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Letters to the Editor: Israel is making Gaza uninhabitable. The Oct. 7 attack doesn’t justify this cruelty

Benjamin Netanyahu wears a helmet and gives a thumbs-up to Israeli troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, visits soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
(Avi Ohayon / Associated Press)
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To the editor: The headline, “Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war. The proposal gets a cool reception,” says it all. Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu don’t care about casualties.

Specifically alarming, before starting the bombing of Gaza, Israel acted as if it knew where Hamas’ leadership was hiding, implying a quick end to any conflict. The truth has emerged: Israel knew the location wasn’t really specific, but just somewhere or everywhere in Gaza.

That justified Israel’s battle plan of flattening Gaza and withholding most of life’s necessities. Israel isn’t targeting Hamas as much as it is creating an uninhabitable Gaza.

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Not all Israelis support Netanyahu and his scorched-earth Gaza massacre, but they seem powerless to stop it. The U.S. is failing to seriously limit the carnage as we continue to provide weapons to Israel.

Hamas has no excuse for its Oct. 7 attack, and Israel has no excuse for obliterating civilian Gaza.

Mark Davidson, Santa Ana

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To the editor: War has always been a gory tragedy, with innocent people dying or enduring unspeakable brutality. The Israel-Hamas war is no different, and people suffering on both sides deserve our deepest sympathy.

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In the winter of 1944 and 1945, the Soviet Army encircled Budapest for 50 days. During that siege, 38,000 Hungarian civilians died.

I was one of the young boys there witnessing horrific scenes in my city of more than 1 million starving people. Nobody came to rescue or feed us. Similarly dreadful stories of civilians being slaughtered fill our history books.

What is different now is the worldwide impact of television coverage, which greatly influences public opinions.

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Soon after Hamas’ murderous attack, Israel drew our sympathy. However, as footage and images of wounded Palestinian children circulated, public opinion shifted. When these images are repeated constantly, day after day, news story after news story, the results are highly predictable.

Thomas Seres, Van Nuys

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