your question is above my pay grade.
Here's my best guess. Nothing Israel is doing now will get rid of Hamas. If every Hamas person is killed - something will always come to take their place. You don't murder every single person and think that the children of those who survive being collateral damage will embrace Netanyahu's way. That's what many people believe - so while I may be an aging peacenik from long ago --- obviously I'm not alone in my thinking.
So -
Peace is negotiation. Freeing hostages is negotiation. You don't make peace with your friends. You make peace with your enemies. You cannot have peace with unequal rights. Perhaps new leaders in both Israel and among Palestinians can find a way. Perhaps we look at how peace and the end of apartheid came to South Africa. Perhaps we look at the resolution of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Joint Declaration of Peace in 1993.
Perhaps they shift the paradigm. Perhaps a rights-based approach that espouses universal values and norms would help. Perhaps the United States has a real role to play in working towards a rights-based solution. A military occupation isn't going to do it.
...Edited to say - this was a post of hope. It was a post of respect for humanity. It was a post of gratitude for those Israeli and Palestinians who want to work towards peace. It was for those people who feel beaten down by the endless stream of man's inhumanity to man. It once again devolved into something it never was intended for. So sad.
= new reply since forum marked as read