Innocent people are suffering in Gaza. That is a fact.
The question is: Who is responsible?
The answer is simple and obvious. Hamas is to blame. And only Hamas.
Hamas had to know when they invaded Israel and murdered innocent men, women and children, when they burned babies alive and raped their mothers, when they slaughtered the young concertgoers who they clearly were targeting, that there would be retaliatory strikes the likes of which they had never seen before.
This is what they chose to do.
They brought the suffering down on their own people.
They did not give a damn.
They hate Jews more than they love their own children.
There is no making peace with such savages.
They spent two years, and countless scarce resources, preparing for the slaughter they carried out.
Instead of building schools and hospitals, they built rockets and bombs. They spent their resources on weapons of destruction.
They embedded themselves in the civilian population, turning innocents into targets.
They have no one to blame but themselves.
Of course the world sympathizes with those who have done nothing wrong, with the innocent children who are suffering and dying in Gaza.
But Israel is not to blame for that. Israel has a right and a duty to protect its own children and families. Israel has a right and a duty to destroy their enemies.
The suffering in Gaza is the responsibility of Hamas. Hamas governs Gaza. They are responsible for their own.
Were they thinking of their own children when they burnt those Israeli babies?
Did they not know that all hell would rain down on them when they murdered teenagers at the outdoor concert, when they slaughtered parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents?
Did they care about the women in their lives when they raped Israeli women?
There is no making peace with those who hate more than they love.
That no country in the world wants them, will take them, will let them in, is because of Hamas.
Do Americans feel for the suffering of innocent Palestinians? Of course we do.
There are mothers who love their children as much as we do ours. But Hamas is to blame for that suffering.
Hamas is responsible for the bombs falling on mosques, on hospitals and on homes.
Hamas chooses to use innocents as human shields for their savagery. Hamas chooses to use scarce resources for killing others rather than building their own society.
Hamas put murder first, ahead of the human needs of families and children.
Hamas is getting what they deserve. Sadly, very sadly, innocents are dying along with them.
But that was bound to happen; Hamas knew it would happen; and Hamas is responsible for making it happen.
There will be terrible pictures coming out of Gaza. Things are very bad there, and they will surely get worse. Hamas is willing to sacrifice their children on the altar of hatred.
Israel has made mistakes and missteps.
Millions of Israelis take issue with their government and its treatment of Palestinians.
But there are not two sides to this argument.
Those who would blame Israel for the suffering in Gaza, those who cannot condemn the slaughter in Israel, are not simply anti-Israel; they are inhumane antisemites and deserve to be condemned.
President Joe Biden is right. We are faced with pure, unadulterated evil, and those who would make excuses are on the side of evil.
Susan Estrich is a politician, professor, lawyer and writer. Whether on the pages of newspapers such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post or as a television commentator on countless news programs on CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, CBS and NBC, she has tackled legal matters, women's concerns, national politics and social issues. Read Susan Estrich's Reports — More Here.