A ceasefire now means Hamas can attack Israel, but Israel cannot respond. By Benjamin Elton.

We know what a ceasefire means in practice, which is Hamas can attack Israel, but Israel cannot respond. …

Lord Guglielmo Verdirame KC in the UK House of Lords:

Asking a state that is acting in self-defence to agree to a ceasefire before its lawful defensive objectives have been met is, in effect, asking that state to stop defending itself.

For such calls to be reasonable and credible, they must be accompanied by a concrete proposal setting out how Israel’s legitimate defensive goals against Hamas will be met through other means. …

War crimes?

As long as there are still hostages in Gaza, Hamas is continuing to commit the most heinous war crimes against civilians.

We should remember that when we hear calls for Israel to observe international law, because we do not hear the same demands made of Hamas.

That is for two reasons. First, because when those calls come from Israel’s opponents they do not arise from a good-faith interest in international law, but from the search for a stick to beat Israel with. Second, because everyone knows there’s no point asking Hamas to observe the laws of war, because Hamas has no interest in the laws governing armed conflict. …

Analogy:

In their defence of Israel’s response, some have referred to the Allied bombing of Dresden during the Second World War but, with respect, I think that is the wrong analogy. Much more precise is the siege and capture of Berlin in 1945, but no one would argue that Berlin shouldn’t have been targeted and taken. …

Future:

There are Jewish victims of Hamas and there are Palestinian victims of Hamas, and our compassion has to extend to them all. We can only hold on to the hope that when all this is over the people of Gaza, as well as the people of Israel, will stand a better chance of living safe and happy lives.