and David Muir and Linsey Davis for having the courage to ask the questions that really matter and for not backing down in the face of Trump's anger.

The safe zone isn't safe

CNN: 'They told us this area was safe': Israeli-designated humanitarian safe zone in Gaza targeted by strike

The Times of Israel: IDF says it hit 3 Hamas commanders in Gaza tent camp, contests claim dozens killed

The humanitarian zone was safe, until the terrorists moved there, put their command centers there, launched rockets from there, etc. Even then, the IDF says it has taken measures to limit civilian death. Conflicting reporting on the number of casualties .... why does the press always accept the terrorists' claims on the death toll?

If the Israelis are forced to fight a war with no civilian casualties, there will be no war. I guess that's the terrorists' hope, and the press and the international comunity seem onboard with this - abandon the remaining hostages, and stop trying to bring the rapists and murderers and kidnappers to justice. Call it Peace.

Saw this today, which sums up the problem. Writer Douglas Murray with Piers Morgan ...

Another Masterclass by Douglas Murrray! 🇮🇱

I have literally never seen a more eloquent, calm, and decisive presentation on live TV.

Douglas Murray just fit 100 books and 300 podcast episodes into this 3-minute soliloquy.

He completely shut down Pierce Morgan’s argument,… pic.twitter.com/LSsiDZnGq7

— Rabbi Shmuel Reichman (@ShmuelReichman) September 3, 2024

The Babys

This was my earworm today. The song is Every Time I Think Of You by The Babys, sung by John Waite and female vocalist Annie Bertucci.

A day at the vet

Lately Hansel (see above) hasn't been eating and was getting very thin. Blind-as-a-bat me finally noticed that she was still hungry, but seemed to have trouble actually eating. I was afraid she would actually starve.

My sister was able to get a photo of Hansel's mouth with her phone and we could see one of her canine teeth seeming to stick out at an odd angle. While my sister was trying to get a photo of Hansel, I took one of Snowy ...

and also one of Olive ...

But anyway, we decided to take Hansel to the emergency vet place, as it was Sunday. When we got there, they took Hansel away, but said it would be about 3 hours before they could even examine her because there were so many people before us. My sister played solitaire on her phone and I worried.

Finally we were able to see a doctor. We explained what we thought was wrong and she said she didn't notice any tooth problems with Hansel, and that they didn't do deentristy stuff there. We were so disappointed ... would we even be able to catch Hansel again to take her to another vet ... how long would it be before we could get an appointment ... how much was all of this going to cost?

The doctor said she would look at Hansel again. She was back in just a few minutes with this ...

It was Hansel's canine tooth (and root). She said it was so loose, she decided to just grab it and yank it out. What a relief! They gave us pain meds for Hansel and she got a long acting antibiotic shot, and we could finally go home.

The first thing we did was offer Hansel some canned food with pain medication on it, and she gobbled it up. Today she ate some more. She hasn't eaten any dry food yet, but hopefully she will eventually.

So glad this turned out as well as it did. There are 15 cats here and a lot of them are now becoming elderly - Hamsel is about 10 years old. When I think about how I will manage to take care of them all, the worry is crushing, so I just go day by day and hope for the best. Today was a good day.

Munich

In the news ...

Police kill armed man near Israeli consulate in Munich terror attack

German police shot dead an armed man after a terror attack near the Israeli consulate in central Munich on Thursday, officers said, prompting an investigation by state prosecutors ....

The suspect may have been influenced by religious extremism, the Bavarian attorney general’s office said on Tuesday, after launching an investigation into the shooting.

“There are indications that the perpetrator was known in the Islamist environment. The investigation is ongoing, so nothing concrete can be said at this stage,” chief public prosecutor Florian Weinzierl, said on Thursday. Officials will investigate whether other people knew about the crime ....

The incident took place on the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack – when a Palestinian militant group entered the quarters of Israel’s national team. Eleven Israeli athletes were killed in the ensuing standoff ....

This made me think of the movie Munich ...

a 2005 epic historical drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. It is based on the 1984 book Vengeance by George Jonas, an account of Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre ...



If you want to know more about those events, see ... Munich massacre and Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre

James Darren

I see that actor/singer James Darren has passed away.

I can remember the first time I saw him ... in the movie Gidget Goes Hawaiian when I was 10. I thought he was so wonderful ;)



I didn't think about him again until I saw him on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He played Vic Fontaine ...

a holographic representation of a 1960s-era Las Vegas Rat Pack–style singer and entertainer, as part of a program run in the holosuites at Quark's bar.



Sad to see he's gone.

Bret Stephens

Opinion piece in the New York Times by Brett Stephens ...

A Hostage Deal Is a Poison Pill for Israel

[...] In 2006, an Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas and held in Gaza. He was released five years later in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners — a euphemism, in many cases, for terrorists. The deal, which was approved by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, included the release of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Oct. 7.

These two reference points are now at the heart of the debate Israelis are having about what comes next in Gaza. Huge demonstrations in Tel Aviv, coinciding with the heartbreaking funerals of six murdered hostages, have demanded that the prime minister agree to a cease-fire deal to obtain the release of additional hostages, at the cost of conceding one of Hamas’s core demands: an Israeli withdrawal from a strip of land known as the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt. Netanyahu has refused, insisting in a news conference on Monday that Israeli forces will not leave.

Netanyahu is right ...

Stephens goes on to describe two main aims of the war ... to make sure Oct 7 never happens again ... to save the hostages. These two things seem to be in conflict, and a lot of people in Israel, including Defense Minister Gallant, think the second aim is the more important.

One thing the press hasn't mentioned (that I've seen) is that while Gallant voted against Israel keeping control of the Philadelphi Corridor, all the other Ministers in the Cabinet voted with Netanyahu to stay.

Stephens agrees with Netanyahu that if Israel loses control of the Philadelphi Corridor, it will be almost impossible to get it back, Hamas will re-arm, and there will be another war to fight.

We can't say what will happen, and it's compelling to do the thing that will render immediate desired results ... release of hostages and a ceasefire. But Netanyahu can't be just a person, he has to be the leader of his whole country, and Stephens writes that "the weight of outrage should fall not on him but on Hamas".

I hope there is a way to get back the hostages and crush Hamas too. I don't know how, but I hope. Maybe if the US helped more ...?

Justice

DOJ charges senior Hamas leaders over involvement in Americans' deaths during Oct. 7 attack on Israel

The Justice Department unsealed charges Tuesday targeting multiple senior members of Hamas' leadership for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murdering of Americans during the terror group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The criminal complaint, unsealed in the Southern District of New York, names six members of Hamas' leadership structure and details extensively their alleged terrorist activities on behalf of the group ....

Garland said. "The Justice Department has a long memory. We will pursue the terrorists responsible for murdering Americans -- and those who illegally provide them with material support -- for the rest of their lives."

I'm really glad they are doing this. I'm not sure what this will mean, since some of them may be hard to reach, but in today's State Dept press briefing ...



Matt Miller made some interesting observations when a reporter asked about justice for Hamas leaders (at 39:50).

Matt said that US policy was usually to apprehend terrorists and bring them to trial in the US, but that wasn't always possible, so they sometimes had to pursue other means to bring them to justice. The reporter then mentioned Osama bin Laden (assassinated by the US military). Matt replied, "Correct, and many others over the years".

So. It's not just Israel who is after them now.

Who is to blame?

- Gilad Shalit Salutes Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his return

Still thinking about the hostages that were just murdered by Hamas. As I see it mentioned on the news shows, I've noted that Netanyahu is often blamed for their deaths more than their actual murderers, and that a ceasefire, apparently that meets all of Hamas' demands, is seen as the way to save the remaining hostages.

I think all that is wrong.

Let's talk about Gilad Shalit.

Gilad Shalit ... is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal ....

On 18 October 2011, Shalit was eventually released in a negotiated agreement, securing his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity. In exchange, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released, some of whom were convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians. According to Israeli government sources, these released prisoners were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths ...

The Prime Minister of Israel at the time of this prisoner exchange was Benjamin Netanyahu, and one of those released prisoners was the present head of Hamas, the architect of the Oct 7 attack on Israel - Yahya Sinwar ...

In 1988, Sinwar planned the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and the murder of four Palestinians whom he suspected of cooperating with Israel. He was arrested on February that year; during questioning he admitted to strangling one of the victims with his bare hands, suffocating another with a kaffiyeh, inadvertently killing a third during a violent interrogation, and accidentally shooting the fourth during an attempted abduction, and showed investigators an orchard where the four bodies were buried. He was sentenced to four life ...

It's not Netanyahu's fault those hostages died, it is the fault of Hamas, who kidnapped them and murdered them. Would the hostages have been released if Netanyahu had given Hamas everything it wanted ... the IDF leaving Gaza completely, a final end to the war, the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prisons, Hamas surviving in a re-built Gaza?

I think it's probable that Hamas has no intention of giving back all of the hostages, but plans to keep them for insurance, and they would basically have won the war.

All this misery, all the suffering, all the deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians, was brought about by the effing terrorists. No one else. And they should pay for that, not be rewarded.

More

More about the murdered hostages from The Times of Israel's daily briefing ...

No

Bodies of 6 hostages, murdered by Hamas just days ago, found in Rafah – IDF

The bodies of six hostages abducted alive by Hamas on October 7 were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah a few days ago, shortly after they were murdered by terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday.

The hostages were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lubnov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27.

Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi, Lubnov, Sarusi and Danino (an off-duty noncommissioned officer) were abducted from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, while Gat was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the six were “brutally murdered” by Hamas shortly before troops arrived — possibly only a day or two before they were found ...

This is devastating. The poor families. I've prayed for all the hostages but especially Hersh. What good did it do? Hamas needs to be utterly destroyed.