Today marks two years since the assault on Gaza began, an assault that has become one of the most prolonged and devastating campaigns of collective punishment in modern history.
In media coverage, the events in Gaza are often called a war, but as a reader, Diana van Eyk, pointed out to me on an earlier text; Even the term “Gaza war” is misleading. War implies a battle between two equal countries. Israel is an occupying entity that controls Gaza, and Gaza does not have an army. What is happening is not a conventional war, it is an attack on a population under occupation, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
The assault began with a military attack by Hamas, aimed at Israeli military installations. The sequence of events is still not entirely clear, because different accounts exist. According to the Israeli president, attacks came in waves, first by Hamas, then other factions, and then civilians who participated. He used this to argue that civilians were not innocent, but it also shows we do not yet know who did what. The initial strikes targeted IDF camps surrounding Gaza, some kibbutzim with a military presence, and then, tragically, a music festival. Many Israeli casualties were also due to the Hannibal directive.
There have been graphic descriptions of atrocities, but many of these were false accounts or exaggerations. This may not have been deliberate lying, but a result of the fog of war. Beheadings of babies, burning children alive, and rapes are sickening crimes, but evidence suggests they did not happen. Questioning such accounts is often attacked as antisemitic, which makes rational discussion difficult.
Attacks that hit civilians can never be justified. Civilian lives must never be treated as expendable, no matter the cause. While we cannot yet know exactly who did what, we do know that Israeli civilians were attacked as well, and that is wrong. Morality becomes distorted when it is tied to which side one is on.
The Israeli response through the IDF has overwhelmingly targeted civilians, often first and foremost, with entire neighbourhoods flattened, schools and hospitals destroyed, and families erased. Hamas fighters have been struck too, but most often as part of massive bombardments where the so-called collateral damage is counted in countless innocent lives.
To understand what is happening in Gaza today, we must look at history, which I have written about here (LINK). Even after Israel’s establishment, Gaza has remained a symbol of continuous oppression. Blockaded, bombed, and denied basic human rights, Palestinians live under conditions designed to strip them of identity and existence. This predates October 7, 2023, but while everything happening in Gaza today is linked to that date, any Palestinian action is often explained solely as hatred.
I have followed these events closely, read countless reports, and spoken with people directly affected. The scale of human suffering, the images, the stories, the destruction, stays with you. Gaza is no longer simply a place on the map, it has become a mirror reflecting the world’s conscience, or in many ways, its absence.
What began as a military confrontation has become a humanitarian catastrophe. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, have been killed, the real numbers may only come to light one day. Millions have been displaced, and a population remains trapped in rubble, hunger, and despair. Political narratives, alliances, and strategic interests cannot erase the human suffering at the heart of this crisis. Many have tried to justify the unjustifiable, even today, but two years on, one truth remains clear, this is not merely a question of politics, it is a test of our humanity.
History will judge us not only for what happened, but for what we did, or failed to do, when it did. We cannot say we did not know, we knew, and chose to look away or support the oppressor. Writing about Gaza is not just an intellectual exercise for me, it is a moral confrontation. Bearing witness is not enough, it requires action, speaking out, and challenging injustice. I try to do that through these writings.
The Devil IsRael.