Trump Demands 'Hell to Pay' for Hamas, Silence for Gaza
The BBC reports Donald Trump 'hopes to reach phase two of Gaza ceasefire 'very quickly'' and warned Hamas would have 'hell to pay' if it didn't disarm, following discussions with Netanyahu. Noticeably absent from this declaration? Any mention of 'hell to pay' for the 37,000+ Palestinian lives lost (per Gaza Health Ministry, June 2024), half of whom are women and children, during what he calls
'phase one' of ceasefire negotiations . It seems certain lives simply don't qualify for presidential indignation. This 'swift second phase' conveniently ignores the preceding nine months of relentless bombardments, sieges, and forced displacement that have rendered Gaza largely uninhabitable. The call for Hamas to disarm, backed by powerful lobbying groups, frequently sidesteps the calls for an
end to the occupation that fuels the resistance. One might ask, if previous ceasefires and peace talks were so successful, why are we on 'phase two' of the same broken record, while the death toll keeps rising?