Israel and Gaza: one year after the Hamas massacre
On 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed from the Gaza Strip into Israel, murdered around 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages back to Gaza. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. The resulting war has left thousands of Palestinians dead or wounded. In the meantime Israel is also at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The media take stock on the first anniversary of the massacre.
Don't forget the hostages
There can be no peace without the hostages being released, Helsingin Sanomat emphasises:
“According to the Israeli authorities, more than 60 living hostages as well as the bodies of around 35 more are still in the Gaza Strip. Hostages have also been killed in attacks and military operations by the Israeli army. Demonstrations and possibly violent riots are expected worldwide on this anniversary. Pro-Palestinian groups want to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is indeed shocking. ... However, commemorating the tragedy of the hostages and their families does not mean turning away from Gaza, because the release of the hostages is part of a fair solution to the war.”
A historic opportunity missed
Hamas has destroyed Gaza instead of rebuilding it, explains Corriere della Sera:
“Hamas started this war. Not to liberate its territory, because the Gaza Strip was returned to the Palestinians in 2005 by one of the historic leaders of the Israeli right, Ariel Sharon, who forcibly liberated it from Jewish settlers. Hamas has controlled it for almost 20 years, after taking it over in a bloody coup against its Fatah 'brothers'. It could have turned Gaza into a model for a future free and peaceful Palestinian state. Instead, it used all the resources poured into it by Qatar and Iran, as well as by the UN and Europe, to pursue the goal of attacking and destroying the State of Israel.”
Paradigm shift in the Middle East
Israel has fundamentally changed its military strategy, emphasises Die Presse:
“October 7 marks a paradigm shift: since then, Israel has been trying not only to keep its enemies in check, but to systematically eliminate them. The price for this is unbearably high. More than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have lost their lives in the retaliatory war against Hamas. For a long time now it has not only been the terrorist militia group that is in the international pillory, but Israel. However Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extreme coalition partners are willing to accept the loss of reputation. ... They see themselves in a fight for the very existence of Israel.”
The world has grown accustomed to war
War and black-and-white thinking have become the norm for people around the world this year, Rzeczpospolita laments:
“The Arab world is seething with hatred for Tel Aviv. Benjamin Netanyahu's motives for his actions are not entirely pure. And international public opinion seems to have forgotten 7 October and is siding with the Arabs. On top of that, thanks to Putin the world has grown accustomed to war. Things are becoming extremely dangerous.”
Follow the dictates of reason
Weapons and ground troops won't help Israel, Der Tagesspiegel writes:
“What is needed instead is diplomatic skill. Israel has demonstrated this once before: with the Abraham Accords. ... Despite their significant political differences, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco agreed with Israel to normalise their relations. The signatories of the agreement were convinced that they would benefit economically from working together. ... It is a matter of common sense and strategic foresight to return to the course we set four years ago.”
Two-state solution unavoidable
Politiken takes a critical look at the Israeli government one year after the Hamas massacre:
“There was a time when the idea of a Jewish state in Palestine seemed utopian. But as Theodor Herzl himself put it in The Old New Land: 'If you will it, it is no dream.' Israel became reality. But if the state is to survive as a democracy in the long term, with international recognition and legitimacy, there must also be room for a Palestinian state in the same region.”