Hamas response shows it doesn’t want deal

[Twiglets1]

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff announces that Washington is calling back its negotiators from hostage talks in Doha and will pursue “alternative options” after the latest response from Hamas “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff says in his statement. “We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”

“It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way. We are resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and a permanent peace in Gaza,” Witkoff adds.

Witkoff doesn’t elaborate on what “alternative options” the US might consider, and it’s unclear if the statement is an attempt to ratchet up pressure on the terror group to compromise.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-response-shows-it-doesnt-want-deal-witkoff-says-as-us-team-leaves-gaza-talks/

Starvation may well be a by product of being on the losing side after one's side has started a war that took two year's planning.
And instead of surrendering , said losers refuse to do so, putting their people in a position of starvation, whilst they and theirs most certainly do not suffer for a war that they started and lost, yet refusing to humble themselves.
Winners of wars are under no obligations, legal or moral to care about the population on the losing side more than the leaders of the losing side who started the war and refuse to surrender under terms set out by the winners who defeated the war starters.
Sad, but true.
Why do you not acknowledge that the ball is in fact in Hamas' court?
The DARVO is shocking, but not surprising.........

Starvation may well be a by product of being on the losing side after one's side has started a war
No starvation is when Israel block aid and collectively punish innocent civilians in doing so which is a war crime one of many they have committed. Hamas are evil yes, that does not absolve Israel from their evil acts.

The DARVO is shocking, but not surprising.........
Yes it really is and the lies and the denials

I'm not yoo young to remember the Troubles. There was nothing remotely comparable to 7th October.

Everyone knows that Hamas repurposes Israeli bombs and unexploded ordnance. Of course they do, this is not a surprise and Im not sure why anyone would expect anything different. They also manufacture a lot of their own explosives etc from ordinarily available things like fertiliser which is why Israel blockades such a wide range of stuff. But Hamas also smuggles in a lot from outside and is directly supplied by Iran and North Korea for things like rocket launchers.

Walk that one through though. Hamas surrender, then what? What do Israel do next?

because your incredibly naive if you think that there will be a peaceful solution here.

Didn't you see the hostage release parties they organised?
Not only did they all of the sudden have uniforms, but also huge banners behind the stage. Where did they get these printed I wonder?

Why isn't it? Explain the difference please. You'll remember the Hyde Park bombing then. Even if there had been 800 civilians killed on that day the UK government would not have bombed NI daily for over 18 months - killing 60,000 of the c2million population. Or do you disagree?

Are you suggesting uniforms were made out of old rockets? How very Blue Peter.

You can't possibly be serious?

The Hyde Park bomb killed 4 soldiers & 7 horses. Soldiers and horses. A few civilians were injured. The bomb was remotely detonated.

7 October was a raid. Over 1000 terrorists burst into kibbitzim and a music festival. They attacked, terrorised, butchered, raped, tortured and taunted people. They filmed what they were doing in an orgy of celebration which they broadcast, including on the victims own social media. Then they captured both living and dead and took them back, parading them before crowds that continied to taunt and abuse them, celebrating what they had done. The Troubles were horrific but nothing in those years compares to 7 October and its incomprehensible that anyone would try to compare.

And those guns they were toting didn't entirely look like they were taped up bits of shrapnel either.

Exactly. 3,500 people killed over several decades or 1,200 in a single day, plus over 250 hostages, plus the promise to repeat the attack again and again.

Oh, so you categorise terror in terms of numbers. OK.

800 civilians and 400 security staff dead, a big number and absolutely unforgivable in any way, shape or form. No argument.

What is your view on 60,000 dead. Not enough, too many or about right?

Winners and losers of wars are actually under all sorts of obligations.

Occupying powers, such as Israel (and, no, international jurisprudence hasn't at all accepted "but Israel isn't occupying Gaza" in the past and definitely won't now with boots on the grounds) have a whole set of additional obligations yet.

And, yes, protecting and ensuring access to basic resources and services for occupied civilian populations is actually one of these.

The Geneva Conventions aren't exactly an ABBA song, you know.

No terrorism is not usually defined in terms of numbers killed, but usually by method and intent. I can't imagine being the sort of person who would consider any number of people killed in any situation as 'not enough' or 'about right'.

@SharonEllisIt was dreadful and shocking. However it did not justify the frankly scandalous reaction from Israel.

Actually, they are.

Not really comparable to Gaza, no tunnels to deal with as far as I know.
I think if 3000 terrorists had killed 1200, injured several hundred more and taken a couple of hundred hostages over the course of several hours, there would have been some serious retaliation, especially under Maggie.

It's like trying to compare apples and oranges really. Are you suggesting that the IRA or the loyalists would have had the stomach for gang rape, child torture, sexual sadism, necrophilia, burning children alive, shooting children.

I don't draw comparisons between hamas and Northern Ireland. Nor between the UK armed forces and the Israelis, but as ever, you do you.

And the shiny white cars.

www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/hamas-says-it-will-delay-the-release-of-more-hostages-putting-fragile-ceasefire-at-risk

Minister says Israel racing ahead to wipe out Gaza, will make it Jewish. (Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu, reported this week in the Time of Israel), screenshot and posted on x by Michael Rosen today.

To wipe out Gaza. Take the land. There you have it.

Won't make a jot of difference to the Israeli Govt. apologists on here.

Good to see demonstrations in Jerusalem tonight – maybe, just maybe the tide is turning against Netanyahu and his henchmen.

They actually put out a statement saying he was speaking "in a personal capacity" on this one. But haven't dismissed / replaced him (which they just have done with another Likud guy who was too hostile to Haredi conscription objections).

Damage control mode.

They shouldn’t have been. They agreed to withdraw years ago and never did.