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Letters to the Editor: Feeling 'powerless, hopeless and frightened' amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza

Letters to the Editor: Feeling 'powerless, hopeless and frightened' amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza

Yahoo30-04-2025
To the editor: The last line of Nour Khalil AbuShammala's article ('Out of food and under constant attack, we Gazans are dying every day,' April 29) haunts me. "How did you let this happen?" I don't know.
I do know how horrific the war is, the anger and pain of the families of the hostages taken by Hamas, along with the pain of those living in terror in Gaza. I know the fear of those in the U.S., especially young adults, to speak out against the war.
I know that even though I am personally lucky enough to be distanced from this horrific war, it is beyond discouraging and depressing daily. If it is any consolation to AbuShammala, many have not forgotten about Gaza. We just feel powerless, hopeless and frightened.
Marie Puterbaugh, Redondo Beach
..
To the editor: The tragedy of Gaza lies before the world. Innocents suffer. But missing from the opinion piece is the role of Hamas in perpetuating the tragedy for political purposes.
Hamas leaders should go into exile. Rank and file Hamas members should lay down their arms. The international community should support the traumatized Palestinian people and support their rights to a homeland of their own as a peaceful neighbor of Israel.
Peter Hartz, Toluca Lake
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Keir Starmer's decision that the UK will recognise Palestinian statehood is a bold move. The prime minister must often feel he can't win; some of the 130 Labour backbenchers clamouring for recognition are unhappy he has set conditions for Israel's actions, which implies he might not go ahead with the move. Sarah Champion, chair of the international development select committee, is 'troubled' by the conditions. Predictably, the Conservatives and Reform UK are sniping from the sidelines. They complain Starmer is playing "gesture politics", saying his initiative is all about party management as he again caves in to his own MPs. But it is the opposition parties who are playing silly political games. Starmer has a proven track record of opposing gesture politics, preferring a lawyerly, sometimes painstaking approach of looking at a problem from all sides before declaring a plan to resolve it. 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