Public sentiment concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict is polarized, with many expressing frustration over the ineffectiveness of the UN and hypocrisy from Middle Eastern nations regarding terrorism. There are strong emotional responses highlighting the humanitarian suffering of civilians on both sides, alongside criticism of historical colonial powers exacerbating the conflict. Calls for empathy and a peaceful resolution dominate the discourse, revealing a mix of support for Israel's actions and deep sympathy for Palestinian civilians.

United Nations

Middle Eastern nations

Israel

Hamas

My read on this is that the author is still holding onto flawed Obama era progressive ideas about the Middle East and a refusal to accept that they were wrong. 

All the evidence suggests that Saudi Arabia and Israel *were* close to a normalization deal without serious concessions to the Palestinians before October 7–that’s arguably why it happened when it did. Similarly, it’s generally understood that Arab leaders have been ecstatic to see Iran and its proxies weakened—heck, MBS has warned that they would have to get nukes themselves if Iran were to finally acquire them, if that doesn’t suggest he viewed Iran as the major threat I don’t know what does.

The Palestinian plight might be at the hearts of the Arab world, but in all other ways the Arab leaders have moved on and distanced themselves. 

Similarly, the comparison to 1967 is deeply flawed. Yes, the 1967 war led to a feeling of invincibility among Israelis and led to another war, but at the end of the day it improved their position and it just wasn’t the right time for diplomacy because the Arab states doubled down and dug their feet in.

The end game isn’t to ‘mow the grass’, it’s to broaden the alliance with the Arab states, dismantle Iran’s proxies, and cripple Irans ability to support them in the future. It is not “destabilizing” to weaken terrorist networks and prevent them from carrying out atrocities like in Syria, quite the opposite.

The real long game here is persuading the Palestinians that they cannot win or increase their leverage through violent resistance, and that’s going to require the whole region to move on without them until they come to the table. And when they do, the Israelis will be content freezing the situation on the ground wherever it is and respecting Palestinian autonomy in their enclaves.

boldmove_cotton

Barely month and a half passed, and somehow people are already jumping to conclusions about regional peace, which people have been trying to achieve for almost a century.

Iran is in ruins and dealing with a ton of problems, besides being basically wrecked by Israel, so thinking they're suddenly going to launch some sophisticated retaliation strikes seems kind of delusional.
Regional peace (especially in the Middle East which is probably the hardest place on Earth for it), takes time.

Once the war in Gaza will come to an end, a lot of countries will likely line up to join the Abraham Accords.

Electronic_Main_2254

&gt; Gains Against Iran Won’t Translate Into Regional Peace

No s--t, Sherlock. They are mostly orthogonal things. The damage to Iran from Israel falls into two broad categories; defanging proxies, and setting back Iran's nuclear ambitions. For the most part, those things are tangential to Israel establishing peaceful, normalized relations with neighboring countries - but it does dramatically reduce the chances of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. If Iran gets nukes, you can expect other ME nations to immediately start their own programs.

GrizzledFart

The academic position always seems to be that Israel needs/refuses to make "tough concessions" that if made would increase stability or yield peace. 


I would like to see this fleshed out into a relationship life scenario. 


Im Israeli. I disagree with the aid policy and I think more help to gazan civilians should be made.  


But geopolitically... I don't see what concessions Israel could make that do anything useful. If Israel had ended the war a year ago, or ends it now... Hamas returns to power in Gaza and soon restarts rocket fire. 


PNA is even less likely to "do state building" than Hamas. 

Golda_M

\[SS from essay by Dalia Dassa Kaye, Senior Fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and the author of the forthcoming book Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy.\]

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel achieved stunning military success against what seemed to be formidable adversaries. Yet Israel didn’t translate its military success into active diplomacy; if it had, the region and Israel’s position in it might look very different today. Israel may not have thought it had a choice to make back then: it didn’t believe it had viable Arab partners for peace, and its military dominance was far from assured, as demonstrated just six years later when Egypt launched a surprise attack and started the Yom Kippur War.

The situation is different today. After its 12-day war with Iran in June, [Israel](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/israel) is in a far superior military and regional position than it was in 1967. It has neutered its most serious regional threats, and it has been decades since an Arab state fought a war with Israel. It has steadily degraded its nonstate adversaries, scoring surprising military and intelligence wins against Hezbollah in Lebanon last summer and continuing its decapitation of Hamas’s leadership in Gaza. Its attack against Iran achieved undeniable military success in damaging Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities, and it demonstrated deep intelligence penetration through its brazen killing of Iran’s top military leadership and nuclear scientists. U.S. President Donald Trump’s subsequent decision to join the attack boosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically.

ForeignAffairsMag

If Israel was so commited to eliminate Iran‘s threat, why didn’t it go further and killed Khamenei? It had already killed high ranking officials, getting rid of the head honcho would have been possible.

If anything, the recent strikes revealed Iran to be military utterly incompetent. I can see them seeking revenge down the line for that alone.

Away-Librarian-1028

It's not about picking a side. Its about fighting misinformation.

I live in California so I mostly "take Israel side"

However if I was in a conservative area I am sure most people would think I am "pro terrorist"

Remote-Cause755

Because people think they live in a Marvel studio movie, where there is a good guy and a bad guy and they must side against the Evil bogey man who will nuke the world. 

They fail to completely understand that our world is inherently complex and there are many shades of grey regarding people, situations and decisions. 

You're either a "nazi" or a "communist" , you're either "left wing nutjob" or a "right wing extremist", you're either "pro life" or "you hate women and want to torture them", etc.. 

Social media has fried people's brains and ruined any kind of civil discourse or critical thinking..

Ok_Spare_3723

[deleted]

I disagree that Israel sucks. I don’t side with Islamists, ever. It’s easy for me to pick a side.

abaddon667

It's entirely possible to be against Hamas, The IDF/Israeli government, obnoxious trendy social justice warriors and neocon zionist warhawks all at the same time.

I don’t support either i support the millions of innocent people who didn’t choose this war but have been dragged into it and had their lives ruined because of it. Sometimes i feel like people pick a side for the sake of argument, or because they see one side of the story and roll with that instead of actually doing research on it.

Glittering-Gap-5299

All politics is a fashion statement. They do it to be seen as being on the right side.

HarrySatchel

bigbigbigbootyhoes

Almost all people pick sides in some circumstances, you would have to be without any empathy to never pick a side in anything.


Your criticism is that you think both sides are equally bad but others don't.


Lots of the Nazis opponents in WW2 were terrible and did terrible things but it is still okay to pick a side because the Nazis were worse and they started it.


Same goes for opposing Israel, they are worse and they started it so even though the Palestinians do bad things as well they are the better side.


Also the human shields stuff is propaganda from Israel, we have videos of Palestinians being used as human shields, guess what it is the IDF that do it not the Palestinians.

Secret-Look-88

Yeah but one is a liberal democracy, the other a theocracy. We used to like liberal democracies and show our support for them in the likelihood that it would catch on in other places that wanted to join the club. Now I don’t know what people want anymore.

Ok-Wall9646

Why are people still on about this? Trump won, Palestine probably won't exist in 2 years, nothing anyone can do about it now.

Appropriate-Drawer74

Generally because Israel (in its current iteration) is a country created by a few other countries a century ago, and Hamas is not a country. They are just a group from a few decades ago who don't like Jews taking advantage of a situation where Israel, acting like it is the representation of Jews, are doing horrific things.

It's not just two countries fighting over a land. It's one country slaughtering another, and a gang taking advantage of the desperation of the slaughtered country.

Makuta_Servaela

The answer is wild propaganda on both sides

slicehyperfunk

It's not a war it's a genocide on the Palestinian people

We pick a side because it is disgusting and inhumane to treat any demographic the way Israel has treated Palestinians since before it even became a State. 

Just because you're ignorant on a subject doesn't mean people who aren't are, and people make their choice to support things like BDS because they have educated themselves on the history of political zionism, or because they see the inhumane treatment of other human beings and it disgusts them.

So now that you know why people speak out against Israel, tell me why you're on here attempting to manufacture complacency or at the very least apathy for the genocide of the Palestinian people , because your view only benefits one side. Evil only thrives when good people remain silent... so tell me, why are you here encouraging silence?

BabyFartzMcGeezak

True. It's a conflict over land. Might over right. At the end of the day whoever "wins" will write out the other side as evil in their own history books.

SpeedDemonThebest

Because only one side is really experiencing mass civilian deaths. It's really not a "war", it's a one-sided slaughter campaign. Also, the world governments have clearly picked a side.

Market-Socialism

Yeah, exactly. Iran can't be trusted period. Regime change is necessary.

Once the regime changes, that is going to be a HUGE blessing to Israel, the surrounding Arab states and also the people of Iran.

As to the Palestinians, I do pray for them and I will continue to pray for them. I don't see a fully independent Palestinian state anytime soon in the cards at all...

Whatever the surrounding Arab states say, at the end of the day, the Palestinians betrayed not only Israel but also the surrounding Arab countries and that region has a LONG memory...one thing that might happen is that a Palestinian state will be "recognized" and everyone will celebrate, but it will either overtly or covertly be fully controlled by the Saudis, UAE, Israel, Jordan, Bahrain and certain others. The IDF will have full authorization to go anywhere in this "independent" state and do what they want. The Palestinian "leader" will have to be fully approved by these countries. The independence will only be a farce, in reality very little will have changed...Again, the Arab countries and Israel have a VERY long memory and most Arab countries consider Palestinians terrorists and traitors... I am not saying this, I am saying that that they feel this way...

quicksilver2009

&gt;Iran's role in the Israel-Palestine conflict

Creating sunni Cannon fodder.. Yahoodi &amp; Kafir.. two birds one stone..

Diet-Bebsi

Well, Trump will get his nuclear deal, get a peace with it.

vovap_vovap

The morons of the pro pal movement have really backed themselves into a corner, rooting for the IRGC.

🙄🙄🙄🙄

Top_Plant5102

I don't blame them. With Israel's history I fail to see how Israelis cannot recognize history justifies a severe disdain and possible hatred of their state. As long as Iran is not advocating for the deaths of Israelis or Jews, I am more then fine with Iran taking exception to Zionism and the nation of Israel.

What stops a fanatic from using a nuclear weapon? how about nuclear deterrence; despite all these claims the Ayatollah is genocidal the only quotes I have yet heard are all regarding the Zionist entity, which is not the same thing as Jews. It seems to me that this a matter of maintaining supremacy over the Middle East. And narratives such as these is to try and Justify an incursion on the same grounds as Iraq, which in hindsight was not close to justifiable.

Ok-Replacement-2738

So when Iran complied entirely in the last Nuclear Deal they made with the US and did keep everything to 3% and acceptable according to US, CIA and Mossad what did that say to you?

It says to me that a statement like this:".. It would be naive to believe that Iran will simply halt all nuclear development. Even under pressure or international agreements" ..can only be uttered by someone who doesn't know that Iran already signed a Nuclear Deal for which they were in total compliance until the day Trump ripped it up.

Annual-Reaction-1940

Palestinians have started civil war in every country in that region

Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc. 

Even now in every western country - same is beginning or has already started. 

This is what those folks are defending 

https://www.hamas-massacre.net/

Hot_Ease_4895

I understand that Russia doesn't have the capability nor the political will to help Iran, for obvious reasons (Ukraine).

What about China? The may not be friends with Iran, but Iran is pretty much on their doorstep. Can China politically afford to have Isreali (read, american) jets bombing a neighbour of theirs pretty much unpunished?

Also I wonder if China might be eventually interested to test their weapons agains the american ones in a real war, before actually invading Taiwan. I'm not talking about jets, but I could see China selling some AA systems to Iran if they are not doing it already.

digito_a_caso

@Mods (Meta Topic)


Could we have a new Megathread: Israel-Iran 2


This one here has so many comments that Reddit has problems sorting them correctly.

Sauerkohl

So apparently Israel has struck Tehran again and also hit airbases in Hamedan and Mehrabad and ammunition depots in Zanjan and Asadabad. How are they flying so many sorties continuously over such long distances?

bononoisland

A thought occured to me. If Soleimani was still around, would this entire chain of events have happened? I doubt he would have recommended the October 7th attacks just out of a desire of preservation for Hamas' forces in Gaza. Assad would have had better support from Hezbollah. Hezbollah might not have folded over like a house of cards.

Yulong

Any podcast recommendations for following the events right now? Especially with analysis of the fighting part. Not so much the politics

Or long reads.

Preferably as unbiased as possible.

Repulsive_Dog1067

Can anyone explain the probability of the Russians stepping in to assist their Iranian ally? 

I understand that they are preoccupied with their conflict, and that the stakes simply may not be high enough for it to warrant the trouble, but from the perspective of a tightening circle of "allies" on the global stage, I'm surprised Russia hasn't taken a greater role in providing the Iranians assistance. 

Would love to hear the insights of others on this.

knyc3791

Any rough estimate of the costs on both sides so far? I guess the number of US AEGIS/naval interceptors used is uncertain, but I have to imagine that the US and Israel have used hundreds of interceptors by now. We're talking several billion dollars on both sides I'm guessing?


Obviously, the damage done to Iran in terms of missile/nuclear sites, radar, and personnel is the largest cost incurred so far.

philly_jake

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/nine-people-hurt-trapped-in-shelter-in-central-israel-after-iranian-missile-attack/

More hits in the latest wave. One woman confirmed killed in previous waves

dkdaniel

https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/1933700867288674360

Another wave from Iran.

obsessed_doomer

A long long time ago I read that under the surface there is a lot of competition between the "normal" or "secular" Iranian state the IRGC and other religious power structures like the Mullahs. Of course the IRGC/religious elements have the real power but it seems like Israel is mostly targeting the IRGC.

  
Could we see a fracture open up in Iran's dual power system?

theblitz6794

I saw Bibi's speech advocating for Iranians to overthrow the government.  I wonder at what point that becomes a plausible solution.  Or has there been so much repression that it just can't happen.  I feel like there is a chance.  Syria fell rather spectacularly.   Only Russia, and perhaps China, are backing Iran anymore.  They have no legitimate friends in the Middle East, right?   Iran is not Afghanistan either.  Just curious.

ZarnonAkoni

Something I notice from maps of this conflict is that Israeli strikes seem confined to the western half of Iran. Is this because of a lack of targets in the east, or is the east beyond the range of Israeli weaponry?

SiegKircheis

[Iran will target regional bases of any country that defends Israel, senior Iranian official tells CNN](https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-strikes-news-06-12-25-hnk-intl#cmbvg0j3u002w3b76nxw5vcfd)

This has to be just rhetoric, right? There’s no way Iran pisses off Trump by directly attacking US bases in the area, [especially given how he was originally against the idea of the Israeli attacks to begin with](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/13/trump-iran-israel-attacks-response).

DefinitelyNotABot01

What’s the state of Iran’s air force roughly speaking? I’m assuming it’s not great but do they have any of the Su-35a they were supposed to get from Russia?

WonderfulLinks22

Any collaboration of the alleged nuclear research site hit?

Is there any potential off ramp for either israel or iran?,  if not i wonder how long can iran keep striking israel with ballistics and how long israel can keep striking iran via bombs/missiles

counterforce12

A third missile barrage.

Another one targeted at Tel Aviv with a hit in the city centre.

„The Iranian barrage is ongoing. Footage shows a missile that managed to strike Tel Aviv.“

[https://x.com/avivaklompas/status/1933653200172708047?s=61](https://x.com/avivaklompas/status/1933653200172708047?s=61)

Seems like another attack on the IDF HQ.

OpenOb

If the U.S. couldn’t defeat the Houthis through an air campaign how will Israel defeat Iran through an air campaign? I just don’t see Iran giving up that easily. Without forces on the ground Israel can’t defeat Iran. And it’s already been acknowledged by Israel they can’t completely get rid of the Iranian nuclear program without B-2 bombers with bunker buster missiles.

What is the biggest factor in ballistic missile accuracy in the final bit of the terminal phase? Iranian missiles have shown an ability to make it THROUGH a very advanced SAM network but then appear to commonly miss their intended target by 50+ yards.

alienatedframe2

I wonder what is the worst thing Iran can do as retaliation. They would need to walk through Iraq and Syria to reach Israel, or maybe go by sea. Even the Houthis are far away.

Iran could incite attacks against embassies and Synagogues.

Ultimately, this makes Iran look weak militarily, which is not good for Khamenei.

Netantahu told Iranians to challenge Khamenei again. I guess he is more and more isolated, but there is still a large network of religious leaders which probably makes this difficult.

all_is_love6667

&gt;Nine buildings in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan were destroyed in an Iranian missile strike.

&gt;Hundreds of apartments were evacuated after a ballistic missile fired from Iran hit a building, wounding 22 people.

[Haareetz](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-13/ty-article-live/israel-launches-pre-emptive-strikes-across-iran-u-s-we-are-not-involved/00000197-6704-dee7-a1df-774e3fd30000?liveBlogItemId=269376450&amp;utm_source=site&amp;utm_medium=button&amp;utm_campaign=live_blog_item#269376450)

ReddyReddy7

In the end, Hezbollah did nothing today. Iran spent billions for 20 years to make it (until last year) the strongest paramilitary organization in the world and keep it ready as a deterrent in case Israel attacks, and when that moment finally comes, they are so weakened that they do not even intervene.

Tifoso89

Recent tensions have escalated following Israel's airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar, with Prime Minister Netanyahu asserting Israel's full responsibility for the attack.

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