Collective Punishment - No water, no food, no medicines

[Lieblingsessen]

I do not condone whatsoever what the Hamas attacks on civilians in Israel or their ideology

But surely, Israel laying siege to Gaza, preventing innocent civilians from accessing water, food, medicines, electricity for hospital equipment, is not justifiable. To collectively punish civilians who have no control over what Hamas or their government does. This is medieval.

Where is the outcry on the mainstream media about this? Surely it is not being anti-semitic to call out Israel, that retaliation is not unexpected, but collective punishment is horrendous.

@Condo yes, but that’s not the point of the thread. We all know who Hamas are. What is breaking international law is the Israeli response to cut power, water and food to Gaza. That is a war crime.

There has been a huge demo outside the Israeli embassy in London tonight- thousands of people- there is a lot of sympathy in the U.K. I think for the people of Gaza

Do you afford the same consideration to ISIS?

It's genuinely disgusting that Sunak and other leaders are voicing support of Israel's actions. All they'll do is kill innocent Palestinians, most of them children.

Both sides have been played like pawns, and it is innocent civilians suffering.

It must surely be obvious, as others have said upthread, that Iran was behind the planning and weapons supply of Hamas, with the intention of provoking Israel to retaliate against Gaza.

It’s almost as certain that Russia played Iran. Look at who benefits in the longer term, and how.

@ChesterDrawz stop trying to justify your offensive terminology.

The Palestinians voted Hamas in.

The whole thing is terrible and I can’t ever see a solution. But killing and parading naked women bleeding from their vaginas as they’ve been raped to death doesn’t elicit much sympathy from me.

It’s a war crime and when the humanitarian crisis deepens the global community will then condemn Israel- but expect to see images of children with no limbs, starving etc before that condemnation comes.

Blame Hamas for this, and everything else that's coming.

@Boundoverbyacat you don’t understand collective punishment. The million kids in Gaza didn’t vote Hamas in. To punish them is a war crime under the Geneva convention.

Just answer the question instead of telling me what I can call terrorists.

Would you complain at ISIS being called animals?

Yes, I don't think Hamas have much more regard for the lives of their fellow Palestinians than they do for the Israelis- they're just there to be used to further the cause. Dead and suffering Palestinians suits Hamas just fine.

@ChesterDrawz i don’t use that language to describe anyone to be honest. Because then everyone is heading down the same dark path as the nazis.

No only Israel is to blame for their war crimes.

Maybe you should blame the IDF for what happened in Israel then.

It's horrible for the innocent people in Gaza but I can't think of any other war where a country was obliged to supply or facilitate the supply of goods to their enemy. It would be an insanely poor military tactic. A humanitarian corridor into Egypt needs to be created for civilians but I don't think either Egypt or Hamas wants that. Hamas wants the deaths to fuel their bigger plan.

Hamas are jihadis; they don't care about Palestinians suffering and dying. In fact, they actively want it for the optics and to be able to claim grievance when they are actually the sadistic aggressor. As with Yemen, this is a proxy war for bigger issues in the region.

no, Israel control the sea. It’s why Gaza is known as the worlds largest prison. It’s a total siege

Can Egypt not open its border to the people of Gaza ? Do they not want to ? is that why it is a total siege ?

Credit: Imtiaz Mahmood

“Hamas: "WE WANT TO KILL YOU"

Okay, I'll seal you off from us so you can't kill us. You can manage yourselves and we'll provide aid and electricity for free.

Hamas: "WHAT?+ THIS IS A SIEGE! OPEN AIR PRISON! GENOCIDE!"

If we let you out, will you kill us?

Hamas: "YES. WE WILL KILL EVERY JEW WE FIND."

Okay. No.

Hamas escapes and kills every Jew they find.

Islamic World: "See, they did this because you built this wall. Israel, this is your fault.”

The whole thing is desperate. It's outrageous all round.

Hamas' lunatic actions were only ever going to incite war so this must have been the desired outcome. To what end though? They'll be obliterated and just leave a mountain of dead innocents. Iranian hostages need to be found and freed. Palestinian civilians need to be given safe passage through Egypt.

I can't support the coordinated starvation of innocent bystanders any more than I can support kidnapping teenagers at festivals.

@Dymaxion i guess we’ll find out what Egypt want to do. It’s been problematic in the past. But there has to be a humanitarian corridor.

This whole bloody conflict has been going on so long and you can easily see how people on all sides can be radicalised into hate for the other.

The Palestinian children may well end up being occupied by the Israelis, they may be forced to leave their homes, see their families suffer under this and some will grow up wanting revenge. They will remember being bombed and being starved.

And the same goes for the Israeli children who have seen all the horror unleashed by Hamas and may well grow up wanting revenge..

Hamas have beheaded babies. They are evil and hide amongst their civilian population. They by doing that, are putting Palestinian lives at risk. What is Israel supposed to do, say ok we can't go after Hamas because they choose to hide among civilians?

Absolutely ridiculous and probably slander. Have reported this comment

So you have no sympathy for Palestians them?

So when the IDF commit war crimes against Palestians and shoot babies in the face they should have no sympathy for Israelis???

Where does that leave everyone?

In recent months, Israel has made Palestinians forcibly leave and destroy their homes, in Jerusalem they’ve allowed settlers to just walk into Palestinian homes and throw people and their possessions out. This is not normal behaviour. In addition settlers and politicians have brazenly been going into the Al Aqsa compound and desecrating it. This all reminds me of another time in history.

Theres an interesting attitude that only the Israeli’s are allowed to feel pain/horror/loss and yet the Palestinians have been suffering this for over 75 years with no realistic way forward or resolution.

As for the first minister of Scotland’s in laws being in Gaza, is that previous poster actually suggesting he had inside info and deliberately sent his elderly (assumption on age) in laws to Gaza to be there in time for Israel’s response??

People are suffering on both sides: Agreed.

Obliterating the Palestinians in Gaza: how will that bring peace?

They can get the food and water in the same way they got the weapons in