How the war in Gaza is being prosecuted matters

Israel has the right to defend itself against attacks such as the horrific one perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7. However, the actions by the Israeli government are not going to take out Hamas. They are likely going to cause more Palestinians to join Hamas in their hatred of Israel.

As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a floor speech: “We will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war?”

I am grateful that Maryland’s other U.S. senator, Chris Van Hollen (D), had the courage to take a principled stand and answer yes. It is disappointing that he was one of only 11 senators with such courage.

John Holden, Silver Spring

Fareed Zakaria’s Jan. 14 op-ed, “Israel’s war isn’t genocide, but is it proportionate?,” questioned whether Israel’s response has “been proportional to the damage that Hamas inflicted on Israel,” presumably meaning that caused by the Oct. 7 massacre. However, this question ignores much history.

The proper question to ask is whether Israel’s response has been proportionate to the behavior over the past 17 years of the Iranian-sponsored terrorist entity Hamas, which proudly states its sole purpose is the annihilation of Israel. Hamas has long terrorized Israelis by firing thousands upon thousands of rockets at Israeli cities and forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to hide in bomb shelters. It has diverted millions of dollars and tons of material resources to construct 300 miles of tunnels in which to hide under hospitals, schools, mosques, apartment buildings, etc., to deter the Israel Defense Forces, which has led to the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents.

During World War II, the United States and its allies completely destroyed Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. In doing so, hundreds of thousands of innocent people lost their lives and homes. Nevertheless, it was deemed justified even at such a high cost because of the unimaginable evil of these two regimes. The evil of Hamas is no different, and its complete destruction must be allowed to proceed.

Barry N. Taylor, Potomac

I appreciated Max Boot’s Jan. 16 op-ed, “South Africa’s false charges of Israeli ‘genocide’ carry a heavy price.” It was a relief to see an opinion that didn’t condemn Israel’s defense of its people.

As the daughter of two concentration camp survivors, I have always been aware of and feared antisemitism. When I was a child, I made sure to maintain a close friendship with a non-Jewish classmate and her family so that they would hide me and my family in their house if the Nazis ever came back.

It seems to me that behind the South African charge and many of the protests of the war in Gaza, there is a strong whiff of antisemitism, and that is chilling to me. I wonder how many countries would react “proportionately” after suffering an attack like that of Oct. 7?

Edie Alexander, McLean

The principal “heavy price” of the war in Gaza is not the one Max Boot discerned in his Jan. 16 op-ed. It is rather the fact that the furor over use of the fraught term “genocide” to condemn Israeli actions in Gaza distracts attention from an equally grievous concept successfully introduced into international law through the efforts of Hersch Lauterpacht at the end of World War II: crimes against humanity.

If the rantings of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are ignored, the killing of about 24,000 people in 100 days, including many noncombatant women and children, might not be genocide. But if it is morally and legally unacceptable, being defended as “not genocide” is beside the point.

Victor M. Glasberg, Alexandria

The Jan. 10 editorial, “Gaza is shattered. Here’s how to offer some hope,” should be commended for describing the calamity inflicted on the civilian population of Gaza by the Israeli military onslaught.

Missing, though, was a recommendation for a cease-fire. The editorial mentioned that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Biden have recommended that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu minimize the military attacks against civilians in Gaza, but that would be hypocritical, given that the United States continues to provide massive financial and military assistance to Israel.

Thomas T. Rubio, Palm Beach, Fla.