Should There Be a Ceasefire in Gaza? A Few Questions…

The purpose of this post is to ask a sincere question. In the Israel vs. Hamas conflict, what is the goal of a ceasefire?

Today the Israeli effort to eliminate Hamas from Gaza after their inhuman attack on civilians continues well into its third week. As the death toll continues to mount, calls are growing, particularly on my side of the political spectrum (Left. Or, as Marjorie Taylor Greene would say “Communist Fascist Vegetable lover”) for a ceasefire.

A ceasefire surely has some surface appeal. The human suffering filling our screens every hour of every day is brutal to watch. But I find that things in life, and particularly regarding decades-long international conflicts are never simple. So with regards to a cease fire, I have a few questions.

Let’s see if we can start with some basic principles that we can all agree on.

First Principle: War is just God awful. What the actual fuck is wrong with us as a species that we’ve chosen the mass destruction of each other was a way to resolve disputes? Surely, there must be a better way to settle our differences. Some fair international tribunal, rock, paper, scissors. Anything would be better.

Second Principle: Despite how utterly stupid and destructive war is, sometimes there are reasons why it is…