Here are the latest casualty figures as of October 16, 2:00pm local time (12:00 GMT):

Gaza

• Killed: At least 2,808
• Injured: At least 10,859

Occupied West Bank

• Killed: At least 57
• Injured: At least 1,200

Israel

• Killed: At least 1,400
• Injured: At least 3,400

From < https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker>

Surely others in the United States are torn regarding the current situation abroad.  I’m speaking of the Israel Hamas situation.

I’m reminded of the snow-trapped anguish of the victims and the survivors of the Donner Pass in a 1846 Sierra Nevada snowstorm:

On December 16 a party of 10 men and 5 women set out to cross the mountains on improvised snowshoes. During a month’s harrowing, often overwhelming hardships from cold, storms, deep snow, and inadequate food, they struggled on. Eight of the men died, and the bodies of some of these were eaten by the others. Two men and all the women got through to the Sacramento Valley.

 The settlers of California organized a relief party which left Fort Sutter (Sacramento) on January 31, 1847. Heroically struggling through the deep snow, seven men reached the lake camp on February 18. They then took 23 of the starving emigrants, including 17 children, back to the settlements; several deaths occurred on the way. Other relief parties followed, but, because of illness and injuries, it was impossible to remove everyone.

After dogs and cowhides had been devoured, many deaths occurred, and the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism of the dead bodies. The last survivor, Lewis Keseberg, who had supported himself during the last weeks by cannibalism, did not leave camp until April 21. Five of the emigrants died before reaching the mountain camps, 34 at the camps or on the mountains while attempting to cross, and one just after reaching the settlements. Two men who had joined the party at the lake also died. The total of deaths was thus 42, with 47 survivors.

After examining remains from the Alder Creek campsite, researchers in 2010 announced that they had been unable to find any human bones or other physical evidence of cannibalism. The researchers themselves clarified, however, that the absence of archaeological evidence did not rule out the possibility that cannibalism had occurred, especially given the extensive contemporary accounts by members of the rescue parties and the survivors themselves.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.

 (The difference in numbers apparently reflects the many deaths, many changes in paths chosen and leaders of what is apparently referred to as the “party.”)

The current situation abroad, with its many conflicting aspects and difficulties, and stark reality, is what reminded me of the tug of emotions and “facts” involved, in addition to the truth of my ignorance of the situation to date.