“I've seen the flame of hope among the hopeless
And that was truly the biggest heartbreak of all.”

Bruce Cockburn, Last Night of the World (1999)

Permission: Omar Esstar

October 7, 2023: a dark day that changed everything. Ever since, a nation of traumatized, enraged Israeli Jews have been grieving over loved ones slaughtered when Hamas militants entered Israel. The massacre of more than 1,100 in a single day conjured specters of the Holocaust, robbed Israelis of their secure refuge, and fomented resentment of their government’s complacency and incompetence.

Overnight, a politically fractured nation was united in what they felt was a battle for survival. Voices calling for negotiations or ceasefire were notably absent. Thousands of Israeli reservists found themselves preparing for urban warfare in the streets of Gaza.

Almost as traumatic in Israel was the number of hostages Hamas smuggled into Gaza—originally 240, including children, the elderly, and foreign workers, of which about 105 have been released. Hostage family members, camped out near Israel’s Defense Ministry, are demanding political engagement with Hamas instead of endless war.

Also, since October 7, millions of traumatized, desperate Gazans have lost homes, hospitals, schools, and families. Israel has intentionally deprived them of medical care, electricity, clean water, shelter, sanitation, and adequate food. Those not yet killed by bombs or bullets are now succumbing to disease, thirst, and starvation. As winter sets in, desperation deepens.

The toll of death and displacement in Gaza has surpassed what Palestinians suffered in 1948, during the saga they remember as The Catastrophe. Israeli forces have killed an average of 300 Gazans per week (not counting a week-long ceasefire). According to U.S. intelligence, Israel dropped more than 29,000 bombs on Gaza between the beginning of the assault and mid-December. More than twice as many Gazan civilians have been killed in three months than over the two years of Russian-Ukrainian warfare. These numbers, covering October 7 to January 24, need daily updating.

With the Gaza Strip increasingly unlivable, Israeli officials across the political spectrum are openly pushing to “voluntarily” resettle Gazans in countries like Egypt, Congo and Saudi Arabia. When we recall that Zionist forces expelled ¾ million Palestinians in 1948 (many of whom ended up in Gaza), and destroyed their homes to prevent mass return, we understand why Gazans are experiencing this nightmare as déjà vu.