These are somber times in Israel. The small nation is licking its wounds, weeping, and burying well over a thousand citizens (mostly civilians) massacred in the violence unleashed by Hamas, while attending to thousands of casualties incurred. It is simultaneously trying to take care of many thousands of bereaved or displaced families while soothing the raw nerves of much of its population still living under the incessant threat of further Hamas rocket attacks and border infiltrations. In parallel, it is fully mobilizing its military to strike back at Hamas and dissuade saber-rattling Hezbollah from taking advantage of the situation.  

The national trauma stems from the realization that Israel’s formidable military and intelligence failed to protect its population from a second-rate nonstate military organization, and from witnessing the unprecedented level of savagery exercised by Hamas against peaceful settlers—including hundreds of elderly, women, and children. It is exacerbated by watching with acute anxiety how Hamas handles the hundred-plus civilians taken hostage, as well as from the rude awakening in the Israeli government’s misguided, long-standing strategy to stave off Hamas’ aggression by buying it off using Qatari money, Israeli electricity supply, exports and transfers of goods, and even work permits in Israel for some Gazans.

Three bright spots have nonetheless emerged. First, Israelis have displayed a stunning level of national solidarity, cohesion, and mutual support, notwithstanding the bitter domestic political rivalries that preceded the war. Second, the Israeli Defense Forces have demonstrated a capacity to regroup and move to defend the nation and go on the offensive, despite the large and traumatic losses they experienced. Third, and by no means least, Israel has received an outpouring of moral, political, and military support to Israel in its moment of distress, led by the United States and personally by President Joe Biden.

The days and weeks to come will remain challenging for Israel and its neighbors, allies, and the world writ large. Can Israel’s military campaign eliminate the attack’s perpetrators and dismantle their offensive infrastructure while sparing innocent civilians in Gaza? Will this conflict spill over, provoking escalation inside and around Israel (especially in the West Bank and with Hezbollah)? Can an alternative regime be established in the Gaza Strip—one that will prioritize reconstruction and looking after its impoverished population over fighting Israel? And can the wounds of this unprecedented trauma paradoxically serve as a catalyst not only for a national healing process within Israel but also for normalization with additional Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians?