I don't normally post here either, but have some thoughts.
A spokesperson on Radio 4 just now mentioned the proxy war between Iran and Israel.
I was struck a couple of weeks ago by a photo in the Guardian of Hamas fighters lined up, masked, holding their guns. Watching were some ordinary Palestinian men and children - all grubby, poorly dressed and with badly fitting shoes. The fighters, by contrast, had smart uniforms and shiny new boots. So, they are directly funded by Iran? Paid a wage? It reminds me of Afghanistan where impoverished farmers had the chance to join the Taliban and get a wage and food.
Israel for ages has had to deal with bombs on buses and in hotels in Tel Aviv, bomb scares at the airport... So OK, they want to get rid of Hamas and make life safe for their citizens. So if all those masked fighters and their leaders were to hand in their weapons, hand over the hostages and go back to being civilians, Netanyahu and his cronies would have no excuse to bomb hospitals etc because they might be "harbouring terrorists".
But OTOH, Palestinians want freedom from this horror and to live peacefully their own land. So if Iran were to formally recognise the State of Israel and withdraw their support for Hamas, would that mean no need for the hostilities? I don't know, but it might be the beginning of the end.
Then there could be an election in Israel and moderates could take over. I'm encouraged by the new government in Syria - they seem to be saying the right things (reasonable and pragmatic).