Do cry over spilt blood: Generations will go by before Gaza forgets the genocide
Palestinians inspect the damage at a residential Gaza neighborhood, following an Israeli operation in the area on 4 October 2025
Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz on 5 October 2025:
It takes an extraordinary degree of optimism not to be chagrined, or a party pooper, in the face of the Gaza deal, but it can be done; the proposal has its bright spots.
It is not a peace agreement between Israel and Gaza, which would, of course, have been much better, but rather an agreement that the United States forced on Israel. However, it has long been clear that only an imposed agreement can bring Israel to make a change. Here it is. A sign of hope for the continuation of coercive U.S. policies, without which nothing will move.
Tens of thousands of lives were saved this weekend. The fear, hunger, illnesses, suffering and hardship of over two million people may gradually come to an end. On Sunday, they will at least have their first night of sleep without the threat of bombardment over their exposed heads. Hundreds more people will have their freedom returned to them: the 20 living Israeli hostages, the 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel and the 1,800 Gaza residents, most of whom are innocent, who are detained in Israel.
Yes, in the same breath: Palestinian detainees also have families who have endured months and years of anxiety and uncertainty regarding the fate of their loved ones. Most of them deserve to be released, at last. None of the 1,800 detainees from Gaza who are to be released have been prosecuted. They, too, were abducted. It’s best not to conduct a comparison of the conditions of detention: They were terrible on both sides. Therefore, their release is a cause for rejoicing – by everyone: all of the abductees and all of the families.
This agreement restores order to U.S.-Israel relations: Israel is the client state, and the United States is the superpower. In recent years, these definitions have become completely blurred to the point where, especially during the Obama and Biden administrations, it sometimes seemed that Israel was the patron and America its protectorate. Finally, there’s an American president who dares to use the immense leverage at his disposal to dictate Israel’s actions. The moves that Donald Trump has dictated are good for Israel, even though few will admit it.
Ending the war is, of course, good for Gaza, but it’s also good for Israel. Now is not the time to list all the terrible harm this war has caused to Israel, some of it irreversible. The world will not soon forget the genocide; generations will go by before Gaza forgets. Stopping the war now is the lesser evil for Israel, which has lost its way. In recent months, it has been on the verge of moral and strategic collapse. Uncle Donald is restoring it to its original dimensions and perhaps also setting it on a different path.
Israel could have avoided this war, which only harmed it. But it also could have managed its end differently. Direct negotiations with Hamas and goodwill gestures might have been game changers. Withdrawing from the entire Strip and releasing all the prisoners would have signaled a new beginning. But Israel, as usual, chose to act differently, to do only what was forced upon it.
Gaza and even Hamas are ending this war still standing. Beaten, bleeding, battered, destitute, yet on their feet. Gaza became Hiroshima, but its spirit lives on. The Palestinian issue had completely dropped off the international agenda – another moment of peace with Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians would have become the American Indians of the region – and then the war came and put them at the top of the global agenda. The world loves and feels sorry for them. There is no solace for the residents of Gaza, who have paid an indescribable price – and the world may yet forget them again – but for now they are on top of the world.
This moment should be seized to change the mood in Israel: It is time for Israelis to open their eyes and see their handiwork. Perhaps there’s no point crying over spilt milk, but spilt blood is different. It is time to open the Gaza Strip to the media and tell the Israelis: See, this is what we have done. It is time to learn that relying solely on military force leads to devastation. It is time to understand that in the West Bank, we are creating another Gaza. And it is time to look straight ahead and say: We have sinned, we have acted wickedly, we have transgressed.
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