Letter
Eugene Doyle: Magisterial analyst
May I compliment you for your superior analysis of 7 October 2023? I have not read of movements of Hamas in Israeli territory before.
Hamas killed Israeli soldiers while overwhelming military bases, and some were also killed when kibbutzim and Nova Rave were attacked. Yet, if the more than 3000 Hamas insurgents could overwhelm the IDF bases so comprehensively, so quickly, and if murder was their intention, surely many more Israeli deaths could have resulted.
Similarly, the unknown thousands (?) of Palestinians also did not murder. They were all very inefficient killers. Likely, Hamas came to capture Israelis to exchange for their 10,000 countrymen held in Israeli prisons.
The IDF killed most of the Palestinians during the Hannibal Directive retaliation, beginning from midday; only cars which successfully brought 251 hostages back to Gaza survived.
About 1600 burnt-out Palestinian cars are now at Tecoma. All destroyed Israeli cars were buried, their numbers unknown. Since both IDF fighters and Israeli survivors/witnesses have described gunships/drones attacking moving cars, it is likely the majority of 1195 Israeli deaths were hostages in burnt-out cars which did not make it back to Gaza, plus occupants of destroyed Israeli cars.
An international commission of inquiry? I cannot see it.
— Keith Mitchelson from brisbane