Letters to the Editor: A Gaza cease-fire would let Hamas fight another day. Don’t do it

To the editor: For years I have been criticizing The Times for what I viewed as its anti-Israel bias, both in its reporting of the news and in its opinion section. This time, I’m pleased to commend the newspaper for publishing an op-ed article on the reality of the threat posed by Hamas and its backer Iran.

Many people I know have focused their criticism on what they believe is Israel’s “genocidal” attacks on Gaza Strip civilians. But their criticisms are misdirected. In truth, Hamas is responsible for these atrocities, not Israel.

If Hamas were to lay down its arms and surrender, the lives of innocent Israelis and Gazans would be saved.

Of course we abhor the loss of lives of innocent Gazans. But Israel declaring a cease-fire is not the solution. Clearly, the opposite is true. A cease-fire sends a message to the world’s terrorists that their strategy works.

There is only one way to deal with terrorists: Hunt them down and destroy them at every turn. Yes, it may not end their activities, but it may force them to think twice before engaging in such horrendous behavior in the future.

Bruce Friedman, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The authors’ flawed right-wing analysis of Iran’s role in sponsoring terrorism in the Middle East serves only to distract from the core issue that drives the current conflict — namely, the oppression of the Palestinian population through Israel’s apartheid policies, and its unyielding occupation of Palestinian territory.

Contrary to the narrative that places Iran at the center of terrorist activity in the region, the extent to which Iran is involved remains undetermined.

To be clear, Iran is a corrupt, anti-democratic theocracy, but holding it responsible for the Hamas attack only neglects the root cause of the conflict and the singularly violent acts of resistance that inevitably follow.

Assigning blame for the current hostilities to Iran does not remove the need to examine the misconduct of Israel in its horrific siege of Gaza. It has been argued effectively that what Israel is up to in its Gaza campaign amounts to genocide.

Andrew Spathis, Los Angeles