Hamas has rejected the prospect of more hostages being released until Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza. Israel says no end to hostilities until Hamas is defeated, and has drawn up plans to invade southern Lebanon, to drive Hezbollah forces, which pose a greater risk than Hamas, further from the border risking a further escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said the group would not launch a major offensive unless provoked or unless Hamas was on the verge of an overwhelming defeat.
The Hamas attack in October left 1300 dead with 240 hostages taken and is one of the worst terrorist attacks in history. The subsequent conflict has left at least 20,000 Palestinians dead, 70% of those women and children and 52,000 injured. Israel has dropped more than 29,000 bombs on Gaza since this war began with 40-45% of these unguided. Gaza has a high population density, similar to London. Gaza is now the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child”, according to the United Nation’s child agency, Unicef.
“To find a similar density of high explosives used in a small populated area, we might have to go back to the Vietnam war for a comparable example,” a former Pentagon intelligence analyst said. During the Hanoi bombing an estimated 1,600 Vietnamese civilians were killed. By contrast, the US-led coalition killed fewer than 20 civilians per day, during the four-month offensive to drive IS out of the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2017. And an Associated Press investigation suggested that between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians were killed in the nine-month battle between US-backed Iraqi forces and IS for the Iraqi city of Mosul which ended in 2017 which amounts to an estimated fewer-than-40 civilian deaths per day. During the almost two years of the Ukraine war, the UN estimates at least 10,000 civilians have been killed.
A previous Gaza flare up in 2008 which kicked off on a Mars, Pluto, New Moon in Capricorn lasted for three weeks. The 2014 Gaza hostilities starting on an explosive Sun opposition Capricorn square Uranus opposition Mars lasted for six and a half weeks. This one which started on a Martian yod of Neptune sextile Uranus inconjunct Mars in Libra looks like outlasting both. The only faintly hopeful straw in the wind might be Jupiter going direct on January 1st. But even if by some miracle there was a pause there is no indication that the broader situation will have changed of a complete deadlock with neither side willing to agree to a two-state solution.
The Oslo Accord, 13 September 1993, was the closest a peace process ever came to be agreed and it fell to bits with the Palestinians opposing it and the Israeli PM Rabin being shot by a far-right settler two years later. In 1993 tr Pluto was in Scorpio exactly opposing the Israel 8th house Sun square tr Saturn – it took immense pressure from international leaders and still did not hold.
At the moment and into early 2024 tr Uranus is conjunct the Israel Sun for another jolt and challenge to change. But all that has happened is events have pushed Israel deeper into their obduracy. The tendency of Fixed signs is to dig in through times of upheaval, expecting at some point the world will adapt around them. They have extraordinary endurance but little flexibility. And 8th house merely doubles up on the unbudge-ability. And Hamas with Mars Pluto conjunct in Scorpio are much the same. Immoveable object meets unstoppable force.
The indications are that Hamas will be destroyed but not perhaps for another two years and as Ben Wallace, former UK Defence Chief pointed out: “history shows us that radicalisation follows oppression”. “Northern Ireland internment taught us that a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant.” Treat people badly and another Hamas will pop up.
Gaza’s chart is in a state of upheaval until mid March and in considerable anguish for several years thereafter. And there is nothing settled in the Israel chart for years ahead which I will return to with the year end round up. Hezbollah looks edgy in the extreme after mid 2024 at that period when many world leaders’ charts look on red alert.
‘Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.’ Robert Burns.
Cathy heaven knows who pulls the strings and Jennifer is right all we can do is pray.
Let’s pray for the children
Transiting Pluto is going through Israel’s fourth house and will oppose Israel’s Moon at 4 Leo in a few years time. So, some sort of transformation of the homeland?
It’s notable that Israel has evacuated both northern and southern Israel and everyone is huddled in the middle. At the same time expansion of settlers in the west bank continues. It’s … odd.
Indescribably tragic is all this War Business (for it is a business!) and the United Nations impotence reveals such incompetence (as well as any ‘religious’ pontifications. My Dad was an elderly parent who ‘fought’ in the First World War (‘KITCHENER NEEDS YOU) and when I asked him (aged Three) “What is War,” as Neville Chamberlain announced that we were in a second one, he was weeping when he said: “War is Hell.” Is this what Humanity is for?
War is a Racket. Those stoking the conflicts and making money out of supplying arms won’t be the ones dying. In particular war is a very convenient way of funnelling taxpayer money into private hands. Certain people in certain countries have done very well out the conflict in the Ukraine and Gaza just as they have done from earlier wars throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Existential struggles like Palestinians and the Israelis that cycle round regularly are particularly nice earners. If the combatants did not receive outside aid to keep fighting they would probably have run out of ammunition and money decades ago.
Forgot to add Iran is swimming in Cash again from Oil Deals with China.
Curious Majorie on your take as to what China is doing to the Uighers. Concentration camps for their Muslim population. It is being called a genocide. World does not seem too upset about that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037
Really Terrible about Gaza.
This place was under the Ottoman Empire until it collapsed WW1. Romans before that. Read very concerning article today – they have caught many Iranians trying to illegally enter the USA at the Southern Border. FBI prevented two assasination attempts by Iran on USA soil, one on John Bolton, and one on Mike Pompeo. In addition an attempted kidnapping and prior to that assassination of a female iranian national living here again critical of the powers that be in Iran. On US soil. Border Patrol is very worried about who they did not catch, and worry is about terrorism here on US soil from Iran or another state such as Syria. Iran is bankrolling Hamas and Hezbullah and these are proxy wars. They also tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador on US Soil as well. It is a huge problem.
https://homeland.house.gov/2023/11/15/fbi-director-wray-confirms-the-border-crisis-poses-major-homeland-security-threat-dhs-secretary-mayorkas-stonewalls/
“In the hearing, members received confirmation of the urgent national security threat posed by the nearly 1.8 million known gotaways and the rising number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist apprehended crossing the Southwest border—especially as America’s enemies, including Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, have been emboldened to spread their malign influence following the October 7 terrorist attacks on our ally, Israel.”
First – the timing and dates for these charts are questionable. The attack was on 6:30am. Israel chart from what I know has Scorpio 1. Gaza as a city starting in 1917 is strange . There many points in history .in 2005 it became independent.. the rest is deceiving too. Talking about numbers without the reality. The Hamas built very complex infrastructure behind civilians. Every school and hospitals have weapons to attack . They have very young children fighting. Hamas target Israeli civilians with rockets . In the first week they throw like 10000 rockets. Israel prepared for this incidents by installing anti rockets. Hamas don’t try to protect them civilians. I am sure there were mistakes done and there is much we don’t know.. not sure why Israel didn’t use smart bombs . They might have a reason and it is not the time to explain . Israel are not great with PR. I can’t see a good part for Hamas ? It is a terror organisation that terrorise Israel and its own people
The abused child that grows up to become the abuser. Francis your intuition is correct. This ethnic cleansing has been long craved by right wing Israelis, their unbridled glee on social and other media is there to see. Gas reserves, land grab and perhaps a final reckoning with Iran, Hezbollah et al. I can’t see Russia and China remaining neutral and Iranian sleeper cells being activated in the US and elsewhere is also a chilling prospect. Pluto in Aquarius to to some kind of humane rescue? Not with all that fixed energy around….
Marjorie what is this whole thing for? My intuition does not ‘take any notice of this’ for me, which looking at the gravity of it is strange. That intuition tells me that this is somehow not authentic and it is a political distraction rather than a reality. I can’t be more specific than this. Apart from arms sales and diverting attention to the other warring events that have blown up in their face and are costing a fortune, going nowhere and apparently EU has paid €185billion more for oil and gas since it started – What are all these ‘diversions’ for? What are the outcomes for the Ukranus and Israelus scenarios astrologically Marjorie? They make no sense and have no seeming practical outlook? My only thought is that Israel will not be able to erase this stain ever in the public mind. It reminds me of the end of South Africa apartheid? Could this be something like this. It is difficult, nay impossible, to have ‘Woke’ and ‘Trans’ Rainbow and this kind of genocide and apartheid going on in any kind of parallel? Curious ‘events’.
I’ll have to think about this overnight – I know what you mean. Partly I think we are just stunned by the horror of it and after Ukraine have switched off. And there is something about the sheer intractability of the Israel/Gaza thing – two wrongs, two rights, no solution, just an impossible no-win on either side. Hmm – will come back tomorrow with more thoughts.
If you read Naomi Klein’s Shock doctrine it explains how/why all this is happening. Fear/ shock overstimulation in the amygdala paralyzes frontal cortex reasoning/planning making it much easier to influence the masses for in our case planned societal change. Wars are to be fought neuropsychologically too.
Didn’t Putin encourage Hamas to attack Israel to pull away attention from its invasion of Ukraine?