Piers Morgan: 'Gaza is on the brink of catastrophe. Now fury and grief is rippling across the region'

By TalkTV's Piers Morgan

Israeli Defence Forces have raided Gaza in tanks, edging another step closer to the invasion they’ve promised will come.

Already Hamas says that 7,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since its terror attacks on October 7.

Prime Minister Netanyahu says many terrorists are dead and that this is only the beginning. But the devastating reality is that countless innocent people will be among the dead, and it’s only the beginning of that too.

224 Israelis are still held captive by Hamas. Gaza is on the brink of catastrophe. Now fury and grief is rippling across the region.

President Erdogan of Turkey today accused the West of turning a blind eye to Muslim blood, after launching this shocking defence of Hamas.

The stakes here could not be higher. I fully support Israel’s mission to eradicate Hamas. They are bloodthirsty, mediaeval terrorists who have done irreparable harm to the Palestinian cause.

But Israel has yet to explain how it can take out Hamas without killing many innocent people in the process.

It has yet to explain what it will do with Gaza if it somehow succeeds, if anything much is left of it at all.

It has yet to explain how it can defend itself without breeding a whole new generation of hatred and resentment, which now threatens stability across the Middle East.

There has been ugly scenes on the streets of major Western cities, including London and New York, with vile antisemitism and pro-Hamas protests.

Meanwhile many Muslims and supporters of Palestine are furious at what they see as a vicious double standard.

It’s hard to see how this gets better before it gets a hell of a lot worse.

And here in the US, yet more tragedy. At least 18 people are dead after a mass shooter - with a history of mental health problems - went on the rampage in Maine.

When that news broke last night, it struck me that there are some uncomfortable parallels with the debate about Israel.

I looked at this photograph in open-mouthed revulsion. I saw a killer, prowling suburban streets with a weapon of war.

But immediately I was reminded that many Americans look at the very same photograph and see a weapon that could save their family’s lives.

One image. One gut-wrenching tragedy. Two intractable positions. And as with Israel, the gun debate is not my fight.

I’m just an outsider, looking on in horror. And as with Israel, I don’t have all the answers. I just know that this is not good enough.