I had not been to Israel since June 2023, and during this recent visit I found a different country from the one I had known. Although I have worked abroad for many years, Israel is where I was born and raised. It is the place where my parents lived and are buried; it is where my son has established his own family and most of my oldest and best friends live. Knowing the country from the inside and having followed events even more closely than usual since 7 October, I was not entirely surprised by what I encountered on my return, but it was still profoundly disturbing.
I really believe this is one of the biggest blindspots of the Israeli public. They are still unable to even acknowledge how many people died on Oct 7th to the military response. This author has family in Be'eri, where the tanks shot houses that were filled with hostages. He has to know about the various documented instances of Hannibal Directive happening on Oct 7th. Just another one of the "it's Hamas' fault" denialism that he writes about in other cases, but cannot even mention. The latest genocide campaign really started when the commanders authorized the 'killing zone' along the Gaza fence area that included the rave festival grounds.
This denial is critical to keep the big lie of Oct 7th alive, to maintaining some thin veneer of victimhood over the top of continuing genocidal acts through out Palestine.
Hamas wanted hostages. Mass death was not in their interests at all, and in fact runs counter to their goals.
It's suspicious, is all I'm saying.