It isn’t often that a president visits a war zone. President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving 2003. President Trump surprised troops at a remote airbase in Iraq the day after Christmas in 2018. In February of this year, President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
"No secrecy. Everybody in the world knew yesterday that Biden would be in Israel tomorrow. Including Hamas." / That does seem odd, and dangerous, in the current situation. Also interesting
your thought that Israel wouldn't lob anything 24 hours before a Biden visit. However ... I'd read that Hamas didn't have that kind of firepower. Which would speak to fuel catching fire.
If you peel this onion back, what is going on is a religious war. Imagine. In the year of our Lord, 2023
(or the other side's calendar, 5784) people are causing death and destruction, forgive my repeating myself, over who has the better imaginary friend.
I am feeling nothing but disgust and depression, having decided all our troubles have to do with cults. The middle-east murder spree has to do with religion. The mess and inaction in Washington owes to nutty Republicans, birthed by the cult of Trump. What a waste. What a sadness.
So true, and so much has changed since Biden announced he was making this trip. The smart thing to do would be to cancel the trip due to the current conditions, but of course that would lead to outrage too. Biden is in a no-win situation, I just hope he can get out safely in a hurry.
You’re right. It’s irrelevant now which side is to blame for the hospital carnage. Everyone will continue to believe what they want to believe. The damage done to the prospects for a speedy and less bloody resolution to this conflagration remains immeasurable.
Not irrelevant to war crimes tribunals, though. War crimes if provable via concrete, credible direct evidence and sworn testimony - perhaps even from (1) Gazans now too terrorized by Hamas but awaiting a time and a place, (2) Israelis in the military awaiting a time and a place - in front of a duly constituted tribunal, not now amid the understandably frenzied calls for revenge on the Hamas suiciders and the organization in toto, to the extent possible - to offer their sworn testimony.
Have to take the longer view, it saves so much trouble.
So true. Everyone is going to continue to believe what they want to believe. Is it maybe a sign you have some humanity left if you are pretty sure you think you know who's responsible but you won't say because being wrong on something like that is not acceptable personally.
Nothing is ever as it seems and we have that from way old literature and never more meaningful than now. Hamas is like Putin, kill your own because the strong dog wins and the weak dogs die one gruesome way or another. I lean toward Hamas causing this damage but then there's Bibi and his numbers are sinking faster than a paper plane tied to a boulder thrown off a cliff. into a deep dark sea And a few minutes ago on Political Wire there is a topic concerning Hamas will release all the hostages: IF ISRAEL MEETS THEIR REQUIREMENTS. If you really wanted it to stop....well, let's see those requirements even though we're pretty sure we know what they might include. So glad not to be a Russian nor a Hamas Palestinian. You are so sacrificeable, so expendable for that oligarchical so-called greater good and in the small print, for them, just not thee. You just don't get to opt in or out on your own.
I am sure that Hamas did this as Israel wouldn’t have put a bomb or missile anywhere near a hospital with Biden coming in. Since they knew that Biden was coming in, this was a strategic strike on their own people to blow that scheduled meeting with Arab leaders up. I cannot believe the decision to publicize the trip, but then on such short notice I don’t know of any cover story that would have taken his out of Washington that would have been believable. I pray that nothing happens to him.
This shit is going to get out of hand fast. My guess is that the morning after Biden leaves Israel, unless an agreement to try to open the Rafa crossing is reached while he is there that the Israeli ground offensive starts. Then all hell will break loose.
What a horrible mess! From what I've been hearing this week a major objective of the Hamas violence was to derail the peace initiative between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If that's true they're sparing no expense in human lives to achieve their objective.
Look buddy, you either trust in the providential Will of Allah, or you're an infidel, and you know what happens to infidels?
They may, or may not, depending upon the WILL OF ALLAH, predestined from all eternity, or something, face the dreaded, most extremely awe-inspiring taunts shown here! And let that be a warning to them, sez I!
Yet, it could set off a much larger explosion if it hit munitions or explosives stored at or adjacent to the hospital, which Hamas is known to do. Not saying that happened here, but also should not be ruled out as a possibility to investigate.
One of the reporters who has been there for some time also commented that to her the explosion was much louder than any before. So something very different did happen, and as also stated, for some unknown reason Biden announced in advance he would be there on Wednesday. so jt makes perfect sense Hamas would sabotage the situation in some way. They have to be worried about Israel's intention to eliminate them entirely so in desperation they will do anything to avoid a ground invasion, even as Lucian says, sacrifice their own people to save themselves. They have already proven that over and over; the number is irrelevant to them. .
Nice observations, Lucian. As you pointed out ~fire~ is this incident's signature.
Will wait for whatever the IDF is putting together. It best be as complete as humanly possible. Far more complete than the very limited vids that are available.
Having viewed the available vids and news reporting, noted something that is not present but should be when an aerial bomb strikes such a facility, the telltale cloud of concrete dust. Haven't seen any on people bringing victims in or on the victims. No talk of a crater indicating it missed the target and struck the ground. In fact, no reporting on what part of the hospital was struck. Had an aerial bomb struck the concrete dust would likely find its way thru corridors and air duct systems. Again, this could all be a result of lack of information from the site. Can't ignore all dat ~fire~ though. Has to have a source other than the weapon.
As soon as I heard news of the hospital attack, I was sure you would write a colum attempting to pin the blame somehow. Amazing how carefully you were to examine why we can't be sure which side is to blame. And, yes, we all know that blame--even if we were able to assign it--would not bring any of those killed back to life. Assigning blame is not the current goal--finding a way to get medicine, water, food etc in and people out is what is needed. Can a Biden visit help? My fingers are crossed that he can. Sally Dorst
Lucian, your expertise in reviewing and revealing what the video may show is tremendous and appreciative. My heart continues to bleed for everyone, Jews and Palestinians, who are innocent.
Your last paragraph got me too, as I had those same thoughts...why would his team broadcast that Joe was going to meet with the Arab Nations and Bibi?? Now the Arabs and Palestinians have pulled the plug on that idea. Yet, Biden is still on his way and my Gawwd, I hope he stays safe on this journey! I want Joe to slap the shit out of Bibi. I want him to convince him to conduct a cease-fire in the Gaza.
I've read that a "smart" phone world in general, and America in particular, has an attention span of 47 seconds, and not much more of an institutional memory, but it was less than 24 hours ago that you, Lucian, posted an informed and convincing essay underlining the fact that the Israeli military had paused in its literal tracks to let Biden and others try to bring an end to the bloodshed. We are, however, supposed to believe that with 300,000 men and tanks poised to invade, the Israelis fired a missile at a Palestinian hospital. Netanyahu and his defense minister may be (are) many terrible things, but that utterly and profoundly stupid? Jews derisively and sarcastically refer to a goyische kopf, literally a gentile's head, but real meaning, not very smart. I've never heard as flippant a phrase directed toward Muslims, and I think the idea of Hamas setting off this sort of explosion among its own people to derail any chance for peace calls for words far more somber. If I understand jihad correctly, it does not mean violence directed only against non-Muslims, but is meant as a struggle which a Muslim is supposed to mount against *all* evil, whatever its form, shape, or who commits it.
An update from WaPo reads: 'Late Tuesday, a fake account on X — formerly known as Twitter — purporting to be the Israeli army tweeted in Arabic that the army was taking blame for the hospital attack. The tweet got more than a million views — a massive number in a country with a population of about 9 million. The tweet said: “Due to the lack of medical equipment and the lack of medical staff, it was decided to bomb the Baptist Hospital in Gaza and give them euthanasia death.” It’s the latest example of the uncontrolled misinformation that has spread virally during the war, complicating the public’s ability to determine what’s real. '
What struck me about that item was that I had just received an email blast from the Episcopal Diocsese of New York, where I sing, and it singles out this identification of the hospital as Baptist - it's not, they say. It is a hospital run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. That tweet is completely fake. Fodder for Mr. Truscott's thoughts about how this hospital came to be the latest victim
Phallocracy and war is another subject. This tweet strikes me as propaganda calculated by Hamas to lay the blame on Israel for what is likely Hamas's own bombing of a Palestinian hospital, itself calculated to generate world anger against Israel. They have kept their people impoverished and repressed, and used them as shields since they came to power.
(a) What also was absent was an immediate threat or actual executions of IDF hostages for punishment of "IDF's bombing of the hospital." The logical inference: Hamas itself was unsure or knew it wasn't the IDF.
(b) Isreal/Bibi's own goal aka unforced error was to send out the IDF spokesman to say it wasn't us and we have the proof, characterizes elements of it, and within the hour the world will see it. Akin to sending him out only with his dick in his hands. (Am staying with the theme because it is both relevant to the current Hamas and Isreal's leaders and a reminder of how stoopid my fellow men can talk, act, and behave.
(c) Hamas is indeed leveraging the incident to the fullest extent that it can. Hamas does have a far better feel for the Arab Street than Bibi does. Is foolish of Bibi et al to think and act superior to the point of crossing the line from confident to cocky. Is the worst mistake any leader can make.
(d) Hamas governs Gaza. Their duty and responsibility is to protect the people. They failed. Now they brought back war with them after their barbarism inside Israel. Then went go hide in holes underground damning their own families and other residents to face the wrath of war. Bibi and his government also failed in his duty and responsibility to protect Israelis and foreign nationals by thinning out the soldiers in those southern bases so more could be available on the West Bank. And most unforgivable feeling comfortable behind a series of defensive systems and fortifications that were not regularly changed up allowing Hamas all the time it needed to create a plan to defeat each layer. Bibi et al and the ISF forgot rule number 1, every wall/fence and fortifications ever built has been defeated.
(e) Palestinians are not respected in the Arab world. They are viewed as the bottom of the barrel yet are one, if not the most educated of all Arabs. Go figure. To put a finer point on it, Palestinians are viewed below other Arab wimmin.
What do we know? We know that both sides have reason to blame the other. But...who has more to lose if they are exposed as the side who blew up a hospital run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem? Sorry, I think the answer is obvious...and it is not Hamas.
"No secrecy. Everybody in the world knew yesterday that Biden would be in Israel tomorrow. Including Hamas." / That does seem odd, and dangerous, in the current situation. Also interesting
your thought that Israel wouldn't lob anything 24 hours before a Biden visit. However ... I'd read that Hamas didn't have that kind of firepower. Which would speak to fuel catching fire.
If you peel this onion back, what is going on is a religious war. Imagine. In the year of our Lord, 2023
(or the other side's calendar, 5784) people are causing death and destruction, forgive my repeating myself, over who has the better imaginary friend.
I am feeling nothing but disgust and depression, having decided all our troubles have to do with cults. The middle-east murder spree has to do with religion. The mess and inaction in Washington owes to nutty Republicans, birthed by the cult of Trump. What a waste. What a sadness.
So true, and so much has changed since Biden announced he was making this trip. The smart thing to do would be to cancel the trip due to the current conditions, but of course that would lead to outrage too. Biden is in a no-win situation, I just hope he can get out safely in a hurry.
It is now Wednesday and I'm listening to his speech in Israel. He was right to go, we were wrong. And it seems Hamas is behaving.
I agree with everything you said, Margo, and the anxiety is just growing. Wonder if we will ever be able to peel the onion back.
Lucien, your explainer columns are some of your best work. Thank you!
You’re right. It’s irrelevant now which side is to blame for the hospital carnage. Everyone will continue to believe what they want to believe. The damage done to the prospects for a speedy and less bloody resolution to this conflagration remains immeasurable.
Not irrelevant to war crimes tribunals, though. War crimes if provable via concrete, credible direct evidence and sworn testimony - perhaps even from (1) Gazans now too terrorized by Hamas but awaiting a time and a place, (2) Israelis in the military awaiting a time and a place - in front of a duly constituted tribunal, not now amid the understandably frenzied calls for revenge on the Hamas suiciders and the organization in toto, to the extent possible - to offer their sworn testimony.
Have to take the longer view, it saves so much trouble.
So true. Everyone is going to continue to believe what they want to believe. Is it maybe a sign you have some humanity left if you are pretty sure you think you know who's responsible but you won't say because being wrong on something like that is not acceptable personally.
Correction: Somehow, rushing it probably, I got the date of the Hamas attack on Israel wrong. It's October 7, not 8. Corrected.
Nothing is ever as it seems and we have that from way old literature and never more meaningful than now. Hamas is like Putin, kill your own because the strong dog wins and the weak dogs die one gruesome way or another. I lean toward Hamas causing this damage but then there's Bibi and his numbers are sinking faster than a paper plane tied to a boulder thrown off a cliff. into a deep dark sea And a few minutes ago on Political Wire there is a topic concerning Hamas will release all the hostages: IF ISRAEL MEETS THEIR REQUIREMENTS. If you really wanted it to stop....well, let's see those requirements even though we're pretty sure we know what they might include. So glad not to be a Russian nor a Hamas Palestinian. You are so sacrificeable, so expendable for that oligarchical so-called greater good and in the small print, for them, just not thee. You just don't get to opt in or out on your own.
Expendable civilians reframed cynically as “martyrs”. Terrorist acts are rationalized by pier seeking bullies intent on power
I appreciate the explainer reports.
Lucian,
I am sure that Hamas did this as Israel wouldn’t have put a bomb or missile anywhere near a hospital with Biden coming in. Since they knew that Biden was coming in, this was a strategic strike on their own people to blow that scheduled meeting with Arab leaders up. I cannot believe the decision to publicize the trip, but then on such short notice I don’t know of any cover story that would have taken his out of Washington that would have been believable. I pray that nothing happens to him.
This shit is going to get out of hand fast. My guess is that the morning after Biden leaves Israel, unless an agreement to try to open the Rafa crossing is reached while he is there that the Israeli ground offensive starts. Then all hell will break loose.
Peace,
Steve
What a horrible mess! From what I've been hearing this week a major objective of the Hamas violence was to derail the peace initiative between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If that's true they're sparing no expense in human lives to achieve their objective.
Sad thing is something as tenuous as that was probably going to require a lot less carnage to derail it.
Yes, apparently trying to show that they are the "Big Dog" on the block. Awful.
Look buddy, you either trust in the providential Will of Allah, or you're an infidel, and you know what happens to infidels?
They may, or may not, depending upon the WILL OF ALLAH, predestined from all eternity, or something, face the dreaded, most extremely awe-inspiring taunts shown here! And let that be a warning to them, sez I!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895eSm4oQRw
Monty Python The French Taunt
It seems to me he most likely culprit is Hamas setting off a bomb.
u have no clue
wait
Sounds like you read what I did: Hamas doesn't, itself, have that kind of firepower.
I put it in the column that a Qassam rocket has only a 10 to 20 pound warhead that couldn't do the kind of damage they're talking about.
Yet, it could set off a much larger explosion if it hit munitions or explosives stored at or adjacent to the hospital, which Hamas is known to do. Not saying that happened here, but also should not be ruled out as a possibility to investigate.
And on Lawrence the subject of deep fake video was raised. 🤨
"Multiple rockets" was in one of the media reports, but we don't know if that too is a convenient exaggeration, do we?!
One of the reporters who has been there for some time also commented that to her the explosion was much louder than any before. So something very different did happen, and as also stated, for some unknown reason Biden announced in advance he would be there on Wednesday. so jt makes perfect sense Hamas would sabotage the situation in some way. They have to be worried about Israel's intention to eliminate them entirely so in desperation they will do anything to avoid a ground invasion, even as Lucian says, sacrifice their own people to save themselves. They have already proven that over and over; the number is irrelevant to them. .
Nice observations, Lucian. As you pointed out ~fire~ is this incident's signature.
Will wait for whatever the IDF is putting together. It best be as complete as humanly possible. Far more complete than the very limited vids that are available.
Having viewed the available vids and news reporting, noted something that is not present but should be when an aerial bomb strikes such a facility, the telltale cloud of concrete dust. Haven't seen any on people bringing victims in or on the victims. No talk of a crater indicating it missed the target and struck the ground. In fact, no reporting on what part of the hospital was struck. Had an aerial bomb struck the concrete dust would likely find its way thru corridors and air duct systems. Again, this could all be a result of lack of information from the site. Can't ignore all dat ~fire~ though. Has to have a source other than the weapon.
As soon as I heard news of the hospital attack, I was sure you would write a colum attempting to pin the blame somehow. Amazing how carefully you were to examine why we can't be sure which side is to blame. And, yes, we all know that blame--even if we were able to assign it--would not bring any of those killed back to life. Assigning blame is not the current goal--finding a way to get medicine, water, food etc in and people out is what is needed. Can a Biden visit help? My fingers are crossed that he can. Sally Dorst
Lucian, your expertise in reviewing and revealing what the video may show is tremendous and appreciative. My heart continues to bleed for everyone, Jews and Palestinians, who are innocent.
Your last paragraph got me too, as I had those same thoughts...why would his team broadcast that Joe was going to meet with the Arab Nations and Bibi?? Now the Arabs and Palestinians have pulled the plug on that idea. Yet, Biden is still on his way and my Gawwd, I hope he stays safe on this journey! I want Joe to slap the shit out of Bibi. I want him to convince him to conduct a cease-fire in the Gaza.
I've read that a "smart" phone world in general, and America in particular, has an attention span of 47 seconds, and not much more of an institutional memory, but it was less than 24 hours ago that you, Lucian, posted an informed and convincing essay underlining the fact that the Israeli military had paused in its literal tracks to let Biden and others try to bring an end to the bloodshed. We are, however, supposed to believe that with 300,000 men and tanks poised to invade, the Israelis fired a missile at a Palestinian hospital. Netanyahu and his defense minister may be (are) many terrible things, but that utterly and profoundly stupid? Jews derisively and sarcastically refer to a goyische kopf, literally a gentile's head, but real meaning, not very smart. I've never heard as flippant a phrase directed toward Muslims, and I think the idea of Hamas setting off this sort of explosion among its own people to derail any chance for peace calls for words far more somber. If I understand jihad correctly, it does not mean violence directed only against non-Muslims, but is meant as a struggle which a Muslim is supposed to mount against *all* evil, whatever its form, shape, or who commits it.
An update from WaPo reads: 'Late Tuesday, a fake account on X — formerly known as Twitter — purporting to be the Israeli army tweeted in Arabic that the army was taking blame for the hospital attack. The tweet got more than a million views — a massive number in a country with a population of about 9 million. The tweet said: “Due to the lack of medical equipment and the lack of medical staff, it was decided to bomb the Baptist Hospital in Gaza and give them euthanasia death.” It’s the latest example of the uncontrolled misinformation that has spread virally during the war, complicating the public’s ability to determine what’s real. '
What struck me about that item was that I had just received an email blast from the Episcopal Diocsese of New York, where I sing, and it singles out this identification of the hospital as Baptist - it's not, they say. It is a hospital run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. That tweet is completely fake. Fodder for Mr. Truscott's thoughts about how this hospital came to be the latest victim
~truth~ is the first casualty of war, and of dick measurers bragging about the size of their junk. (yes, the two are related)
Phallocracy and war is another subject. This tweet strikes me as propaganda calculated by Hamas to lay the blame on Israel for what is likely Hamas's own bombing of a Palestinian hospital, itself calculated to generate world anger against Israel. They have kept their people impoverished and repressed, and used them as shields since they came to power.
Agree.
(a) What also was absent was an immediate threat or actual executions of IDF hostages for punishment of "IDF's bombing of the hospital." The logical inference: Hamas itself was unsure or knew it wasn't the IDF.
(b) Isreal/Bibi's own goal aka unforced error was to send out the IDF spokesman to say it wasn't us and we have the proof, characterizes elements of it, and within the hour the world will see it. Akin to sending him out only with his dick in his hands. (Am staying with the theme because it is both relevant to the current Hamas and Isreal's leaders and a reminder of how stoopid my fellow men can talk, act, and behave.
(c) Hamas is indeed leveraging the incident to the fullest extent that it can. Hamas does have a far better feel for the Arab Street than Bibi does. Is foolish of Bibi et al to think and act superior to the point of crossing the line from confident to cocky. Is the worst mistake any leader can make.
(d) Hamas governs Gaza. Their duty and responsibility is to protect the people. They failed. Now they brought back war with them after their barbarism inside Israel. Then went go hide in holes underground damning their own families and other residents to face the wrath of war. Bibi and his government also failed in his duty and responsibility to protect Israelis and foreign nationals by thinning out the soldiers in those southern bases so more could be available on the West Bank. And most unforgivable feeling comfortable behind a series of defensive systems and fortifications that were not regularly changed up allowing Hamas all the time it needed to create a plan to defeat each layer. Bibi et al and the ISF forgot rule number 1, every wall/fence and fortifications ever built has been defeated.
(e) Palestinians are not respected in the Arab world. They are viewed as the bottom of the barrel yet are one, if not the most educated of all Arabs. Go figure. To put a finer point on it, Palestinians are viewed below other Arab wimmin.
What do we know? We know that both sides have reason to blame the other. But...who has more to lose if they are exposed as the side who blew up a hospital run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem? Sorry, I think the answer is obvious...and it is not Hamas.