It is a pity that you quoted the last lines of Waking Early Sunday Morning. For all Lowell's eloquent depiction of the US in Vietnam, he was a manic depressive and ended his poem in precisely the despair which I have cautioned against. For while the dance of death that characterises Hamas and Israel takes place today, as it did years ago, and may well do again in years to come; this, as ever, is the time to change the paradigm and consider the positive alternatives.
Because it is precisely this despair that drives Hamas to proclaim in opposition to historical fact that 'Islam is the solution'; and enables Israel to refuse to engage with Hamas in order to bring this relentless campaign of violence to an end. In the past, Hamas has offered to recognise Israel and open negotiations, offers rejected by Israel without a second thought, much as they rejected the PLO's overtures prior to the Oslo talks which led, eventually, to the 1993 Peace Treaty, a treaty to which Netanyahu is opposed. And, had there been serious moves forward on the basis of that Treaty, brokered in part by the Clinton administration which then privileged Israel in every subsequent attempt to move forward (one dreads to think of Hillary Clinton as President in this regard), we might not be here today.
Yes Hamas occasioned this bout of slaughter, but its cause has been the Siege of Gaza, and the abject failure of any responsible party, particularly the Special Envoy of the Quartet, to bring this unacceptable violation of human rights to an end. It is the siege that has driven people to support Hamas, give that some thought.
Politics is about compromise, and Hamas has in spite of its inflammatory rhetoric by offering to negotiate with Israel conceded that the 'destruction of Israel' is just that -rhetoric, about as valid as the IRA's commitment to a United Ireland. It is not clear how Hamas would in fact destroy Israel, just as since its victorious election it is not clear now how many Palestinians in Gaza would vote for it again, and why indeed Hamas is assumed to have so much clout when it is not the only political movement in Gaza and it is Mahmoud Abbas and Fateh on behalf of the PLO which negotiates with Israel.
And if you want to privilege the 'destruction of Israel' as the calling card of Hamas, why not include Avigdor Lieberman's view that the Arabs should be thrown out of Israel and the West Bank altogether -alive or dead-?
To correlate Hamas with ISIS is to avoid the subtle differences between an organisation which emerged through the Muslim Brotherhood, and an organisation (ISIS) which regards the MB as pansies who are not serious about creating an Islamic caliphate. And has Hamas acknowledged that Ibrahim is now their Caliph?
Beyond this rhetorical madness and the carnage of war, there are practical solutions which require the people who live in the Middle East to engage. Hard as it might seem right now, history does show that small steps to the future can begin with that single step recommended by the Buddha. But it will require men in positions of responsibilty to show that they are willing to change. Right now, I can't see it, but I cannot give in to despair either.