Of course the situation is much more complex than I can summarize in a few paragraphs. The horror inflicted on both peoples is terrible. As I have said a number of times, my heart breaks for EVERYONE who is affected.

I think it is a bit naive of you to say that Hizbollah is responsible only for starting the mess. They have fired about 3000 missles on Israel. What if 3000 missles were fired on your town, city and neighbors for a 30 mile radius? Would you say “oh, poor people who are shooting at me, they must just be confused, I want to hug them and love them and they should have no consequences? They can try to kill me, destroy my livelihood and my children, I’ll run away and give them what they want?”

Hizbollah did more than start this. They fire missles. They fire them not from tanks, not from open fields, but from the roofs of homes, from street corners next to apartment buildings filled with civilians whom they use as human shields.

Yes, Israel is responsible for the difficult and painful military choices it has made. Yes, there are horrific consequences. Each death, each injury pains me. I do not celebrate in the streets at the death of others.

Israel is also responsible for the decision it routinely makes to do everything to save civilian lives and put its soldiers at greater risk. If all Israel wanted to do was wipe out Hizbollah without regard for human life they could have carpet bombed southern Lebanon like the allies did to much of Germany in WWII. But, Israel chose not to do that, they chose to try to surgically take out the missle launchers. They did everything possible to warn the civilians and have them leave – Hizbollah forced many of them to stay as human shields.

Richard, I hope you read in my words my strong dislike of war, death, killing and hatred. I deeply wish and pray for a time when all peoples of every type – every race, religion, culture, ability, sexuality, gender… can live in harmony without hatred. I pray that day comes soon and through peaceful means.

As a Palestinian friend of mine used to say when we protested together weekly against Israel’s occupation of Gaza and some of the West Bank – we need to find a way to love each other one by one, recognizing each person and people’s right to exist, even if on land we want too.

I hope that you can see that my perspective is much deeper than one-way and that you are willing to hear a point of view from a pro-peace, pro-Israel, pro-everyone perspective.

he uses underestimated and diminished numbers (he says 41 deaths when today’s total is up to at least 123)

I have not read Annan’s remarks but I think you have misinterpreted them. 41 dead likely referred to CIVILIAN dead. 123 includes IDF dead as well.

If you think Kofi Annan is biased against Israel then you prob. aren’t sufficiently acknowledging the horrors Israel has inflicted on that country. You blame Hezbollah for them. The rest of the world (including me) blames Hezbollah merely for starting the mess. But Israel has done its level best to make it the mess of the century as far as its own military history is concerned.

I’m sorry yr perspective sees blame in so one-sided a way.