Articles

Raining Missiles on Gaza Can Never Be a Solution, by Yuval Abraham – 10 October 2023

From +972 Magazine

My stomach has been churning for four days. In recent years I’ve harshly criticized Israel’s policies in Gaza, written extensively about the blockade strangling Gaza, and formed friendships with Palestinians from Gaza. From this perspective, it is important for me to write that there is no justification for Hamas’ unimaginable, brutal massacre — the slaughter of entire families, hundreds of young people at a party, and small children. It’s a war crime. 

I knew personally some of the victims and those who were kidnapped, including individuals who were peace and anti-occupation activists in circles I was closely connected to, or friends of friends from my childhood in the southern region. Some were acquaintances on social media platforms. The harrowing experiences they endured and continue to endure weigh heavily on my mind, and I cannot shake the profound horror of it all.

In my view, the most urgent priority is negotiating with Hamas to secure the safe return of captives — women and children first of all — in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. A revenge attack on Gaza is expected to kill many Israeli prisoners and thousands of Palestinian citizens, and to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is responsible for this security failure, to survive politically. But it will not help the parents and children whose loved ones were kidnapped, and not the two national collectives who wish to survive in this land.

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Yuval Abraham is a journalist and filmmaker based in Jerusalem.

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