I'm going to put my two penneth in here,despite promising myself I wouldn't.
Firstly,let me make it clear that I agree completely with the OP...no-one wants to see innocent men,women and children dying and undergoing such misery as witnessed in Gaza.
However,I would make the following observations.
To suggest the Israelis have invaded Palestine in the last 100 years and suppressed its' people is just not correct. The scriptures of all religions going back thousands of years speak of Jews living in Palestine....history tells us they have as much a claim on parts of this land as do Arab peoples.
Following the end of WW2, mainly in response to the dreadful events in Europe perpetrated by the Nazis,the League of Nations voted,not unanimously,but by a majority,to support the establishment of the State of Israel in the land known as Palestine.Jerusalem would be administered by the UN,as it became,in order to ensure all faiths had access to their Holy Sites within that city,and the British were asked to oversee the resolution,as they had taken control of Palestine after the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WW1.
Israel accepted the resolution,to establish their country within the boundaries,and to accept that all other areas of Palestine....Gaza,the West Bank of the Jordan river included,would be Palestinian land,a separate country,controlled by the Palestinian people.
The Palestinians,among other Arab countries, rejected the UN proposal.
The Israelis established their State,the British refused to be caught in the middle and left, and the Palestinians have resorted to terrorist tactics to remove it,since 1978 being financed by the regime in Iran,via Hamas,Hezbollah and others,whose ultimate objective is to wipe Israel out. Their actions over the last 50 years have only succeeded in helping to create the most heavily armed,highly trained,resourceful and dedicated army in the world,which they have absolutely no hope of ever defeating.
The Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank have had no elections for over 15 years. Their so-called leaders base themselves in Cairo,Qatar,Syria and elsewhere.
Hamas hides itself underground in Gaza,in areas of high population.Lebanon,once a thriving business city,with trade links throughout the world,is now largely derelict,since its' annexation by Iran,who sought the positional strength provided by Hezbollah in the Golan.
What on earth did Hamas think was going to happen when it initiated the events of October 7? It must have known it was provoking a right wing,militarily inclined Israeli Govt.,whose people are sick and tired of 75 years of living in fear of terrorist attack,who would take the opportunity to try to crush them once and for all.
Hamas have brought untold misery to their own people.
In my humble opinion, the only way to end this is for Hamas to surrender to save the Palestinian people( their own people!) any more misery,release the hostages and do some kind of exchange for their own in Israeli jails. The Palestinians have then to accept that Israel exists,and they need to live alongside them in peace,sever their ties with Iran and its' lackies,elect themselves some intelligent representatives who can then secure some proper support and,crucially,financial backing from the Arab world to build themselves a future for them and their children in what is a beautiful and fertile land. This would create pressure on Israel to retreat from its' settlements in the West Bank and other areas outside of its' territory, which it has established as a buffer zone, hopefully,no longer required.
Sorry to be so long winded chaps!
