Oct. 22—Over the last 48 hours, it appears that a simple step away from the path of an expanded war in Southwest Asia was flushed down the toilet. The negotiations to trade hostages being held in Gaza for drinking water, medical aid, and at least a temporary ceasefire, long enough to get the hostages out, would have been a first step toward recognizing some normal concerns on both sides. Washington was relying upon the mediation of Qatar over the last two weeks, and on Oct. 20 the first two hostages were released—more as an act of good faith by Hamas than anything else—though, admittedly, a bit less than 1% of the Gaza population received enough drinking water for one day.
