There will be no ceasefire in Gaza because Israel is incapable of admitting defeat
Israel will always be the one who lost on October 7
By Noa Epstein • Translated by Sol Salbe
A picture of Victory
Why is it possible that a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, or in fact with Hezbollah, has been signed, while in Gaza an endless war is expected, in which Israel will wallow for the foreseeable future?
The explanation for this does not come from the realm of military or geopolitical strategy, but from the realm of the psyche. Hezbollah decided to “pester” Israel as of October 8. It pelted Israel with rockets, missiles and drones. In the process it caused a massive evacuation of the residents of the north of the country and tied its fate to what was happening in Gaza. Israel responded aggressively to these harassments and to a large extent won. Hezbollah withdrew from the border, Iran gave the green light for the separation between the two arenas, and the Shiite organisation had already given up on the notion of tying its fate to the Palestinian one. Under these circumstances, Israel can afford to sign on that kind of “arrangement” without feeling uncomfortable about its capabilities and, above all, its self-image.
In Gaza, the story is quite the opposite. Because on October 7, Israel was defeated, humiliated and crushed to the ground. Hamas did not “pester” or “harass” Israeli citizens, it murdered, raped and kidnapped them. Israel as a state, as a military force, as an image of “omnipotent power” — was shattered to smithereens. And now the government and a large segment of the citizenry are trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again using those thousands of these tiny, tiny fragments that were scattered throughout the country. That way they hope to garner “a picture of victory” that is supposed to bring redemption, ie the “correction.”
But there will be no such picture. Such a picture just isn’t possible. Therefore, all the images obtained so far failed to provide the calm to the bleeding psyche. Nothing could work: neither the “eliminated” Hamas leaders: Sinwar, Deif, Haniyeh, nor the incomprehensible number of fatalities in Gaza; nor the enormous destruction of the buildings, nor the hunger and the moaning of pain, Nothing. Even reporter Ohad Hamo, who brought the voices of Gazans who admire the Israeli government while expressing resentment and hatred for Hamas could not do the trick.
Nothing soothes the pain, the humiliation. And as in a desperate witchhunt, Israel continues to seek victory in every scorched corner, in every destroyed building, in every refugee who has fled. Smotrich speaks of “voluntary emigration” (nudge-nudge, wink-wink), as if wiping out half a million lives is a victory. But even when we completely destroy the Gaza Strip and leave nothing but ruins, like the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, even when we reach 70,000 dead, we will not find what we are seeking.
Because what we are seeking is not related to a military or political achievement. What we are looking for is to rout out our frustration over our self-image that has been shattered. Israel cannot accept what happened, it can’t internalise the loss. And yes, despite all its “achievements” — Israel will always be the one that lost on October 7. And because Israel doesn’t know how to lose, it can’t stop. And the longer it continues not to stop, the more its losses will pile up, side by side. “A pariah state”, “arrest warrants from The Hague”, “pogrom in Amsterdam”, every day there is another loss.
In Lebanon, an agreement will be signed because in the clash with Hezbollah, Israel can look in the mirror and recognise itself. Vis-à-vis Gaza, whose burrows are still filled with Hamas terrorists, Israel is unable to look at itself in the mirror without being shocked by how it appears. This is also the reason why a state commission of inquiry will not be established — which is meant to provide Israel with a reflection of its image on that tragic day. And this is also the reason why Netanyahu does not want to bring back the abductees because in their bodies, in their pain, in their weakness they’ll remind Israel how it looked on that day. The destruction of the Gaza Strip is in fact a form of denial.
Translator note: in consequence of time zones this couldn’t have been translated until the next day by which the Lebanon ceasefire had been signed.
