The Israeli rescue service Zaka says its paramedics removed more than 260 bodies from a music festival that came under attack by Hamas militants.
The total figure of bodies found is expected to be higher, as other paramedic teams were also working in the area and Zaka added that the bodies “haven’t all been collected yet”.
Early on Saturday morning, Hamas targeted Nova music festival, a techno rave in the desert near the border with Gaza.
Videos shared on social media and by Israeli news outlets showed dozens of festival-goers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. Many hid in nearby fruit orchards or were gunned down as they fled.
Without a doubt, I think the settlements are abhorrent and incredibly counter-productive to peace. They’re not recognized by literally any other country for that express reason.
However, that does not justify the actions that took place over the weekend. If the aim was military resistance to Israel and a desire to assert independence, there are plenty of military targets surrounding Gaza that could have been attacked. Instead, they mostly went into civilian settings and simply murdered as many people as possible, while also raping and kidnapping many. I just read a report about babies being decapitated. You’ve probably already heard about the plans to livestream the executions of hostages.
These actions cannot be defended or justified, ever. They can be explained, and I do think it’s not wrong to say that some of Israel’s actions have contributed towards the environment decaying so much that they became more possible (though it’s beyond tactless to say if that’s your first thought in the face of the events). But it is possible to analyze the context of these events while still condemning them, which is something many many progressives have utterly failed to do. I saw just this morning someone I’d considered a friend talk about how it should be impossible to support Palestinians without supporting Hamas and all actions they deem necessary, and that any attempts to talk about nuance are a deliberate western strategy to distract.
Given what has happened, which was, again, a deliberate attempt to kill as many Israeli citizens as possible, I do think Israel is justified in taking steps to ensure that this never happens again, and it’s tragic that many innocent people are going to suffer because of that. However, Hamas could at any time give up hostages and de-militarize, and there would be no further bloodshed, whereas if Israel laid down arms, it would be a second Holocaust, as evidenced by this past weekend.
I think my ultimate position, which I’ve come to realize is not as universal as I thought, is that I believe there is no cause so righteous that it can ever justify the murder, kidnapping, and rape of innocent civilians. You can explain and understand the context that leads to the build-up of anger and resentment that ultimately causes such a violent outburst - and I dearly hope Israel does take valuable lessons moving forward, though I’d be surprised - but those actions can never be accepted, and retaliation to ensure that they do not re-occur is justified.
(For whatever reason I had to go read your comment on Lemmy again.)
I completely agree that there are no good guys here, and targeting an explicitly non-military target like a music festival is not something to be justified.
They can’t just be explained, they can be easily explained, I think.
As everyone keeps pointing out, Israel is far stronger militarily and likely could ethnic cleanse Gaza if they chose (edit:and seem to be often lauded for their restraint in not being worse than they are to the Palestinians). And that sounds great until you wonder then why don’t they use their strength in a way that doesn’t escalate? They can choose not to ratchet things up, but from what I’m reading they already have. And I think we also agree that the continued existence of the settlements is an unending provocation.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-gaza-area-bombed-after-warning-to-move
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-bombs-egypt-border-crossing-it-had-touted-as-an-escape-route-for-besieged-palestinians/ar-AA1hYfk2
That’s not “we’re going in to get whoever did this and we’re not being too polite about it”, that’s pretty wanton targeting of civilians. You don’t create more people who want to fight fair doing those things, especially when your side is NOT the “barely subsisting” side, but rather the side that possesses the technology and skill to be far more surgical if they chose.
I’ve lived my entire life in the US and I have uncritically accepted our relationship with Israel for most of my life. But their actions are no easier to defend than Hamas’ actions in some cases, IMO.