“From all sides they come at us.” Wallace Markfield, To an Early Grave

I am not an expert on Israeli-Palestinian relations, and I struggle to find words about the attack by Hamas on Israel that became a massacre and caught the Israelis by surprise—but I have to say something. The initial attack included an assault on a music festival. Many died, including children. Hostages, including Americans, were taken. Twenty Americans have been reported killed. It is hard to describe the horrific invasion and atrocities, and it will be enfolding for a long time.

“We have only started striking Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address. “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”

Indeed, it will “reverberate with them for generations.” Subsequent revenge attacks will continue for succeeding generations, as well. Food, water and fuel have been cut off to the Gaza Strip, a crowded piece of land the size of Washington, D.C., that houses thousands of innocent Palestinians who may not support Hamas. How will this affect children on both sides?

According to reports, in response to Israel’s aerial attacks, the spokesman of Hamas’ armed wing, Abu Obeida, said Monday night that the group will kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.”

Sadly, one can ask, what else are Israeli forces supposed to do after a sudden shocking invasion that caused bloody barbaric damage? Israel has often over reacted during past conflicts, in my opinion, but are they not now allowed to defend themselves?

A Jewish friend from New York, Dr. Edward P., has this cogent comment:

“Hamas is a barbaric terrorist bunch akin to ISIS. I grieve for their victims, and I grieve for the innocent Palestinian people who will also pay a heavy price for their wanton acts of terror.” The roots of an Israeli nation began in 1917 with the Balfour Declaration that promised British support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. The Palestinian Arabs rejected it. In 1948, Israel finally became a sovereign state. On May 14, 1948, The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 broke out when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate following the announcement. The Israelis won, and they have been fighting each other ever since. How much longer can this conflict last? Another 100 years?

There have been some attempts to create a two-state solution, but all failed since many on both sides rejected the notion. In 1994, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize following the Oslo Accords which might have created two sovereign states, but the assassination of Rabin by a militant Israeli and a subsequent war ended that.

Hamas does not recognize Israel and rejects a two-state solution. Netanyahu also has been against a two-state solution since the Oslo accords. The terrible conflict goes on and will continue, possibly spreading to other nations.

Could it lead to World War III? Is that even imaginable?