Both the Biden Administration and Arab leaders are crediting Trump with sealing the Gaza deal.
Deal Reached
Trump pre-empted the official announcement, posting to his social-media service Truth Social: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”
The Wall Street Journal reports Israel, Hamas Agree to Deal to Pause Fighting in Gaza
Negotiators for Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to pause their fighting in the Gaza Strip, Arab mediators and the U.S. said Wednesday, opening a pathway to end a 15-month war that laid waste to the enclave, sparked a wider regional war and roiled politics in the West.
The cease-fire agreement will come into effect on Sunday, Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said late Wednesday. He said Qatar, alongside Egypt and the U.S.—all of whom helped mediate the agreement—will work to ensure its implementation.
The agreement isn’t much different from the terms that were available months ago when more Israeli hostages remained alive and before thousands more Palestinians lost their lives. But several factors have pushed the parties closer recently.
Hamas has been battered and isolated by Israeli attacks that killed much of its leadership and cowed its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, and major backer Iran. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has solidified his governing coalition, reducing the leverage of right-wing parties who have opposed any deal, and has been emboldened by Israel’s wins on the battlefield.
And both sides have been galvanized by President-elect Donald Trump’s imminent return to office. The incoming president said a week ago that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages aren’t released by the time he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, repeating a threat he had made earlier. He hasn’t explained what he means, but said last week it wouldn’t be good for Hamas or “frankly, for anyone.”
Hamas accepted verbal guarantees from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey that Israel would continue negotiations for a permanent cease-fire after the expiration of the deal’s first phase, Arab mediators said.
As part of the proposed agreement, Israeli forces would remain in some parts of Gaza when the fighting stops but would eventually withdraw from the corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and another that bisects the Gaza Strip. Hamas agreed to put off resolving some differences with Israel to the second phase of the deal, including over the buffer zones Israel wants to maintain along the eastern and northern edges of Gaza, Arab mediators said.
The militant group also agreed that Palestinians released from long jail terms would leave the Palestinian territories and live in exile abroad with their families.
Trump Envoy Swayed Netanyahu
Arab officials say Trump envoy swayed Netanyahu more in one meeting than Biden did all year
A “tense” weekend meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff led to a breakthrough in the hostage negotiations, with the top aide to US President-elect Donald Trump doing more to sway the premier in a single sit-down than outgoing President Joe Biden did all year, two Arab officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.
Witkoff has been in Doha for the past week to take part in the hostage negotiations, as mediators try to secure a deal before Trump’s January 20 inauguration. On Saturday, Witkoff flew to Israel for a meeting with Netanyahu at the premier’s Jerusalem office.
During the meeting, Witkoff urged Netanyahu to accept key compromises necessary for an agreement, the two Arab officials on Monday told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity. Neither Witkoff nor Netanyahu’s office responded to requests for comment.
While the deal has three stages, the terms of the second phase will not be negotiated until the first phase is underway.
During the 42-day first phase, 33 of the remaining women, children, elderly and severely ill hostages will be released in exchange for roughly 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners. Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, while helping facilitate the entry of 600 trucks of humanitarian aid into the Strip each day.
The second stage will see the release of the remaining living hostages and conclude with a declaration of a permanent ceasefire. The third phase will see the release of bodies still held by Hamas.
Biden’s State Department Credits Trump
“When it comes to the involvement of President-elect Trump’s team, it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.”
“And we of course, we thank the Trump team for working with this on this ceasefire agreement. We think it’s important that they were at the table.”
Here is a Video Clip on X of the State Department worth watching.
My Musical Tribute
Blowing in the Wind, Bob Dylan, Live on TV 1963
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Some 47,000 dead later, we still have no idea.
If you haven’t yet seen the movie “A Complete Unknown” about Bob Dylan, please do. It was fantastic.
As of 8 January 2025, over 47,000 people – 45,936 Palestinian and 1,706 Israeli have died since the Gaza outbreak.
Has anyone learned anything?
Addendum
‘What’s going on in Bob Dylan’s head’
Mr. Tambourine Man lyrics up for auction.
Rare drafts of one of Dylan’s best-known songs found in journalist’s archive could fetch up to $1 million as part of wider legacy sale
Number of Deaths in Gaza
In the first months of the war, death tolls were calculated entirely from counting bodies that arrived in hospitals and data included names and identity numbers for most of those killed.
As the conflict ground on and fewer hospitals and morgues continued to operate, the authorities adopted other methods too.
From early May 2024, the ministry updated its breakdown of fatalities to include unidentified bodies which accounted for nearly a third of the overall toll.
The numbers do not necessarily reflect all victims, as many are still under rubble, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. It estimates some 10,000 bodies were uncounted in this way.
Official Palestinian tallies of direct deaths in the Gaza war likely undercounted the number of casualties by around 40% in the first nine months of the war as Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet journal this month.
The U.N. human rights office also says the Palestinian authorities’ figure is probably an undercount. In past Gaza wars, the U.N. tally sometimes exceeded the Palestinian count.
The office confirmed to Reuters that the deaths it has verified so far show that the majority are women and children.
A study, opens new tab
of open sources by the UK-based Airwars non-profit found a correlation of at least 75% between its lists and those of Gazan authorities for thousands killed early in the war.
=======================+
This ends the bullshit about overstated deaths
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-many-palestinians-has-israels-gaza-offensive-killed-2025-01-15/#:~:text=HOW%20DO%20GAZA%20HEALTH%20AUTHORITIES,for%20most%20of%20those%20killed.
[Shrug]. Hamas attacked Israel. Their citizens elected and supported them. Therefore all Palestinian deaths and disabilities, no matter how many there actually are, are on the shoulders of Hamas. I shed no tears for any of them. Actions have consequences.
Your shrug shows how morally rotted you are. No… Hamas did not attack Israel. They hit Israel back after expulsion, murder, state theft and destruction since Balfour. Nonetheless, I can condemn attacks on civilians, even in retaliation.
Your logic, “citizens elected and supported them” justifies any action Palestinians take against Israeli citizens. Congratulations on your special pleading case for supremacy.
Oh brother – the Palestinians have been waging war against the Jews since the 1920 League of Nations Mandate to create a Jewish state in Palestine. The Arabs rejected every single compromise to split the land, notwithstanding that 80% of the original Mandate was given to the Arabs. Hamas still wants to kill all the Jews and destroy Israel and this “cease fire” is simply a pause to allow Hamas to rearm and reload. Meanwhile, the Palestinians will continue to suffer as there will be no rebuilding of Gaza as long as Hamas is in power.
Oh brother indeed… If the Palis were 96% of the population before massive Jewish immigration, who should decide the fate of Palestine? Should the desires of the minority to split the land supersede the wishes of the majority to not split the land? Do you believe in democracy? Or are some humans special?
Yes, a Jewish minority demanded a state in a Palestinian land. And now you act shocked that the Palis resent this? Seems to me there is an immense denial of what Zionism did to the Palis to cause such resentment. That’s what this fight is about.
Lastly, while you fear Palestinians wanting to kill Jews and take their land, it is actually Jews that are killing Palestinians and continue to take their land. 146 nations recognize Palestine as a country… but Israel apparently gets a military veto over Palestinian rights. Perhaps if Israel didn’t insist on taking the last little bits of Palestine (WB/EJ/GS) for itself, there might be a road to peace.
Stop with the 96% myth. This figure includes the territory of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. If you just look at the 1948 partition proposed by the UN, Jews were roughly 1/2 of the population and Jewish businesses were 90% of the economy. Today, no one’s land is being taken. It is against Israeli law to take privately owned property, and Israeli courts have no issue protecting privately owned Arab land, even in Area C. The issue is much of the land is unallocated Ottoman land passed from Jordan to Israel. Israel has offered 97% of this land to the Palestinians, with land swaps to get them at least to 100%, and they say no. No negotiation, no recognition and no peace. So quit complaining and enjoy your war.
Ottoman census pre the first aliyah: 96% Muslim.
English census 1947: 66% Muslim.
Either way, the new immigrant minority imposed its will on the majority.
In 1948-1950, Israel refused Palis from returning to their homes, and in 1950 confiscated them as “abandoned”
Today Israel settles the Palestinian state it dominates militarily. Israel simply needs to leave the WB/EJ & Gaza. It’s not theirs. They don’t need to “offer” anything. Just give back what doesn’t belong to them.
I could say, Israel took land, displaced people and kills them; quit complaining and enjoy your rockets. But I’m not an immoral supremacist. I prefer peace and justice. That starts with Israel behaving morally.
Who was there 2000 years ago?
THe 2000 year old man!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI7wDpBRqjo
Canaanites, Jews who converted to Islam (now known as Palestinians), Jews who converted to Christianity (now known as Palestinians) and some Jews who stayed (known as Mizrahi) . You know who was never there? Ashkenazi Jews who originiated in Rome (technically, “Ashenaz”, or Europe), then Germany and Sephardi Jews who originiated in… well… Sepharad (Spain).
Regardless, 2000 year old land claims don’t supercede current ownership claims anywhere in the world.
Hamas – respect you.
West designate you ” TERRORIST ”
I call you ” FREEDOM FIGHTER “
I call you sucker.
However the truth is obvious these low social class know nothing but swear.
You left off the prefix to -sucker.
You are fighting against apartheid, looter, genocidal criminal on ICC list and its supporters.
Hamas shrugs at the number, could care less about civilian causalities and will now begin working toward their next futile attack on Israel.
Same with the jews
The Israeli government apparently admitted that it knew of the Hamas plot a year before it happened. They claimed that they believed Hamas couldn’t pull it off. I read an interview of an observer who kept an eye on the Gaza side of the fence and she said she saw a weekly training session begin months before, with training occurring more and more frequently as Oct.7 approached. She sent details up to supervisors. There were also conflicting claims that Egypt did or didn’t warn Netanyahu just prior to the attack.
We don’t know what the truth is yet, as there has been no official independent investigation due to the war.
You are absolutely right. Every death, on both sides, is on Hamas and on the Gazan population that voted for Hamas. I suppose I could look back 20 years and wonder what the Sharon government thought it was doing experimenting with a Palestinian state–but that folly wasn’t a license to the Arabs to set up a terror base; that was their action, and they own it and the consequences.
Wasn’t the impending imposition of an Israeli state on this land the source of the conflict? Dating roughly to Balfour?
Thought experiment: If the Ukrainian Jews who fled pogroms in the 1880s and went to Palestine, instead ended up in the US as 90% of them did, wouldn’t they be safer and more successful here in the US? Far safer here than imposing themselves on Palestine?
The problem is, there was no “Palestine” in the sense of a national homeland for people of more or less Arab descent. There are fine stats on populations from the start of the Mandate onward in, among other places, Koestler’s Promise and Fulfillment (1948). Arabs began moving in size into that crappy landscape only after there were Jews to provide employment (not to mention 20th century medicine), and they identified with local tribal bosses, not as “Palestinians.” Political Palestine is largely an invention of the Brits, who bet on Arab identity (and got their feet stuck in it).
Where Jews might have gone in the 1880s isn’t even a “thought experiment”; it’s empty air, akin to speculating on how much better off some Irishmen might be if they’d headed for Boston.
This leaves open the question of whether Zionism wasn’t a little nutty, but the attraction of it depended on context, and removing oneself from Christendom must have seemed like a sound idea. A hundred forty years later, a Jewish state exists, and its efforts to make peace with Muslim neighbors have been expensive folly. Too bad there isn’t a Bob Dylan answer to an ugly world.
This is direct deaths too. If you take into account indirect deaths, such as from diseases and famine, which according to a Lancet article could be 4 to 7 times direct deaths, around 10% of the Gaza civilian population has been killed by Israel in less than a year and three months.
“…killed by Hamas…” – there – corrected your mistake for you….
Hamas effortfully worked to maximise Gazan civilian deaths, as it was their only propaganda leverage. No fighting force in history did more to protect the civilian population of their enemy than Israel. Have you ever heard of any army alerting their enemy that a particular building was to be bombed in 30 minutes? – alerts which, it has been proven, in some cases were suppressed by Hamas.
It has been reported that the population of Gaza has actually increased due to births since the fighting started. If this is a “genocide”, it must be the most incompetent in history….
I agree. It was Hamas’ 2000 bombs that wrecked the cities. Hamas’ bulldozers, Hamas’ F-16s. Israel tried so hard to stop Hamas, but they just can’t. Israel has no power here and no agency. Even if Israel wanted to drop a 250lb bomb, Hamas forces them to drop 2000lb bombs.
No one learned anything. But, let us say you live in Pennsylvania, and for some reason New Jersey shoots some rockets across the border, kills a 1000 of your people, and kidnaps another 100 of them, to hold for ransom, what in the world would you do?
From what I know about the American love of violence and revenge, there would be some serious repercussions, i.e. a war between two US States that could, if governed
by less hot-headed people, live together in peace.
The point is: What if it happened to you?!
The other interesting point is: Israel’s population is 10 million. It is surrounded by
several countries full of Muslims, some of which want to see Israel wiped out. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, plus Iran, and Yemen further away. It’s about 100 or 200 million to 10 million. Not every Muslim wants to fight, but enough to be a concern.
It is way too late. I agree. Hamas should have given up the hostages and laid down their arms on Oct 8th 2023 and all those deaths could have been avoided. But avoiding unnecessary deaths is obviously not important to them. Their goal is to annihilate all the Jews in Israel or get them to leave their home and go elsewhere. The deaths are on Hamas.
Yawn…Even as Israel kills Palestinians and quite literally ‘gets them to leave their homes and go elsewhere’, the supporters of Israel are convinced that what the Palestinians might do is worse than what we see Israelis actually do.
Jesus wept, Mish. Do you really get your insight on generations-deep ethnic hatred (or anything else) from Bob Dylan? Yeah, man, it’s all a-blowin’ in the wind.
Looks like Benji and the right wing nutjobs are gonna blow it all up. We’re saved!
The fact that a neocon sellout like Matthew Miller is praising Trump’s team is downright terrifying. I fear there is something bigger at play here that’s more than Biden being able to claim that a deal happened on his watch.
But let’s get real here: the peace deal on the table is essentially unchanged since May. The barrier for a deal has been firmly with Israel after Israel’s obliteration of Hamas networks in Gaza and beyond has left Hamas with little negotiating power. I will believe the peace deal when I see it – and it’s close. But news flash from AP News 2 hours ago: “Netanyahu says ‘last-minute crisis’ with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce and hostage deal.”
Delay. Deny. Defend.
It’s the dem playbook. Create/ignore a problem, let the bodies pile up and then come up with a “bold” proposal to “fix” a problem that they created.
just like illegal immigration, forest infernos and many other dem policies.
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and killed about 2500 people. America took the war back to Japan and killed about 2 million Japanese, winning the war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuked to demoralize Japan. It worked. The USA did not provide aid of any kind to Japan during the war. The world was silent and thankful that America defeated Japan.
Hamas attacks Israel, not only killing 1,200 people, but gang-raping the women and girls, mutilating and torturing them before slaughtering them. And they did worse to the men, boys, and infants.
Israel took the war back to Gaza, but the world said, “Hold on!! You must provide food and aid to the people who just attacked you! You must provide safe passageways for Gazans to move about. You must give warnings to the areas you are about to attack. You must NOT act like the USA did with Japan in WWII. You must hold yourselves to a higher standard than any other country at war has ever been held to.”
Israel has every right to destroy Gaza, wiping out the people who committed atrocities on its citizens. Had Hamas stayed in Gaza, everyone would still be alive.
Israel offered a million dollars to anyone who could return a hostage. Not a single person took up the offer. Gaza supports Hamas, hook, line, and sinker.
Gaza has earned its destruction. If Hamas remains in Gaza, October 7th will happen again, as Hamas has promised. Let Israel fight Hamas as the USA fought Japan- with both hands.
The problem with your analysis is that it ignores that the US did not attack Japan first, as Israel did to Palestinians. Indeed, applying your logic (which I would not do) justifies anything the Palestinians do to the Israelis. It is shocking how the pro-Israel side refuses to see what Israel did to the Palis to generate their resentment.
Has anyone here besides myself ever been to the Gaza Strip? Seems 99% of commentators about the area have never been there or any of its neighbours.
I see a problem with the report that many of the 1000 detainees will need to emigrate. Which country wants militant activists to move in? Egypt certainly doesn’t. Lebanon and Jordan already have a refugee problem. Syria? Iran? Turkey? Those 3 might want them as they are anti Israel but I doubt Syria and Iran want to invite Israeli retaliation.
Maybe the Gulf states like Qatar will take them, but is that a permanent solution?
If the West takes them then expect more cases of terror attacks in the West. Not hard to drive a truck through a Christmas market or French Quarter is it.
European and US taxes pay for palestinian education, healthcare, utilities, etc. Spain even built an airport!
Palestinians have all time and money in the world to plan attacks. If they work for earn their living, that would be a giant step to peace.
My take,
This War had to be resolved so that Abraham accord might get resurrected.
Suggest watching Rubio’s opening statement at his confirmation hearing.
He put a wood stake in the Heart of post WW2 globalized world order.
It appears to me Arab states in own self interest of ruling class, choose to shore up relations with US and allies as Iran drifts into sphere of influence of Russia, China and N. Korea.
This being impossible to accomplish with open hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
Apologies in advance to anyone that previously made this point because I’m posting without reading the comments…How can Israel ever expect a permanent cease fire when they created exponentially more terrorists by killing the parents and siblings of countless young boys (and girls) who will have nothing to live for but to avenge their loved ones death?
Did Germany losing WWII create more Nazis? No – The Gaza issue is entirely culture.
“Culture” as in… “you kicked my grandparents out of their home in Jaffa, exiled my parents to a refugee camp, refused to let them return to their business and home, shot my cousin when he threw rocks at a tank, so now I hate you?” Is that the problematic culture you mean? You seem to believe that the Palis should just accept what Israel inflicted on them without complaining.
This is one of the major things wrong with the internet. You felt that your comment was so special, so necessary, that you MUST post it without reading any of the other comments first because…, well I guess you are a very busy person!
I gave you a thumbs down without reading past your first sentence, so I will never be certain if you made a pertinent point or not..
and the Israelis are not allowed to avenge the atrocities committed by Hamas on the people of Israel?
“Avenge” or genocide?
Well, which is it? Don’t go passive-aggressive with some b*llship response that let’s you off the hook. The population in Gaza has grown over every decade for the last century and it’ll be higher after this war. You want to see a real genocide, the worldwide Jewish population just two years ago got to the pre-WW2 number.
You need to get better informed by listening to John Spencer describe the measures taken by the IDF to limit civilian casualties:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YhoH-0c2yc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6gEtIUizNs
As for the 47,000 figure it may end up being accurate, but the “breakdown” has from the Hamas-run “Health Ministry” has NEVER differentiated between civilians and Hamas fighters, it’s numbers on women and children have always been statistically suspect but swallowed whole by media without critical analysis. Do some honest work on this question, there is plenty of valuable analysis of the numbers if you’re willing to look.
There are nearly always numbers to support whatever numbers you want to see.
But the Israeli military said it believes the numbers are accurate.
If it pleases you, please believe deaths are “only” [35,000 or insert number here]
I expect they may be as many as 10,000 buried under the rubble unaccounted for. So also consider how Israel had outright flattened 75 percent of Gaza even if you think the number is “only” 35,000 or whatever.
Do you use this standard–deaths are awful regardless of the cause, attack or defense–in assessing your own life, safety and well-being? If you do, why limit your handkerchief-wringing to the Middle East. You are a direct beneficiary of very harsh steps taken against American aborigines (it’s a reason your scalp is attached to your head), not to mention (as others have) against Germans and Japanese civilians. Israel needs “Palestinians” (of whatever origin) the way I need fleas on my backside: of no consequence except itching. That’s if they’re peaceful. When Israelis pretend to themselves that Palestinians will live in peace, disasters like Gaza unfurl. The territory was turned over to this murderous, under-productive population twenty years ago, with Jews being forcibly removed. The theory was that Med-front territory would bring investment, prosperity and peace. From the start, Gaza became a terror base run by people dreaming of a second holocaust. That’s whose side you’re on. “Genocide”? You’ve no decency.
“Other countries did immoral things in the past, therefore Israel gets to do immoral things today”
“Israel needs “Palestinians” (of whatever origin) the way I need fleas on my backside: of no consequence except itching.” – Perhaps Israel shouldn’t have taken on the Palestinians, who are, of course, descendants of the Maccabees (those of the revolt) and Bar Khoba. It’s no wonder they fight being dominated. Israel picked this fight.
These are relatively small numbers, one way or another.
Israel did their best to minimize civilian casualties while attempting to neutralize Hamas, who hid behind and among their civilians.
Israel achieved a death ratio of fighter to civilian of about 1/1.5, IF we accept the Hamas numbers. That is an unheard of low ratio in modern warfare.
Seeing as Israel will get raked over the coals no matter what they do, I hope that in future engagements with terrorists (and there will be more, if history is any guide), that Israel doesn’t waste time and effort attempting to protect civilian lives.
If the numbers can be “whatever you want to see” then why are you embracing the 47,000 number or any number for that matter? And, you’ve distorted my point: the total number may end up accurate but the composition is important—if it is 47k all civilians that’s very different from 47k, 21k of which were armed Hamas/Islamic Jihad combatants in a warren of tunnels that weave under hospitals, schools, UNRWA buildings, and private homes. I even stated CLEARLY “the 47,000 number may end up being accurate” and yet you disingenuously distorted my comments. Practice intellectual honesty if you’re going to take a stand on an issue.
Unbelievable. Are you joining the terrorist chorus, Mish?
Hatred knows no boundaries or will it end with a Peace treaty ,
A peace treaty with any Islamic entity is not worth the paper it’s written on.
An observation: global uranium production insufficient to cover demand
Uranium production has been insufficient to cover civilian demand since… 1990. While this phenomenon can be explained by geopolitical reasons (fall of the USSR), things have been quite different since the production peak in 2016.
Indeed, since 2016, there has been a drop in uranium production (-22% between 2016 and 2022) which will reach 49,000 tonnes in 2022, while demand remains at a high level, around 65,000 tonnes per year. In 2021 and 2022, it was barely higher than the 2020 level, which was nevertheless marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. While production is still expected to increase slightly in 2023, forecasts for the following years are not very encouraging: uranium production in Mali seems to be in a bad position and Kazakhstan , the world’s leading producer , has just announced that it will not meet its production targets for 2024 and 2025…
This sharp decline is linked to both cyclical phenomena (mines placed in care and maintenance due to low prices), but also structural phenomena (under-investment in mining exploration). Several experts have estimated that exploration investments of 1 to 2 billion dollars per year were necessary to meet future demand for uranium. Only 200 million dollars were spent in 2022 at the global level.
And it appears, in view of the elements which follow, that this peak in uranium production could not have occurred at a worse time.
https://elucid.media/analyse-graphique/debat-nucleaire-angle-mort-crise-uranium
Which I am sure has something to do with the price of eggs in China but nothing at all to do with this post.
I finally feel the warm glow of agreement flower up between Jojo and myself. There is hope.
I praise the Palestine’s underground city. So sophisticated.
Israel can catch, torture and ask any Palestine and with very advanced technology
and with military might, still can’t rescue the hostages.
Well done, Hamas.
You are a jackass.
While not a Trump fan I smiled when I heard Trump’s envoy forced that a$$hat Netanyahu to meet with him on the sabbath. I have disliked Netanyahu since Rabin’s assassination. Not only that Trump did not invite Netanyahu to his inauguration. Netanyahu has kept up this grotesque asymmetric response to the horrible hamas attack going for far far longer than what was and is appropriate to save himself from personal legal proceedings. Not only that Netanyahu continues to stir the pot trying to pull the US into a larger middle eastern conflict that would be an economic nightmare due to what would be record energy prices not to mention a tremendous human toll in death and misery.
MAGA not MIGA.
Illegal invasion and over one million deaths will be forgotten in Iraq war and others.
We are exempted. To quote from a Bob Dylan song, we have “god on our side”.
That’s rich, considering that “god on our side” is literally the justification for belief in Jewish supremacy.
False gods. There is only Me.
Ha I dont trust either side Israel nor Hamas
Warning don’t say “bullsh*t” or or it will go to spam as I just found out.
Hoping Trump can also end the war with Russia and Ukraine.
Ugh.
The one thing we know is that trump is absolutely not trustworthy. He represents a foreign, zionist cult, first and foremost. He represents the swamp second.
I was hoping Russia/China/BRICS/whoever would take on Washington in an anti-bully international action. Maybe we were not meant to see justice?
Here was a most excellent satirical comment made on a NYT article comment thread today related to the ceasefire subject:
So, Palestinians bad, Israelis good. What a childish comment. The situation is not that black and white.
It sure looks black and white on my computer screen!
Can you tell us who is who in your scenario? Who is the aggressor, Israel or Palestine?
It’s a bit of satirical critique on the ceasefire agreement. It IS from the New York Times though, so it is likely above your ability to understand.
The Israelis number is closer to these numbers:
1,400 Israelis dead on 10/7
840 soldiers killed since the war started
217 dead hostages
1200 Israelis killed. About 650 civilians, the rest soldiers and police, on 10/7. Your hostage numbers are too high too.
And many of the civilians deaths were caused by Israel’s Hannibal Directive – including kibbutz homes destroyed by Israel “just in case”. The cars fleeing the music festival were destroyed by Israel. Hamas wasn’t shooting missiles from their paragliders, after all.
Only 33 hostages to be released. Israel surrendered and will return even 7Oct Arab murderers who raped, tortured, and kidnaped babies and an 85 year old women. Shocking that Mish would promote the HAMAS gov’t death figures as the Gospel.
If you have a better number, please tell us what the number is.
The scale of the number doesn’t matter. The implication is that these deaths are somehow more important than deaths of anyone else fighting wars on Planet Earth. 47k dead (maybe and 50% are probably Hamas fighters). OMG!
Point of fact, more than 300,000 Syrian civilians had been killed, some via poison gas over the 10 years of so of the war there. That is an order of magnitude greater than the CIVILIAN deaths that might have occurred in Gaza. How about Sudan (600k+)? Or Ukraine (at least 300-400k between civilians and soldiers)? Or the Rohingya, etc., etc.
We hardly hear any complaints about all these other deaths. There are few to no college students holding sit-ins or marching with banners against the killing of non-Palestinians. Media hardly notices these OTHER engagements.
Yes, none of this matters because Israel is the only country not allowed to defend themselves from constant attack by terrorist organizations without criticism, confirming the undercurrent of enduring antisemitism that exists across the world.
Israel and the UN accept the government of Gaza’s figures. History has shown them to be correct. On the other hand, tales of mass rape, beheaded babies, babies cut from wombs, babies on clotheslines were proven to be false. You’ll have to look on Israeli media to see that, though, as we in the US are not allowed to question Israel’s narratives.
Looking at the rubble, I’m surprised it’s that low…. but Israel will finish them off eventually.
Mike,
does your 1706 Israeli dead include non-Israelis who were killed by Hamas in the initial attack of the war?
I don’t know the breakdown of that number.
crazy thought came to me. the “Palestinians” could have prevented all of this by not killing 1000+ civilians and taking 100s of civilian prisoners to begin with. they then had a chance to prevent it by backing away and giving up the illegally taken prisoners. Hamas also could have significantly reduced civilian casualties by not using civilians as shields.
Now Israel will be exchanging 12 live prisoners for every dead or alive one, while being blamed for causing all of this.
Israel is guilty of genocide, by their words, by international definition, and by acts.
All using US military assets.
eye rolling
If the US military was good enough for the native Americans, it’s good enough for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians were just following their “holy” book, which tells them to kill Jews.
The Old Testament is the most violent “holy” book. Followed by the New Testament, only then you’ll see the Koran.
Regardless, this conflict isn’t about religion, as evidence by thousands of years of Jews living at peace in Islamic countries. Why don’t you google “convivencia”, where Maimonides lived after Spain, or what the grand Rabbi of Baghdad wrote about Zionism in 1947 for some badly needed education?
Point out the commands to violence in the New Testament, please.
Sigh.
There are members of the Jewish faith, Christian Faith, Islamic (Followers of Muhammad) Faith.Plus lots of other religious faiths.
There are Arab members of the Christian Faith, Arab members of the Jewish faith, Arab Members of the Islamic Faith.
Islam (Followers of Muhammad) Faith only goes back 14 – 1500 Years – not thousands.
There are Caucasian Jews, Islams and Christians. As well as a myriad of other ethnic groups and other religious denominations.
A friend of mine was a Christian Palestinian (Coptic) His family owned a farm not farm from Jerusalem – the whole area was Christian. There was a church built on the farm. The family sold up the farm to Jewish settlers not long after WW2 when the initial Israel setup was getting started. They got a very good price for the land.
They moved to Lebanon which at the time was a nominally Christian Arab country. When the Islamic / Christian “war” started in the early seventies his family moved to Europe, The U.S. and Australia.
There are some extenuating circumstances regarding a percieved land grab by outsiders – non Arab Jewish however.
Your nick says it all: blind.
Blind to history, blind to facts, and blind to reality.
I had a crazy thought too… Israel could have prevented all of this by not demanding a state in a land overwhelmingly populated by local Muslims, expelling half the population, confiscating their homes & farms, then taking territory and killing hundreds/thousands of them if they predictably fought back. Israel could have significantly reduced civilian casualties by not continuing to steal Palestinian land and statehood in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thereby encouraging continue resistance. Maybe then people might stop accusing Israel of causing all of this.
Israel did not demand a state – the Ottoman’s and the League of Nations agreed to create a Jewish state in the 1920 Mandate for Palestine. By that time 90% of the economy was Jewish, and Jews were the majority in Jerusalem. The Arabs did not want their own state – they did not want a Jewish state. The religious intolerance and bigotry of the Arabs is staggering.
So they didn’t go begging to Truman?
Oh, the Ottomans and League of Nations offered a state to Jews without the Jews asking for one, apparently. There was no Herzl, no Weitzman, no Rothshild, no Schiff, no Jabotinsky. No Jewish Colonial Fund. No tree fundraisers in the US. It was all the Ottomans, govn’a. Honest.
If Jews were a majority in Jerusalem, they were a minority in Jaffa, Haifa, Tzafat, Tiberius, Lod and every other place in what would have a pencil drawn around them on a map to become Israel. Can you live with yourself defending that the Palestinians were forced from their homes and/or denied return to their homes? Is this a morality you’re willing to defend? This is Israel’s original sin.
Your ascribing evil intent and motives to the “arabs” is bigotry and rationalization. But mostly denial of the harms inflicted on the Palestinians.
I had a crazy thought too.
When did the Religion of Islam first show up and begin to spread via warfare?
I also thought that there was a Jewish Temple some place long before an Islamic one was built on the Temple Mount…..
Nah, those are facts not to be confused with the utter crapola you have been spewing.
All this ugly scenarios won’t happen if Palestinians were allowed to build their own state legitimately. Stop forcefully remove the Palestinians from their land.
There never will be a Palestinian state inside the greater borders of Israel (from the river to the sea).
Gaza isn’t and never was a viable place for millions of people to live and neither is the West Bank..
There is no water. Prior to last Oct 7th, the small area of Gaza had over 150 desalination plants operating. Almost all of them were private and charged high prices for the water. There was no government oversight of the water or whether it was fit to drink. On top of this, there is the environmental issue of disposal of leftover salts from desalination plants.
There was no sewage infrastructure or electric power infrastructure. Everything was jury rigged and undependable.
And this was prior to devastation that israel has been forced to lay upon Gaza.
You don’t just wave your magic wand and declare “You are now a state”!
The average Gazan was earning around $13 day prior to Oct 7th! A pittance by any measure outside Africa and southern Asia. This is why they required 500 trucks of free AID in the form of food and supplies every single day! This free welfare by UNRWA encouraged unfettered population growth, which in itself led to all kinds of social problems. And now, the UNRWA has been ruled illegal and must leave Israel, Gaza and the West Bank by the end of January 2025, so will be unable to provide any services or resources to the Palestinians. They lose their dedicated UN welfare agency.
You can’t have a viable “state” in a geographical area that doesn’t have any water or natural resources and where the area is physically bound and surrounded by one or more countries, thus restricting any population expansion. There is nothing to build an economy on, nowhere to grow.
If Palestinians don’t want to be 2nd class citizens (at best) for all of their future history, then they would do well to relocate somewhere else. I suggest Jordan.
Spot on!
If I was Trump and took office as president, I would invite Nutty-Yahoo to the U.S. for talks. After he landed, I would allow the International Criminal Court to arrest him for war crimes.
Best thing that could be done right now for world peace is to take Nutty-Yahoo out before he gets us all killed in WWIII with Iran, Russia and China because that’s where this ship is headed.
Have you read the Koran? If you want somebody to blame, look to the guy who wrote it.
Have you read the Bible?
How bout the Talmud?
Don’t make fun of his name – it’s fake, just like Rahm Emanuel.
Where does the Palestinian death total come from?
Gaza Bob (Hamas spokes person)
Anyone that believes the death toll announced by Hamas is naive.
Quagy calls the UN and IDF naive. Shh.. don’t tell him Israel accepts the Gazan government’s figures.
Hamas started the war and they got served their just desserts, along with all the so-called “innocent Palestinians” who elected Hamas, a known terrorist group committed to the death of Jews and the state of Israel. Palestinians overwhelming supported Hamas for years as they launched thousands upon thousands of rockets into Israel each year, hid ammunition and control centers in Mosques, hospitals and schools and turned a deaf ear to the terror tunnels being built under these establishments.
With any luck, this ceasefire deal will fall apart and Israel will continue to pursue Hamas to the last one who swears allegiance to the group, even if that means killing all of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Oh and the 47k “official” dead total is at least 50% Hamas militants. The other half MAY not have been Hamas militants but as I stated above, supported Hamas, so are fair game in my book.
And yes, the children will “suffer the sins of the father”. The father [parents] should take this as a lesson to make better choices in the future.
Now, the Palestinians following Hamas have not only lost their homes and schools, they have lost all the free handouts that came from their dedicated AID provider – the UNRWA, which has been barred from working in Israel, Gaza and the West bank effective this month. YEA!
Wow, so wrong in so many ways.
Maybe you should support children of murderers in the US to suffer execution under “sins of the father” too
What a miserable post.
Thanks!
The thing what’s miserable is the people posting from an assumed “moral high-ground” that doesn’t exist, and defending themselves with a wall of self-imposed ignorance.
Can you say that again, but in its original German accent?
It’s as though no one bothered to watch any of the video Hamas took. These aren’t the innocent angels a large percent of ignoramuses believe they are. Gosh, maybe they shouldn’t have perpetrated 10/7. Maybe they shouldn’t have broken the cease fire.
War is hell, It’s started by evil people. Wake up.
Oh, the war started with Hamas. I see. Before that, Israel was not blocking a Palestinian state, or pushing settlers onto Palestine. Thanks for the comment.
Offering 97% of the West Bank plus East Jerusalem as the capital is blocking a state? Not according to Arafat, who said no Arab leader will end the conflict with the Jews. Quit complaining about the war the Palestinians demanded – enjoy it.
Parroting talking points from Israel does not impress. If Israel were truly not blocking the creation of Palestine, they could prove it to the world by withdrawing the 800,000 settlers they inserted in the West Bank, continuously, before and after Oslo, during every US presidents’ term and under every Prime Minister. Or, perhaps you should ask Bibi… “You can thank me for the thwarting of a Palestinian state for the past 20 years.”
Your logic justifies Oct 7th given that Zionism picked this fight. I won’t justify Oct 7th or the aftermath.
No, sorry, I cannot celebrate this war started by Israel, because innocent people are dying. Unlike you, I don’t check their religion before deciding to mourn them.
1,000 Hamas members swarmed in, but Israel’s killed at least 100 times as many in response – many women and children. Children shot in the head with rifles. They’re just cattle, after all, to the Talmud believers.
Everybody is evil except the US and Israel. What a concept
He hasn’t taken office yet and Trump has already confirmed that the only correct choice was voting for him, with all his faults.
Also, I love Bob Dylan, but he’s a Zionist.
I love his song: “Neighborhood Bully.” It sez it all regarding the Jewish nation.
They always talk about how they’re persecuted, but they never say why.
Best president money can buy!
A sad tragedy. Thank God for Trump’s intervention.
I truly hope Trump can do a whole lot of good (lots of good to do right now) and that his relatively absurd bloviating turns out to be just setting a negotiation starting position. Most Amerians do not want 11 to 14 million immigrants deported. I would say that all of those who have committed no crimes and are willing to not get any entitlements (going forward) … are welcome to stay. No more year+ in the NY hotels, no more sanctuaries for criminals, … but paths to eventual citizenship for folks who have committed no crimes (other than entering illegally) and can support themselves legally for the next n years.
Who will pick the cotton = who will cut the grass
I truly believe we can afford to send home all that have committed crimes once in the country (a small %) … and still have plenty of folks to cut grass, work Wisconsin dairy farms, pick strawberries, …
… perform white collar work at rock bottom prices…
Most white collar work is not being performed by illegal aliens. They are not only “picking crops” … they practically own the construction and painting labor fields (pushing out many long-entrenched US workers) including crane operators, heavy equipment operators, etc.. But white collar work is normally done by US folks, or folks here on H1B Visas, or is directly farmed out through contracting companies to IT factories overseas (India, China, Pakistan, Poland, …). The real white collar losses, IMHO, are going to come from AI.
I’m talking about legal ones… H1B. That’s why I want the cap lifted.
I get that. I can see why folks want to limit them so that US folks can get jobs … but it is often not H1B immigrant vs US employee … but rather H1B immigrant living in US vs farming out to overseas company. And now with AI able to do most of the entry level coding .. it’s going to be interesting.
Believe it or not they have machine to do that now.
And maybe you can even learn how to cut your own grass.
My orange spaniel spends his days wheezing and yelling at the tv. This was my doing.