No hope for Gaza

(Apologies for absence. Major blog technical problem, now resolved) The decision by the Israeli cabinet to go full-throng into capturing the whole of Gaza is a disaser for the Palestnian people, disaster for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) who don't want to become indefinite occupiers of the territorial Strip and probably disastrous for the remaining 59 hostages, only about 24 of whom are believed to be still alive. Benjamin Netanyahu said from the beginning that the objective of the military offensive in Gaza was to eliminate Hamas and rescue all the hostages. He has failed on both counts. Ceasefires, peace settlements etc were tried but ultimately failed. So, now, it's back to full war but with the aim of total occupation. Thousands of Israeli reservists are being called up. For the families of the hostages this is a sad and tragic day, with hope of recovering their loved ones disappearing.Trump should send a delegation to Israel to try and get a more sensible solution discussed but it doesn't look as if the US president is eager to get involved again after the failures of the previous negotiations in Qatar to find a lasting peace deal. So the future is bleak for the Palestinian people and for the hostages.