The events involving the IDF in the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza City, in the second half of last week, leave one with very heavy feelings.
In the first event, which occurred last Tuesday, nine Israeli fighters (several of high military rank) were killed, after four of them got trapped in a building/tunnel complex controlled by Hamas, which they had entered in the course of an operation, and contact with them was lost. Besides concern for the welfare of the four, there was also fear that they might be kidnapped. Successive teams of fighters tried to enter the complex to release the four, but each in turn appears to have fallen into traps laid for them by Hamas terrorists.
As mentioned above, the end result of the event was that nine Israeli fighters were killed, and no one was kidnapped. All the Hamas terrorists were also reported to have been killed. Of course, we do not know the details, only the very partial information released by the IDF. The optimistic news is that every effort was made to save, and/or prevent a kidnapping of, Israeli forces. The pessimistic news is that the whole maneuver cost nine Israeli lives – the original four fighters, and another five, who came to rescue them, and one cannot help wondering whether our men were really prepared for the degree of sophistication they came across.
In the second event the IDF accidentally killed three Israeli hostages – Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz from Kfar Aza, and Samer Talalka from the Bedouin village of Hura – who managed to escape their captors, or were abandoned by them (we shall never know exactly what actually happened), and were accidentally believed by our forces to be Hamas terrorists, even though they walked toward the Israeli soldiers without their shirts to show that they were not armed and waved a white cloth. Again, we do not have all the details – only those released by the IDF.
This event was particularly tragic due to what actually happened. However, I cannot avoid feeling sorry for the Israeli soldiers who actually pulled the triggers that caused the deaths of the three, even though shooting under these circumstances runs contrary to the open-fire regulations. What is clear is that from now on, our forces will have to take into consideration the possibility that opposite them are not only Hamas terrorists but hapless Israeli hostages who have managed to escape their captors.
The families say time is running out. We should listen to them.
This tragic event, together with another event the previous Friday, in which the IDF tried but failed to release several hostages, which according to Hamas resulted in the killing of Sahar Baruch from Kibbutz Be’eri, appears to indicate that anyone who believes that the remaining hostages can be freed by means of military operations only, ought to reconsider this option. Since the beginning of our maneuver in the Gaza Strip, only one hostage was freed by our military forces (rather than by means of an agreement with Hamas) alive from the Gaza Strip – Pvt. Ori Megidish.
Heed should be paid to the claim of the families of the hostages that time is running out, and that every effort should be made to reach another “deal” with Hamas, through the mediation of Qatar and/or Egypt, in the hope of releasing the remaining 128 hostages (as of Sunday) still alive. It is said that at long last Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to approve trying to reach a deal, though not at the cost of totally ending the fighting.
The events in Shejaia described above have undoubtedly led most, if not all, of the Jewish population in Israel to very heavy feelings, both because of their tragic nature, and because it is becoming increasingly clear that, apparently, we shall not come out of this war totally victorious – with all of the hostages safely home, and Hamas totally crushed. Already there are numerous hostages who are no longer alive, whether because they were already dead when abducted, were murdered by Hamas while in captivity, or were accidentally killed by our forces in Gaza. It is also apparent that, within a month or two, the scale of our attacks on Hamas and on the physical infrastructures of the Strip will have to be terminated at the behest of the international community – including our closest ally, the US.
The fact that we – as a collective – do not have a clear plan or even an inkling of an idea concerning a practical solution for “the day after” in the Gaza Strip does not bode well. The fact that a small group of extreme right-wingers is dreaming and talking of extensive Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, and sending its two million Palestinian inhabitants “to Europe,” does not count as a feasible plan, nor does the thought that, in the current circumstances, an overall peace agreement based on the two-state-solution is not possible.
Among those of us who were seriously concerned, before October 7, that Netanyahu’s all-right government was planning to break down Israel’s liberal democracy and establish an illiberal democracy in its place, these concerns still exist under the surface; and even though it is clear that if new elections were held today, Netanyahu and his all-right government would be decimated, there is no guarantee that it will be possible to call new elections before 2026.
Also, consider the economy.
On a totally different level, the way the economy is being run, with the vast financial cost of running the war (the cost is not of a mere maneuver), the great slowdown in the economy due to the fact that over 300,000 reservists have been called up with no foreseeable time limit, and some 150,000 Israelis have been evacuated for an indefinite period from the border with the Gaza Strip, and the border with Lebanon, does not bode well.
In addition, the fact that most of the foreign construction and agricultural workers have returned to their countries of origin as a result of the war, and do not plan to return, and Palestinian manpower is being prevented from entering Israel proper (though not the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria) – is a major economic headache for which we do not really have any good solutions.
All these issues weigh heavily on many of us, and I find that in conversations with acquaintances and friends (I admit that most of them are senior citizens like myself) the question arises what each of us does to try to divert our attention from the current situation and events for at least part of the time.
One of my own diversions is to pick up my camera and roam around the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, and the Valley of the Cross, both of which are close by to where I live.
Several days ago, as I walked through the Valley of the Cross to seek patches of narcissi, which are currently in season, I came across several small terebinth trees (eila Eretz Yisraelit), which in this time of year are usually covered with galls. This year the galls seem to be of especially odd shapes, and exceptionally colorful. I spent over an hour photographing these galls. If you are looking for a diversion, here is one worth seeking out.
The writer worked in the Knesset for many years as a researcher, and has published extensively both journalistic and academic articles on current affairs and Israeli politics. Her most recent book, Israel’s Knesset Members – A Comparative Study of an Undefined Job, was published last year.