EU’s bold claims of ‘strategic autonomy’ missing in action

A year ago, Israelis were told the Iranian threat had been neutralised. So why are they once again united in war against a danger, real or imagined?

These lines were written during pauses. Scribbled down between the wails of the sirens calling us to hurry down to the shelters. The ping of cell phones seems deafening, even disturbing and frightening, a sound you never really get used to; when it comes in the middle of the night, it’s even worse. For about four weeks now, ten million Israelis have been seeking shelter several times a day. On the first day of the war, they did so 21 times, at least in the Tel Aviv area. In some parts of the country, especially where Palestinians are a majority, there are no shelters.

The price exacted from Israeli society is enormous, even if it cannot yet be fully measured. Only in a few years will we be able to appreciate the full extent of the damage of this war against Iran, and its predecessor, the war in Gaza, in terms of Israel’s economy, security and international standing and the plight of its population, not to mention the blood that was spilt, the destruction sown and the fear and traumas that will stay with us for years to come. Businesses are failing, the education system is paralysed and people are breaking down mentally. Israel has been in this state for two and a half years, almost continuously since October 2023. And every Israeli has paid, and will pay, for all this in one way or another.

In the eyes of almost all Israelis, the terrible war in Gaza had an absolute justification: 7 October 2023. Most Israelis think their army had not only the right but the obligation to wage a war of annihilation in Gaza. So they accepted its price relatively easily – in moral terms too. The media showed almost no atrocities, and in any case Israel had an unbeatable argument against the world’s wrath: the world is antisemitic, it hates us anyway, so it doesn’t matter what we do.

All the Jewish and Zionist parties in the Knesset supported and still support the war in Gaza. A healthier society would have asked hard questions about its conduct, the red (…)

Full article: 1 391 words.

Gideon Levy

Gideon Levy is a journalist with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Tel Aviv.

(1) See Gideon Levy, ‘Israel’s war as an act of self-harm’, Le Monde diplomatique, English edition, October 2025.

(2) Tamar Hermann, Lior Yohanani and Yaron Kaplan, ‘A majority of Jewish Israelis believe that the Iran war goals are attainable; majority of Arab Israelis believe they are not’, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem, 12 March 2026, en.idi.org.il/.

(3) See Charles Enderlin, ‘Israel’s growing wind of rebellion’, Le Monde diplomatique, English edition, October 2023.

(4) See ‘Lebanon to form delegation for potential talks with Israel; France denies having a ceasefire plan’, Times of Israel, 14 March 2026, and ‘Israel denies direct talks with Lebanon in coming days’, Middle East Monitor, 15 March 2026.

(5) See Akram Belkaïd, ‘Netanyahu’s game plan for the Middle East’, Le Monde diplomatique, English edition, July 2025.