You cannot attack and then demand for a ceasefire

Israel did not start this war. Hamas did. The current outcry against the relentless attacks by Israel against the terrorists in Gaza is just an act of self-defense. The unlawful aggression emanated from Hamas. It was Hamas who attacked Israel. Now that Israel is pursuing the terrorists inside Gaza, why should the blame be on the Israeli? It is Hamas who is using the civilians as their shields. Hamas should accept full responsibility for the necessary, logical and justified acts of self-defense.

Our research indicates that the American allies of Israel are advising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US does not believe a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is currently “the right answer,” says National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. The official was asked in a White House briefing about the US position on a ceasefire, after it voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for humanitarian pauses on Friday. “We do not believe that a ceasefire is the right answer right now,” Kirby said. “We believe that a ceasefire right now benefits Hamas, and Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now.”

Let us never forget that Israel did not want this war. It was Hamas who started these atrocities. It was Hamas who first killed innocent civilians. It was Hamas who first kidnapped many innocent people who were merely having a dance party in southern Israel. It was Hamas who attacked Israel and the latter is merely defending itself.  Israel did not want a war. Israel says the fighting is costing it millions of dollars every day. A depleted workforce means many serious setbacks in its economy. The closure of schools and businesses have disrupted millions. And now, spiraling military expenses are depleting Israel's financial condition. Economists warn that the cost to Israel of its war on Gaza will be unlike anything it has experienced in decades

The last time that Israel and Hamas engaged in a war that had the potential to ignite a larger war was in May 2021. At the time, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan flew to Cairo and worked with Egyptian officials to negotiate a ceasefire. He drew from his own experience: In November 2012, as an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he and his Egyptian counterparts had locked in a ceasefire after a different outburst of hostilities. We need to realize that the situation today is totally different. It now appears that the previous logic of Israel-Hamas wars no longer holds after the October 7 attacks on Israel, in which 1,400 people were killed and 242 people were taken hostage. That has fundamentally altered Israel’s security thinking: It now wants to eliminate Hamas entirely. Israel’s existential catastrophe has changed its approach to security.

For these reasons, Hillary Clinton dismissed any possibility of a ceasefire while speaking last week at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “People who are calling for a ceasefire now do not understand Hamas. That is not possible,” Clinton said “It would be such a gift to Hamas, because they would spend whatever time there was a ceasefire in effect rebuilding their armaments, creating stronger positions to be able to fend off an eventual assault by the Israelis. It was Hamas who brought about this predicament. It was Hamas who started the fire. Now, it does not have the moral and the legal right to demand for a ceasefire.

Hamas does not really know the soul and the mindset of the Israeli. They do not know the heart and mind of Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas should be told that if it wants an end to this war, it should release all prisoners, surrender to Israel and apologize for all the deaths and devastation it has caused on the many suffering people, including Palestinians. It is the only right and honorable thing to do.