Gaza

The situation in Gaza seems really serious this time. But then, the Russians and Cheznia is/was worse and no one in the wider world community did anything about that. There is much condemnation but I cannot see just what can be done that would work. All sorts of attempts in the past that have been made to resolve things end up back on the old roundabout of cease fire, agreement, breach of truce and renewed Israeli actions.
The one thing I can understand relates to the apparent lack of balance between Israeli deaths and Palestinian losses. People say "only four Jews killed". What does not seem to be understood is having to live in an environment of multiple incoming rockets on a daily basis into wholly civilian targets. As a kid I lived through the Blitz of the '39-'45 War. The bombings and, even more so, the attacks of the 'V' weapons of doodle-bugs and rockets. The stress of knowing these things would buzz overhead until the engine shut off and the silent count of four until the bang. The sudden and totally unannounced arrival of the rockets. My memory is that these were far worse than the aircraft raids. The inability as a civilian to do anything; not being able to fight back. So, as I see things, it is not the totality of the fatalities that is a measure of suffering but the strain of living with the constant threat of sudden death. I can understand why the Israeli government decided that enough was enough and embarked once again on the only thing that experience has shown them as having any effect.