Attribution to TownDown – Own work

This is a situation where the phrase ‘thoughts and prayers’ is truly applicable. It has been three weeks since Hamas fighters infiltrated into Israel and massacred over 1,400 civilians and kidnapped over 200 more. The anger and desire for revenge, in response to this brutal attack, remains at a high level, in Israel. That anger has only been fueled by videos from various sources, such as from cell phones of killed Hamas fighters, showing the atrocities committed by the Hamas fighters on those 1,400 civilians. It will even worse now that the mutilated body of 23 year-old music festival attendee and subsequent hostage Shani Luok has been found. She is now a martyr.

In Gaza, still awaiting the full-scale Israeli ground incursion, 8,000 people have already died, mostly through the bombings. Of those 8,000, 3,000 are children. More children have died from this conflict than have died annually, through wars, over the last four years. Pictures of bodies of dead children are going viral on social media. They too have become martyrs. Currently the physical and societal infrastructure, in Gaza, is collapsing.

Hamas, backed by Iran has 30,000 fighters. Hezbollah, on Israel’s Northern border, also backed by Iran, has over 100,000 fighters. Skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah are increasing. The Iranian President has stated that Israel has crossed a red line. Iran is supported by Russia. Just yesterday a flight from Tel Aviv landed at an airport in a Muslim dominated Southern Russian city. The airport was stormed resulting in 20 people being injured. Protests by pro-Palestinian and Pro-Israeli supporters are spreading throughout the world.

Israel has vowed that hostilities will not cease until Hamas is destroyed. Thousands are already dead and, if this continues, many thousands more will die. There are legitimate fears that hostilities will spread to surrounding countries. the US has already launched airstrikes on Iranian supported locations in Syria. Right now, this is a tinderbox, not just waiting to explode, but already in the process of doing so. All I got.