i really think one of the reasons the democrats don't really want to work on a ceasefire (and one of the reasons the israeli public is by a majority opposed to one) is that once the war ends, the extent of the damage becomes clear. you know the quote about how liberals are opposed to every war except the current one? once the war in gaza is hindsight, it will be impossible to deny the genocide. the war prevents international observers, it prevents foreign journalists, it prevents counting bodies under the rubble, it prevents saving lives and rebuilding hospitals, all under a security pretext. the 40,000 number will likely triple. the annexation of the west bank will be more noticeable. the obituaries will finally be written, the mass graves finally marked.
above all, the war prevents mourning. it prevents the world—the leadership of the world in particular—from humanizing palestinians. they are only humans when they are victims, and the war allows israel to maintain the illusion that this is a war with two sides, that these soldiers are fighting a symmetrical war with an opposing army, rather than a war of extermination against an entire people. you end the war, you end the illusion.
the idea that continuing the war will allow hamas to recoup or launch another attack is a joke—hamas don't need to. the damage israel will take once this is assessed in sober hindsight will be astounding. not just for the international community, but for israelis themselves. all those idf soldiers sniping babies in the head will have to go home and think about what they've done. and they'll talk about what they've done. they've filmed it, they've recorded it, but it will look very different when the war ends. this is also why israel continues to escalate. they are the only ones who benefit from a regional war. lebanon and iran know this well. so does the united states. politically and tactically, israel will not be the same once the war is over. this has always been true, and it has always been why it needed the occupation in the first place—it is a country that requires perpetual war to maintain itself. how can israelis live if they do not feel threatened? what is israel if it is not surrounded by enemies, but by victims and allies?
as the US knows, israel only switches from "high intensity war" to "low intensity war" with palestinians, but it has never actually chosen peace nor has it ever seriously engaged in a peace process. this choice has never been more obvious than it is today, but it will only become more obvious once the war ends.
