Over the past few weeks, Israel has been accused of committing a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, by those who are not familiar enough with the details of what has been happening in this region.
To those people, my answer is simply this: the hostage deal that has been approved by the Israeli government and which will begin to take effect tomorrow morning.
If Israel were the murderous state claimed to be by those accusers, it would not have agreed to the ceasefire that is part of the hostage deal. Murderous people whose purpose is to eliminate another nation, don't stop doing so to save the lives of innocent people. A country that puts a halt to a war to free women and children is basically stating its values – its citizens are above all, even at the cost of a truce with the enemy.
The ceasefire is evidence that the fighting is not the main purpose of the war, but rather the wellbeing of the civilians in the region. The fighting is simply another tool that is put to use to achieve the desired security. Committing a genocide belongs to a reality where security is not the goal, a reality in which the goal is to eliminate the enemy – above all.
If the facts that the IDF warns Palestinian civilians before attacking, helps them evacuate combat zones, and introduces humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip – are not enough to show that Israel is ethical and most definitely not committing a genocide, the hostage deal is an additional testament to Israel's true intentions.
There are also the claims of the Israelis opposing the hostage deal. Even those Israelis are against the deal because they want to prevent further terrorist acts and not because they seek to destroy even terrorists. And Israel didn't accept their petitions, because Israel values above all the lives of the hostages who are at risk.
This is the Israel we can take pride in being a part of. The country that seeks peace and the wellbeing of innocents, even before destruction of the bitter enemy.
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