To the editor: Your article about civilians in the Gaza Strip angry at Hamas made me sick.
It appears that most Gazans are angry that Hamas did not plan to take care of its people with food, drink and money before the group launched its massacre of innocent Israelis on October 7.
Hamas has never cared about taking care of the people of Gaza; he is concerned about destroying Israel, which is in the group's bylaws.
As others have said, if the Palestinians laid down their arms, there would be peace, but if the Jews laid down their arms, there would be no Israel.
Dafni Black, Culver City
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To the editor: When I saw your article about Gazans' anger at Hamas, it gave me hope.
Perhaps there were signs of empathy in Gaza for the Israeli victims of the October 7 Hamas pogrom. Maybe Gazans were realizing that massacring and burning Israeli babies on kibbutzim; massacring hundreds of young people at a music festival; raping and sexually mutilating women, girls and men; and kidnapping 240 people, including women, small children and a baby, was morally reprehensible and would result in their own detriment.
Then I read the article and my heart sank. There was no hint of empathy for the raped, massacred and kidnapped Israelis, nor any willingness to acknowledge that Hamas brutally massacred Israeli civilians.
Gazans “celebrated” the attack; They criticized Hamas not for its barbarism, but for not planning the war better.
Without empathy there is no path to lasting peace.
Stephen A. Plata, San Francisco
