In some ways, October 7, 2023, changed Israel forever. Hamas’s brazen slaughter of 1,200 Israelis awakened the Jewish nation to some hard truths. Israel came to terms with the fact that practicing friendliness to its terrorist neighbors, though admirable, was a failed recipe for peace and that it immediately needed to address its security failings.
After two years of bitter fighting, Israel definitively subdued Hamas and Hezbollah, the two most active terrorist organizations trying to destroy it. The Jewish state also survived what looked like a precursor to large-scale war with Iran, the biggest power in the Middle East, while effectively hampering its nuclear program. These developments strengthened Israel’s standing in the region.
In other ways, October 7 didn’t change Israel at all. Thrust into conflict, Israel could have been justified by the context of war if it chose to strike Hamas and Hezbollah indiscriminately, with little concern for civilians. War has few rules—and even fewer that battling sides choose to honor.
But Israel, which has always placed a premium on life, did not sacrifice its integrity for quick results. In spite of a tragic number of Gazans who lost their lives in the Gaza War, and despite the media’s best efforts to vilify it, Israel maintained many of its exceptionally humanitarian efforts to preserve lives while battling its enemies.
Israel Seeks Life—Its Enemies Seek Death
As it has done for many years, Israel gave Palestinian civilians every opportunity to flee the battlefield, which Hamas and Hezbollah routinely brought to heavily populated neighborhoods. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets from the air, made phone calls to nearby civilians, and sent text messages to noncombatants’ phones instructing them to escape when a raid or bombing on nearby enemy targets was planned. Thus, IDF soldiers chose to give up their strategic advantage for the sake of saving Palestinian lives.
Israel also provided detailed instructions and maps to show nonmilitants a safe route to evacuate the warzone. The Israeli government assisted Palestinians in moving from the area toward shelters it constructed and stocked with food, water, and medical supplies.
On the other side, Hamas continued its underhanded tactic of using Gazans as human shields, hiding its military targets and personnel in the middle of busy neighborhoods and daring Israel to strike. Israel has long practiced unbelievable restraint, allowing its enemies to continue their operations to avoid having to strike in the middle of homes, schools, and hospitals.
But after years of Hamas and others exploiting Israel’s humanitarian efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took more of an “enough-is-enough” approach in the Gaza War than the nation usually does. While Israel still sent its warnings and allowed civilians to flee, it lost patience with the obstinance of Gazans who dug their heels in and refused to heed its advice. Finally, Israel used its superior weaponry, strategy, and manpower to overwhelm Hamas and Hezbollah operatives in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively.
The Futile PR War
The result was victory—to a point. The IDF routed the terrorists and eliminated large swaths of Hamas’s membership and infrastructure. And while many feel that Israel lost the public relations (PR) war, it has been losing that battle unjustly for years, despite following much more humane protocol than its attackers. If it was destined to suffer a PR fallout regardless of what it did, its physical victory becomes all the more vital.
The Gaza War reinforced a fact we’ve known for years: Israel’s enemies don’t fight fair. The war showcased the terrorists’ inclination to strike at Israeli noncombatants. Iran followed suit when it used its more powerful arsenal to launch missiles on heavily civilian-populated areas of Tel Aviv in June 2025.
What will it take for the world to recognize that terrorists are the enemies and Israel is not? Is there anything Israel can do to gain the world’s favor? Sadly, short of Israelis allowing themselves to be killed and separated from the land God promised them, the answer is no—nothing will appease those who hate the Jewish nation and its people.
Unfortunately for these enemies, when they strike at God’s Chosen People and try to erase Israel from the map, they wage war against the Lord Himself. And that will always be a losing battle.
The sorrow for the many lives lost in war remains freshly painful. But Israel’s path to victory is more commendable than many will concede. It is said that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Israel led Gazans to an escape route, but the people of Gaza were responsible for their own decision of whether or not to follow Israel’s instructions for safety.
The IDF focuses on preserving life, while Hamas and its allies seek to destroy it. Let this be one of the most salient lessons history remembers from the conflict between Israel and those who attacked the Jewish state.
