In Israel, left-wing politician Yair Golan, a retired general, recently stirred controversy when he said in an interview with Israel Radio that “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state” and added that “a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself the aim of expelling populations.”

In the face of intense criticism, he has since walked back those comments.

But while Golan’s comments were condemned across the Israeli political spectrum, they “also sparked a discussion about Israel’s conduct and what it is doing and the toll of the war on civilians,” said Tia Goldenberg, a correspondent for the Associated Press in Jerusalem.

In an interview with Vox’s Today, Explained, Goldenberg said Golan’s comments are indicative of the fact that Israelis are increasingly turning against their country’s war in Gaza.

That war began on October 7, 2023, when an attack by Hamas fighters left 1,200 dead and 250 captured. Some of those kidnapped have been returned; others have died. There are 58 hostages remaining in Gaza, of which a third are believed to be alive.

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