Israel-Hamas war, ASPCA, local animal shelters

Every media outlet promulgated the attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel and its citizens [“Iran sanctioned after attack,” Nation & World, April 19].

As Passover begins Monday evening, those who are pro-Hamas and the Palestinians would have you believe that Israel provoked Iran by daring to hit its consulate in Damascus, Syria, even though the perpetrators, planners and instigators of the Oct. 7 massacre of Jewish innocents were tied to Iran.

War is hell, and payback is, too. You reap what you sow. Whatever Israel does to achieve its righteous aim to retrieve the hostages and to destroy Hamas may be imperfect, but as Gen. Douglas MacArthur said, “It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it.”

As a caring, loving human, while my heart aches for all the innocents on both sides who have lost their lives and limbs, there is simply no alternative but to eliminate the existential threat of Hamas from the face of the Earth as definitively as possible.

— Joel Reiter, Woodbury

Muslim leaders should be directing their outrage at Hamas. They are responsible for the mess they’ve created in Gaza. They are cowards for using the Palestinian people as shields all these months, strategically placing them in harm’s way.

Hamas is evil in its ugliest form. Hamas has repeatedly walked away from negotiations. It obviously does not care about its people.

Where is the outcry from all people to free the hostages? And where are the Arab countries that could easily absorb the Palestinian civilians into their land? The world is upside down. Evil is good, and good is evil.

— Randi Andersen, Merrick

On Oct. 7, when Hamas breached the border with Israel in a barbaric rampage, the world was outraged, but not outraged enough to stand together and take action against Hamas. After all, this was Hamas, it was their nature.

As Israel responded in kind, and the death and destruction began to mount in Gaza, the world was outraged, and support for the Jewish homeland began to evaporate because, after all, this was Israel, and this was not their nature.

In an effort to isolate and defeat Israel by turning it into a pariah state, Hamas welcomed an invasion without regard that it would end the lives of many innocent people.

It is never a good strategy to follow the battle plan of your enemy, in this case the instigating strategy of Hamas. It is worse when doing so goes against your nature.

Hopefully, Israel and the rest of the world will come to terms and stand together against tyranny. I have no such hope for Hamas.

— Ed Weinert, Melville

Casualty numbers provided by Hamas in Gaza are routinely used by the media. However, some studies, including one by Gabriel Epstein of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, indicate these numbers are likely inflated. Were there thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths? Yes. Were some of them women and children? Yes. Was it 72%? It is statistically unlikely.

As the Epstein study says, “For the 72% figure to be accurate, women and children would have to make up about 90% of deaths recorded from media reports,” which he called “implausible” as men comprise 25% of the population and should make up a higher percentage of deaths due to being combatants.

During the Vietnam War, our government exaggerated the deaths of Viet Cong. Hamas apparently is exaggerating the deaths of civilians to win the global public relations war against Israel.

— Russell Alexander, Brentwood

Gaza residents face famine. Please explain this to me: If Hamas the ruling government in Gaza, started this war, and Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas, what other nation would provide food, water and medical supplies to the country that started a war?

Gazans knows that Hamas hides in their neighborhoods, hospitals, schools and other public places, putting them in danger. Yet Hamas is still ruling Gaza.

— Gerald Slochevsky, Islip Terrace

High pay? Better, give money to the animals

I take offense to only 76 cents of every dollar the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gets goes to saving the animals [“ASPCA is a leader in protecting animals,” Letters, April 16]. I see online that in recent years, 13 ASPCA employees were compensated a total of more than $5 million.

The volunteers are the soul of the ASPCA and I applaud them for their time and effort, but I will not donate to an organization that pays exorbitant salaries at the expense of the animals. I will continue to donate only to local animal charities that are in it for the love of animals, not the money.

— Carol Brekke, Port Jefferson Station