Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham, two prominent GOP senators, have indicated that it would be perfectly OK for Israel to exterminate, not just Hamas, but the entirety of the population of Gaza. These statements put them on the same moral plane as Assad and Putin and mightily offend public opinion in moderate Arab states. Does that sound like a good idea to you?
For their part, the left-wing students and politicians who somehow managed to celebrate the brutality of the assault on Israel don’t seem to understand that it made a backlash in kind inevitable. They also don’t seem to recognize that scores of non-Israelis, including Americans, were killed or taken hostage during the attack. Their opinions are beyond the pale, as well.
The clear objective here is to punish Hamas, but not the general citizenry of Gaza, very few of whom were consulted before the attack took place. That will be a very difficult process, and mistakes will be made along the way. There is no civilized alternative, however.