Are you saying that Hamas did not launch an incursion into Israel? Or that such an incursion was merely a brief day out for the lads - where their frivolity was mistaken for a land invasion.

In short, your suspicion is that 'knot tying' I was talking about. No such evidence was required when Russia invaded Ukraine, you have requested no such verification of evidence from Hamas about the bombings in Gaza? You have essentially selected a side - and tried to mitigate the resulting world view. It's a psychological knot.

All the sources are available for you to explore and draw your own conclusion. Based on what I have read and seen, there was an attack which targeted civilians and that has resulted in a military operation which has also killed a lot of civilians - these things are related and they are complicated because of the history of the two protagonists and the political interplay between their nations from 1917 onwards.

I would prefer if Israel did not launch a land invasion of Gaza. I would prefer if they did not bomb Gaza - but they have decided that Hamas has overstepped the mark and are seeking to remove them as a power source. I think that would be (overall) a good thing for the people of Gaza. Nobody under 35 has had a say in whether or not they want Hamas and its politics are both radical and unstable.

What I can certainly say is I am anti-violence, anti-war and anti-murder of civilians and rape of women.