Months of death, hunger, and destruction. Every person on Earth has experienced it. The corpses, screams, terror, destruction, disease, and hunger have shaken humanity's hearts, lived in their eyes, and stirred anger across the globe. Israel is waging a war against humanity in Gaza. It is not a global conflict like the First and Second World Wars. Several wars were fought across Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 20th century. The most gruesome of these conflicts were the American war in Vietnam and, before that, France's war in Algeria, as well as the four Arab-Israeli wars. Most of the world's people did not know about all of these wars. Print journalism and radio, the media of the time, were the primary sources of information.
Illiteracy and poverty were widespread, meaning that millions could not read the reports about those wars in the printed press. Radio was accessible only to a few, and wealthy countries owned the broadcast stations. The assault on Gaza is an assault of the new era. This war has been seen and heard across the globe through the new media. There is no racial, religious, or ideological barrier that can obscure or distort the vivid images transmitted by satellite channels. Reporters, more than a hundred of whom have sacrificed their lives, have sought to engrave the news and images of this genocidal war into minds and hearts. The images tell the story of this genocidal war being waged with aircraft from the skies and tanks and artillery on the ground.
Adults and children, men and women, took part in mass protests that filled the streets in every continent. Gaza has been the leading news story on the evening news and on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has said that nearly a thousand protests have been held in Italian cities in solidarity with the people of Gaza, and the same is true for most European cities. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the public outrage was palpable. Even in the United States, which provides Israel with financial, military, and unwavering political support, thousands have poured into the streets of major cities to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and voice their opposition to Israel's genocidal campaign. The war on the ground will end, sooner or later, but the flame of its volcano will continue to flow on earth for a long time.
Millions around the globe have taken part in mass protests condemning the horrific genocide carried out by Israeli forces against innocent civilians in Gaza. Thousands have protested in various American cities, and some protests were attended by Jewish folks carrying Palestinian flags. For the first time, the Palestinian cause has left an impact on the US elections. President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election as the Democratic candidate, initially provided Israel with financial, military, and political support. However, he has begun to show signs of hesitation amid mass opposition. In a recent statement, he mentioned that his wife told him that what Israel is doing in Gaza is unethical.
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the presidency again as the Republican candidate, is known to blindly support Israel. His rhetoric is not measured, and he officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. However, this same Trump is now cautiously calibrating his stance on Israel's actions in Gaza. He is aware that he is speaking to voters and that some will take the memories of the bloodshed and tears in Gaza with them to the ballot box, potentially deciding the election.
The Jewish community has deep religious, political, and economic roots in the United States, which has traditionally aligned with Israel without hesitation or weighing its political decisions. The US administration instructed its United Nations Security Council to not veto a Resolution calling for a Ramadan pause in the Israeli war on Gaza.
The European left has been reinvigorated after years of decline amid a wave of right-wing populism that did not shy away from expressing xenophobic sentiments or supporting Israel. Tens of thousands of victims, mostly women and children, none of whom could be accused of terrorism will be the fire that ignites the consciousness of Europe's youths. They will mobilize unions, intellectuals, workers, and students, creating a movement that challenges the hegemony of political liberalism and right-wing populism, which see little value in human life.
Al-Aqsa Flood has rung the alarm in Israel, awakening elements that had been dormant in the shadows for years. For the first time since its establishment in 1948, Palestinian militants infiltrated Israeli territory. They captured both military personnel and civilians and engaged in a prolonged conflict that has left hundreds of Israeli casualties. The Gaza volcano has created a deep political wedge in Israel. Sharp divisions between representatives of different groups within the governing coalition are emerging. The Haredim, ultra-Orthodox Jews who have refused to do military service since the state was established, are now being confronted by a mass campaign demanding that they join the army. This internal struggle reflects significant socio-political shifts within Israel, highlighting the profound impact that the ongoing conflict has had on its social fabric.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a complicated figure with deep roots in extremist Zionist ideology. His father was a student of the Zionist hardliner Vladimir Jabotinsky, who advocated for Jewish sovereignty on both banks of the Jordan River and encouraged violence against Arabs. From World War I to the last day of his life, Jabotinsky was fighting the broader Zionist movement, which considered him too extreme. Despite resistance from David Ben-Gurion, Jabotinsky's remains were eventually transferred from America to Israel.
In 1976 Palestinian militants hijacked a French airplane and landed it at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. This was a particularly consequential episode in Netanyahu's life. Israel sent special forces to rescue the hostages, among them Netanyahu's brother. This episode deeply shook Netanyahu and fueled his hatred and resentment of Arabs.
In his book, A Place Among Nations, Netanyahu argues that Israel has the right to all the land between the river and the sea and that the only solution for Palestinians is to leave what he calls historic Israel. He has tried to turn the attack on October 7, 2023, into an opportunity to annihilate the people of Gaza and destroy their land. To this end, he has ignored all the mass protests and rejected every initiative.
The Palestinian cause, which has been alive for over seven decades, is now erupting from the terrible volcano of Gaza. The strength and reach of Gaza's lava are hard to predict. But it will undoubtedly keep flowing, and it will certainly have a significant impact on the Middle East and potentially the entire world.
