I reported from southern Israel on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023. I witnessed the carnage of the Hamas massacre, and I have been covering the subsequent war in Gaza for Fox News over the past 12 months.
The takeaway on the ground is obvious: The hostages who remain in Hamas’ hands must be released and Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip must cease. Each additional day of suffering is driving a wider wedge between Israelis and Palestinians, along with those who support each side. Enough is enough.
The Hamas attack on Israel, known as Black Saturday, left more than 800 civilians and more than 300 soldiers dead. People were slaughtered in their homes, kibbutzim obliterated, and many of those who survived were dragged as hostages into Gaza. The killings and kidnappings are objectively terrible events that should be widely condemned.
The Israeli response to Black Saturday has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gazan Health Ministry. Based on Israel Defense Forces estimates, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says some 17,000 are militants. Of the civilians who have been killed, the majority were torn to pieces or wounded by the blast waves of Israeli airstrikes, often using American-made bombs. The leveling of Gaza and its inhabitants is an objectively terrible event that should be widely condemned.
Two things can be true at once. The Oct. 7 attack killed more Jews than at any time since the Holocaust. The Israeli response has killed more Palestinians than at any other time in recorded history.
As a war correspondent, I’ve met soldiers around the world — in Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, as well as Israel — and the best of them do not celebrate death, even the deaths of their enemies. And especially not the deaths of civilians.
So why are so many outside the battle zone ready to glorify the massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 or willing to dismiss the casualties of Palestinians in the war that has followed?
My answer is simple: a lack of empathy. A lack of understanding and curiosity about the reasons that humans do what they do. Along with tribalism that encourages tunnel vision and an unwillingness to see or hear anything that doesn’t support the tribe’s position.
I count the normalization of civilian casualties as one of the particularly dangerous trends this war is producing. Yes, civilians always die in war. No, we should not become desensitized to it. The distinction between combatants and civilians, however much asymmetrical war may blur it, is at the basis of international law and the rules of war.
And often it is not blurry at all.
When some of those who support the Palestinians claim the killing of Israeli American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin was justified because he previously served in the Israeli army, they are wrong. Hersh was an unarmed civilian, attending a music festival, when he was taken hostage and later executed by his captors.
When some of those who support Israel claim the killing of journalist Ismail al-Ghoul in a drone strike was justified because he previously allegedly had ties to Hamas, they are wrong. Al-Ghoul was reporting for Al Jazeera when he was killed. He and his cameraman were armed only with a camera and are among more than 100 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel during the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Zero-sum thinking after one year of catastrophic conflict has created discord, hate and absolutism.
Generalizations directed at either side are neither accurate nor helpful. Not all Israelis support the air and ground campaign against Gaza. And among those who do, a portion believe it should continue only until the hostages are freed. Not all Palestinians support Hamas and its actions. A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in September found that 35% of Palestinians in Gaza back Hamas.
Entrenched leadership on both sides will decide whether the violence and bloodshed will continue. Israel and Hamas must define their terms for cease-fire and peace, while being flexible enough to reach an agreement. Any observer understands this bottom line: Hamas will never completely destroy Israel and conquer the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. And Israel will never completely defeat Hamas, an organization and a cause that is not confined to Gaza.
Wars end, at least temporarily, with diplomacy. With agreements. With deals. Israelis and Palestinians can find a way.
So Israel and Hamas, end this war. Reunite the living hostages with their families and stop the killing of civilians.
Don’t risk your people’s humanity. Cease fire.
Trey Yingst was named chief foreign correspondent for Fox News in August. He is the author of the just-published book “Black Saturday.”
