On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’d rather obliterate Hamas than bask in polite applause from global media and he’s on a path to destroy Gaza City in a “mighty hurricane” of strikes happening today. And yes, he warned the Palestinians to get the heck out of Gaza City even though he didn’t have to.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Donald Trump has declared the ultimate “last warning” to Hamas as well: accept the hostage release deal that Israel already agreed to, or face unspecified – but certainly unappealing – consequences.

“There won’t be another one!” the president said about his warning, as if he’s handing out carnival tickets to a fiery apocalypse.

Hamas isn’t showing panic – not yet – but the writing’s on the wall. For some reason, they think they’re in the driver’s seat when in reality they’re just passengers on a runaway train headed straight off a cliff.

And for those still clinging to fantasies of a polite, negotiated peace, history offers the hard truth: this fight has been raging for a long time, and it won’t end until one side is wiped from the battlefield.