Carnage: Israel vs. Hamas

I like to think I am a reasonably intelligent person and at least an adequately informed individual on what's going on in the world. 

Still I lack a good handle on what's going on to sit in judgement of what the hell is going on in the Middle East.

As best I understand it...

Hamas, the ostensible governing authority over the Arab Muslim Palestinians who live in the Israeli province known as Gaza, lobbed some rockets into Israel followed by hundreds of men with guns, killing hundreds.

Israel is all "Oh hell no, you don't" and shot their own rockets back at Gaza with their massive army fully following suit, killing hundreds. 

Then Hamas is all "How dare you hit us back" and unleashes more violence.

And Israel is all "We will hit you back and harder and you will like it" and sets of their own escalating volley of violence.

And so forth and so on.   

The death toll on both sides is spiraling upwards in the hundreds, thousands even. 

Now does Israel have to put up with this shit, a massive attack that has destroyed so much property, taken so many lives? No one thinks they should have to put up with that.

Does Israel have a right to defend itself? Well, yes.

But...

Does Israel have any culpability caught in a raging hellscape of bullets and bombs? 

Well...

Gaza is a narrow strip of territory inhabited by millions of impoverished Palestinians. Life is hard for the people who live there, demeaned and treated as 2nd class citizens. And the perspective of the hard right government leaders of Israel is to turn the screws of Gaza even tighter.  

Gaza is a pressure cooker and it should not be a surprise if the region explodes in violence. The Palestinians see Israel as oppressors and usurpers of their land. 

The Israelis see the Palestinians as a constant threat, people who have sworn to see Israel destroyed.   

Basically, it all boils down to "How dare you hit me!" and "How dare you hit me back" by God, somebody's going to pay for it with their blood 

Or is there another way? 

Cut me some slack here and let me quote Doctor Who.

"It's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning. Sit down and talk!"

Israel with superior resources will likely dominate Hamas back into submission. And Israel will have the satisfaction of knowing they won. 

Until Hamas has caught it's breath and tries again.  

If no one sits down and talks.