Answering my critics about the war in Gaza

Whenever I write about the war in the Gaza Strip, I hear from pained readers who agree with me on most topics but believe that I judge Israel far too harshly.

- Nicholas D Kristof

So let me try to meet them on their own terms and explain why I think American support for this war is a moral and practical catastrophe, doubly so now that Israel is planning another major drive into the territory.

These are among the arguments that | hear from many of you who, in good faith, disagree strongly with me:

Yes, the suffering in Gaza is horrific, but you’re blaming the wrong party. Hamas started this war, and Hamas can end it tomorrow by surrendering, giving up its weapons and returning the hostages it is still holding.

On many visits to Gaza over the years, I've seen Hamas’ misrule, misogyny and brutality. Israel was justified in responding militarily to Hamas's horrific attack on Oct 7, 2023. I would celebrate if Hamas were forced out of Gaza. But that’s almost certainly not happening, and it’s not clear what military objective the slaughter and starvation today are advancing.

More than 600 retired Israeli security officials have said that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel. Families of Israeli hostages have warned that continuing this “endless war without purpose” endangers the lives of those hostages.

True, the war would end if Hamas surrendered; that’s true of the other side in any war. But enemies rarely oblige, and Hamas’ unwillingness to surrender cannot justify what Israel has done with American complicity: the killing of an estimated 18,000 children, the starvation of a population and the levelling of entire neighbourhoods. According to Unicef, Gaza has the highest proportion of child amputees in the world.