Biden learned from his predecessors’ mistakes in the Middle East — and probably saved lives

This war, like every Israeli-Palestinian conflict before it, was a human tragedy. Over 11 days of fighting, about 300 lives were lost, lopsidedly on the Palestinian side. By comparison, the 2014 war, in which the United States was a noisy mediator, lasted 50 days with 2,251 Palestinians killed, according to U.N. figures. This cease-fire may yet collapse, but so far, Biden’s low-key approach seems to have lessened the cost.