Israeli commentators and human rights groups are questioning the war amid images of emaciated children, even prompting criticism from Donald Trump
There are other indications – from WhatsApp group chats to new reports by Israeli human rights organisations – that the mood is shifting away from a robust embrace of the conflict.
“After the massacre, it was imperative to strike at Hamas with all our might, even at the cost of civilian casualties,” wrote Nahum Barnea, a columnist for centrist newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. But “the damage – in military casualties, Israel’s international standing and civilian casualties – is growing worse. Hamas is to blame, but Israel is responsible.”
Sherwin Pomerantz, who runs an economic consulting group, wrote in the conservative Jerusalem Post: “What was a just war two years ago is now an unjust war and must be ended.”
The shift in Israeli sentiment is reflected in a pile-up of bad news: Hamas still holds hostages in Gaza and remains a military force, soldiers continue to die, Israelis abroad are shunned, even attacked, and now scenes of starving children are shown across global media.
