Israeli army strikes eastern Rafah

[wnylib]

118. I see. So has Netanyahu placed guards over the hostages in some secret place that

no one knows about, not even Hamas?

I have no interest in defending Netanyahu. I had a very low opinion of him even before the 10/7 attacks. But I also have a problem with excusing the horrific actions of Hamas and the civilians who participated with them in order to stoke up anger at Israel and one man in Israel. Where is Hamas' accountability for their own actions? Where is the anger for Hamas using its own civilians as fodder to protect themselves from the consequences of their actions?

I know that Israelis are angry with Netanyahu for good reasons like his criminal charges from before 10/7, his attempts to alter the justice system to protect his own butt, his dealings with Hamas prior to the attacks. They blame him for not adequately protecting them from such attacks, for a slow response to them initially, and for not getting the hostages back. I'm not sure that he has as much control over the hostage return as people assume. That's not an excuse for him; it's just a recognition of the unreliability and bad faith "negotiations" of terrorists.

Israel has to be accountable for its illegal settlements in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians there.

But one thing that especially disturbs me is how easily people on the left defend the actions of the 10/7 terrorists with claims that the victims brought it on themselves. Since when does the left vigorously defend rape by blaming the victims? Not just rape, but torture and mutilation, cutting off breasts, parading raped women in public for cheers. Isn't that like saying, "Oh, he just couldn't help himself because of the way she dressed"? Or the way she walked. Or because she was alone. Or, she's fair game because she's Black, Native American, Hispanic, Asian.....or Jewish.

I'm also horrified by the dead Palestinian civilians. But Israel did not build the underground bunkers. A group like Hamas that does that to its own civilians in addition to its attacks on civilians of other nations has to be destroyed.