Toadfish Monastery

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Quote from: Swatopluk on April 19, 2024, 09:35:56 PMunfortunately for the most part ignored in Western media.

If it wasn't for the westerners systematically blown out it would probably be more concerned with Ukraine.

Last _{and who cares a consulate was blown up if it is in the land(s)/of the 'enemy'} Post

Girl's best friend

A good reason to keep some hostages.
Blown to smithereens (or accidentally shot) can be presented as unfortunate collateral damage. Or even attributed to Hamas.
Drowned corpses or some with signs of contact with chemical warfare agents would be a different matter.
Strongly increased Israeli settler violence under IDF protection in the West Bank is unfortunately for the most part ignored in Western media.

Last _{and someone set himself on fire in front of the New York courthouse where Jabbabonk's trial is currently taking place} Post

The joke over here has been that Hamas should be hired to fix the New York metro tunnels.

Last _{lets not start as to what IDF wants or not to do} Post

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

From what I heard the tunnel and shelter system was a rather professional undertaking (no pun intended) with careful planning and execution (also useful as an employment program for Gazans and thus quite popular).
I assume Hamas had pretty clear ideas about what the Israelis would and could do and took that into account.
DIY civilian shelters would not have that advantage.

Last _{and the IDF is (are?) not very keen to send their guys into those tunnels for the above reaons} Post

I do see news on Ukraine and... those aren't great for Ukraine's effort; they're running out of ammo so the Russians will keep getting a better hand in the short/mid term.
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I have come to the conclusion that Ukraine was the loser from the very beginning, played by the east & west. Keeping the war going will only kill more and more Ukrainians (and some poor eastern Russians). The west is too happy to provide incentives to keep the war going because they think that will weaken Russia, making the Ukrainians useful cannon fodder instead of doing the logical thing: cut their losses, negotiate admitting that the eastern portion is lost (as it was before the war started), and immediately admit Ukraine to NATO. That is cheaper in all possible aspects but I guess all weapons manufacturers are all too happy to keep sending expensive tanks and planes and rockets financed by the west's taxpayers. Horrible and stupid.
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Gaza... the last counter I saw today was close to 34K dead in Gaza of which we know 2/3rds are women and children. Israel has done several times more damage in 6 months than Russia in two years. That without counting all of Bibi's other endeavors to remain in power at all costs. And to top it all he managed to kill westerners in Gaza in the most obviously brutal way.

Yup, Gaza has become a bigger story and probably deservedly.

Still you need to know where to aim and it's clear that the network of tunnels is far from being destroyed.

Last _{what I wonder is how are they dealing with water seepage} Post

I think shelter digging in Gaza would be futile. Hamas build a huge network of those (in part with money funneled to them by the Yahoo from Netanja) and the US deliver bunker busters to Israel to deal with them (and the other infrastructure above).

Last _{and those are not even the real deep penetrators} Post