Palestinians search through rubble of a building after an Israeli strike on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023 (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

UPDATE, OCT 19:

I joined Beverley O’Connor on Australia’s ABC News on Thursday to evaluate the latest international efforts to break the cycle of killings, the strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, and the responses of Arab states and communities.

This is not a question of one side or the other being responsible. Both Hamas and the Israeli leadership are responsible for mass murders on both sides.

UPDATE, OCT 18:

Alongside Lina Khatib of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, I joined BBC 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell for a 50-minute special on Wednesday morning.

Listen to Discussion from 4:10

We discuss the mass killings by both Hamas and Israel’s forces in the context of the latest development of the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, killing up to 500 people. We consider if interventions, including the visit of US President Joe Biden to Israel on Wednesday, can create some space for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid.

After live coverage of Biden’s arrival, I talk about the “depressing and distressing” remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US President, undoing much of the effort by the international community to limit the violence.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, OCT 17: I joined the BBC and Ireland’s RTE on Tuesday to analyze the latest in the violence in Gaza and Israel.

The discussions begin with US President Joe Biden’s visit on Wednesday to Israel. I examine how most of the international community — having concluded that Hamas must be removed from power after its mass killing of civilians inside Israel — are trying to restrain the Israeli Government from an intensive bombing and possible ground invasion killing Gaza’s civilians.

See also EA on International Media: From Hamas’s Mass Murder to Israel’s Mass Bombing

The conversations look at the dynamics inside Gaza and inside Israel, and also evaluate if Iran’s regime — which supported Hamas’s attacks — and Lebanon’s Hezbollah will pursue a wider conflict.

Listen to RTE Radio 1’s Today With Claire

Shashank Joshi of the Economist and I joined RTE’s Claire Byrne to walk through the dynamics of Biden’s trip, Israeli political and military calculations, and the position across the Middle East.

The question to the Israelis will be, “What’s your strategy for getting rid of Hamas while not turning public opinion against you because you are carrying out your own mass murder in response to Hamas’s mass murder?”

Listen to BBC 5 Live frmo 15:06

I spoke with Nihal Arthanayake about the Biden Administration’s approach, emphasizing that any advance has to come through an international effort. I discuss the politics in both Israel and in Arab States.

The Arab countries are not making a forthright move over the isolation of Hamas — and behind it, Iran — as well as the curbing of the extremist elements in Israel.