They exchanged text messages and emojis. Brief status updates with words of encouragement. A picture of the beloved family dog “Tutsi.”

Until no more messages came.

And then, Cindy Flash, an American, and her Israeli husband Igal vanished into the violence, presumed kidnapped by Hamas.

Four days after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 100 Israelis and potentially dozens of foreign nationals are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.

Flash, 67, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of them. She lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, where some of the most harrowing and grisly stories have been emerging during the last few days.

“They are breaking down the safe room door,” Flash said in one of her final messages to her daughter Keren, 34. “We need someone to come by the house right now.” She had been communicating with her parents from a few houses away.

Keren described her mother, who worked as an administrator in a local college, as someone who had the “sweetest biggest heart,” who everyone knew and loved, and who had spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of Palestinians, including those who live in Gaza where she may now be held.

    • @jarfil@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Hamas ≢ Palestine

      Ok, but how truish are “Hamas ≠ Palestine” and “Hamas ≈ Palestine”? At what point do we draw the line?

    • @Gerula@lemmy.world
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      -11 year ago

      Questions: Who is fighting for Hamas? From where the “boots on the ground” come from? How can they organise amidst civilian population to take any coordinated actions?

      • XIIIesq
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        1 year ago

        Assuming that your questions are rhetorical and that you are placing blame on all Palestinian citizens for the actions of Hamas. By the same logic, all Americans are guilty for the Jan 6th attack on the capital and all the other horrific acts America have committed around the world.

        • @Gerula@lemmy.world
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          01 year ago

          No, my questions are not rethorical. Any such movement cannot live separated from the local population. They cannot organise in secret if nobody is keeping that secret. They cannot train if the others don’t keep the secret. They cannot manufacture, hide and launch thousands of small range rockets if other don’t keep a secret.

          I’m not arguing about justifications or who did what and why. It’s not relevant for this discussion.

          • XIIIesq
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            21 year ago

            No, my questions are not rethorical.

            Goes on to talk about how they were making a point rather than wanting an answer to their questions

            • @Browning
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              231 year ago

              If a terrorist is someone who attacks civilians for political aims, then yes.

              • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺
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                121 year ago

                That is pretty much textbook. Someone or some party that uses violence and the threat of violence to create fear in the pursuit of political goals.

                Problem is that applies to most nation states that are active on the global scale. So the political use can be reduced to “terrorists are always the others”

                • Cethin
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                  51 year ago

                  It’s pretty much always “terrorist are when those without power use the tools of fear against those with power.” All “freedom fighters” are terrorists who won pretty much. All nations are terrorists who get to use their power and influence to convince others they aren’t.

              • @ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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                1 year ago

                A terrorist is a member of a non-government military group that uses violence for political gains

                Attacking civilians isn’t related

              • Cethin
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                -11 year ago

                What is your definition? It’s got to be interesting if it isn’t the one everyone else has decided is the correct one.

              • @Sparlock@lemmy.world
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                -21 year ago

                Then why do you keep replying when you are dead wrong? Can’t even be consistent on keeping your word.

          • @Sparlock@lemmy.world
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            241 year ago

            Hamas are terrorists, Netanyahu is a terrorist. If a terrorist is someone who attacks civilians for political aims.

            I find it hard to discriminate Civilian A who was killed from Civilian B who was killed by the other side. Apparently that is a controversial statement around here. Ya’ll are fucked.

            • @flossdaily@lemmy.world
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              -161 year ago

              Hamas are terrorists because the target civilians for death.

              Netanyahu is a corrupt right-wing asshole, but he doesn’t target innocent civilians for death.

              If you broaden the word “terrorist” to apply to anyone you don’t like for any reason, the word ceases to have any meaning or weight.

              And that gives cover to ACTUAL terrorists.

      • @SCB@lemmy.world
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        611 year ago

        Hamas was never elected as sole leadership in Palestine. They never won a plurality of votes, ever.

        They formed a unity government, then fought the other government, usurped control, and cancelled elections forever.

        • @flossdaily@lemmy.world
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          131 year ago

          Hamas won 74 out of 132 seats. They did it with 44 percent of the vote. Not sure how that worked.

          Anyway, you’re kind of right, kind of wrong.

          • @SCB@lemmy.world
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            161 year ago

            Same way Republicans do it in Ohio, one assumes. Heavy concentration in minority-population areas.

        • @ComradeKhoumrag@infosec.pub
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          91 year ago

          And the Palestinian authority is really a puppet government that Israel allows Palestine to have, so it’s not like any available option is really good

          • @SCB@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            No lol. One of Israel’s dumbest moves ever was empowering Hamas as they saw it as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority

        • Cosmic Cleric
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          81 year ago

          This should be said more often and more forcefully, as its knowledge people (including myself) are not generally aware of.

      • @zaph@sh.itjust.works
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        571 year ago

        20 years ago. Around half of today’s population didn’t vote and of the ones that did many didn’t vote for hamas. Find a new way to blame innocent people, this one doesn’t work.

        • @mycatiskai@lemmy.one
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          481 year ago

          Half of the population is below 19 years old. So they weren’t even born when Hamas was elected.

          The average age of Palestinians is 19. The average age of Israelis is 30. That tells you one thing, that you don’t live a long life if your Palestinian.

          • Gormadt
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            1 year ago

            Living in what human rights groups and the UN describe as an open air prison under bombarded from a neighboring country isn’t exactly the best thing for life expectancy.

            Roughly 2.3 million people live on the Gaza Strip out of the roughly 5 million people living in Palestine BTW, which is the area currently being bombarded by Israel in response to the terrorist attack by Hamas.

            • @flossdaily@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in how the United Nations describes anything to do with Israel. Their bias is of the charts.

              Remember, this is an organization that officially denounced Israel for human rights violations 20 times in one year, and for every other nation on Earth, with all the modern slavery, sex trafficking, genial mutilation, honor killings, murder of LGBTQ, marriage and rape of 7-yr-girls, denying basic education to women, forcing women to fully cover their bodies, mass incarcerations, etc,etc… For all the rest of the world, 6 denouncements.

              So yeah, the UN is not a serious organization when it comes to Israel.

                • @flossdaily@lemmy.world
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                  -231 year ago

                  Any organization that calls Israel “apartheid” is comically biased.

                  Israel is the only country in the region where a lesbian Muslim woman can vote, get an education and hold elected office.

                  Claiming it’s apartheid is like claiming the US was apartheid when occupying Iraq because we didn’t allow Iraqis to be citizens of the US.

                  Words have meanings, and the accusation is demonstrably absurd.

                  • Gormadt
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                    201 year ago

                    I can’t help but notice your only issues here is with how terms are used in regards to Israel and Palestine but not with the bombardment of Gaza in response to a terrorist attack from Hamas. A place where nearly half of Palestine’s population lives.

                    Do you not have an issue with Israel’s response or something?

          • @zaph@sh.itjust.works
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            111 year ago

            I don’t think we should condemn an entire population to death regardless of who they vote for. You’re only adding recruitment material to the terrorist’s repertoire at that point. And if they did vote for them, last year or today, you still have roughly 40% of the population who are minors. Do they deserve death because of their parent’s vote?

            • @ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              If you want to stop Israel to defend themselves from Hamas you condemn them to death because Hamas wants to kill all Jews. How is that better?

              Just let Hamas “win” can certainly not be the solution.

              • @zaph@sh.itjust.works
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                -11 year ago

                I never said they can’t defend themselves. I said indiscriminate bombing of Gaza isn’t self defense. Especially if hamas has hostages, how are they going to survive the bombing? Use your head. If someone is robbing a bank and taking hostages we don’t level the fucking bank.

              • @zaph@sh.itjust.works
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                71 year ago

                Nowhere did I accuse you of supporting genocide. You asked if they’d still vote hamas and I don’t know so I replied with the assumption that they would because of the propaganda they’re raised with and the threat of violence if they dissent from hamas and stated that even if they did I don’t think they deserve to be treated as an entire nation of terrorists. If you can’t separate that from yourself that’s on you.

          • @flossdaily@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Overwhelmingly? In Gaza maybe, but Palestinians as a whole support them at 53 percent at last count. So, yeah, it sure looks like they are still majority pro-hamas

      • @Maalus@lemmy.world
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        551 year ago

        The article clearly states “advocate for Palestinians, then Hamas came for her” like it’s some “voting for the face eating leopards” situation. It’s a valid distinction. Also, no, the Israeli army isn’t all Israelis.

        • @Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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          -241 year ago

          It’s hard to see the difference between Palestinians and Hamas when they had a pro Palestine rally in my city and their signs were peppered with “death to all Jews” and pictures of Jewish caricatures being hanged.

          • @wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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            131 year ago

            You must be pretty stupid if you struggle to see the difference between hamas and normal palestinians

            Do you think piss is apple juice, because theyre both a liquid and they could be the same color sometimes if you squint?

            • @TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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              -71 year ago

              Please calm down if you can. Don’t let the miseducated get you emotional. They are victims of disinformation and propaganda, and it takes time to work through it. 👍

            • @Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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              71 year ago

              Ok so don’t. These people are just like the IDF and the people shouting death to Jews are just like Hamas, what’s the problem here? Seems we’re in agreement

              • @Lucent@lemmy.world
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                -41 year ago

                One group has the power to complete annihilate the other.

                The other is living in the largest open air prison & concentration camp in the world.

                This is a ghetto uprising. Something I would expect you to know the history of.

      • @deft@ttrpg.network
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        381 year ago

        where did he say that?

        sick of you fuckers not letting people feel complexly about this. fuck off