Civilians have a right to flee hostilities, but Hamas won't let them

Senior administration officials say Egypt was insisting no one could come out of Gaza until all the aid got in, but that those Egyptian officials have now relented, but now Hamas is holding up the exit of the Americans.

NBC News, Frustration Grows Among U.S. Citizens Stuck in Gaza

“The Parties to the conflict shall, to the maximum extent feasible: (a) … endeavour to remove the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian objects under their control from the vicinity of military objectives”

Additional Protocol I, Art. 58

In simple terms, there are many civilians who want to get out of Gaza. I would bet dimes to dollars more than just US citizens want out. Hamas, as a party to the conflict, is bound by international law to let civilians leave. If they will not permit US citizens to flee, one has to infer they are also refusing to let their own people leave.

Finished reading: Just War and Ordered Liberty by Paul D. Miller 📚

Mom fell asleep before the little one, so I come in and she’s crawled up next to her, mom’s phone in hand, watching Frozen like it’s no big deal.

‘Hamas said they wouldn’t shoot, then murdered my daughter’ - BBC News

“They’re screaming ‘we don’t shoot’, and then they shot. Tsachi yelled ‘who’s been hit, who’s been hit?’ And it was Maayan. She fell next to him, and then Hamas were able to open the door. There were screams, and they turned on the light.”

“We hope that … we can bring the unidentified down to less than 200. But some people, we will never find. We will never identify them. And people need to be prepared for this.”

Hamas torture confirmed as Israeli forensics institute identifies victims

‘Indefatigable’ Chicago Woman Whose Skydive at 104 Drew Admiration Dies, NYT

Rest in peace, Dorothy. And thanks for the mini-lesson on living well.

Last night someone didn’t want to turn 6.

Today, he seems pretty content to have turned 6.

Finished reading: Two Treatises of Government by John Locke 📚

Nice updated edition, with contemporary spelling. But the binding quality is subpar. It’s already coming apart in the middle of the book.

Finished reading: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli 📚 (couple of weeks ago, teaching a new translation for me.)

Making slow (but steady) progress on my own manuscript revisions: Currently reading: Finding Faith in Foreign Policy by Gregorio Bettiza 📚

Finished reading: The Beginning of Politics by Moshe Halbertal 📚

My university IT department did not freeze computers from upgrading to Sonoma. It’s a Christmas miracle.

Ohio State v. Notre Dame is one of the most bananas games I’ve seen in regular season in a long time. We’re in USC-ND 2005 territory.

🛬 DCA->PHX (great conference, ready for home.)

Unexpected plane change in Dallas. I’m pretty sure I’m obliged by the law of nations to get some brisket for breakfast.

zero dark thirty. 🛫🤙🏽

Got the kids some new T-shirts for game day. (Sister still insists on her dress.)