The tragedy of the Israeli conflict is not born from a lack of imagination, but from a devastating surplus of reality. For decades, the global community has coddled a fantasy of coexistence built on Western ideals of diplomacy, ignoring the cold, hard numbers and the lived experiences of those on the front lines.

If we are to look at the situation with brutal honesty, we must dismantle the comfortable myths and face the uncomfortable truths about the population we are told to view merely as victims.

Consider the baseline question of innocence. If you were to ask the hostages who have been released from captivity how many truly innocent civilians they encountered in Gaza, the response would be chillingly uniform. To the people trapped in those tunnels, the concept of the innocent civilian is a fiction.

It was not just uniformed militants who crossed the border on October 7; it was everyday citizens. Civilians participated in the kidnappings, civilians held hostages in their private homes, and civilians, including young children, lined the streets to spit on, kick, and humiliate Israelis brought into Gaza. In the months that followed, not a single “palestinian” came forward to inform Israeli authorities about the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)