Now that a ceasefire in Gaza is being held which will allow the return of those kidnapped by Hamas two years ago and, if the peace plan is fulfilled, the elimination of that terrorist organization from power in the Strip, it is worth remembering that, if this has been possible, it has been due to the determination of the American president but, above all, to the obstinacy and vision of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, although no one wants to admit it. Certainly not to Europeans who have done everything they could to prevent Israel from achieving a decisive victory over Hamas.
In fact, it has to be said loud and clear, since October 7, 2023 - the day Hamas launched its most successful attack against Israel - the Jerusalem government has been forced to wage five wars simultaneously.
In that sense, Israel has emerged victorious from its first war, against its direct enemies, and the ring of fire that hung over the country has evaporated.
The first, against its direct enemies: from Hamas to Iran, via Hezbollah, Syria, Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. The second, against its supposed allies, from the United States of the Biden Administration to various European governments, which have tried to tie Israel’s hands and restrict its freedom of action. The third, strategic, between the political leadership and the commanders of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), reluctant - to say the least - to fully comply with the objectives set by the government.
The fourth, political, between the Prime Minister and an impotent opposition without influence which has not hesitated to instrumentalize the families of those kidnapped by Hamas and Islamic Jihad with a clear political objective: to remove Netanyahu from power. And, finally, the fifth: a global campaign of delegitimization, largely due to the propaganda success of Hamas and the lack of world interest in knowing the truth about the conflict.
Against all odds, two years after October 7, 2023, Israel has generated a much higher level of security than it had before the Hamas attack. Not only because Hamas ultimately had to surrender, but along the way, Jerusalem incapacitated Hezbollah in Lebanon; ended the Iranian presence in Syria; and dismantled Iran’s nuclear program as well as its ballistic missile capabilities. And all this without relenting in military pressure on Hamas in Gaza. In that sense, Israel has emerged victorious from its first war, against its direct enemies, and the ring of fire that hung over the country has evaporated.
Europe, isolated and voiceless
The second war had to do with Israel’s partners and allies, starting with the United States under Biden and the bulk of the Europeans. War is a phenomenon that requires great effort and consumption, of money, men and, above all, material. October 23 happened just when the whole Western world was struggling to maintain a production of defense systems, particularly ammunition and artillery shells, which Ukraine was demanding and melting down at a rate higher than what could be manufactured. Aware of Israeli dependence on ammunition, the Democratic Administration played carrot and stick with Israel, threatening to stop shipping bombs and howitzers when Jerusalem did not pursue a course of military action in Gaza to the White House’s liking.
In the case of the Europeans, the ignorance of the leadership on military matters and of society in general, raised on the institutional pacifism of the European Union, preferred not to want to understand the difficulty involved in urban combat in densely populated areas, nor what Hamas tactics entailed, with its fighters hiding in hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under all manner of civilian facilities, indistinguishable from the civilian population which ultimately meant using them as human shields and scapegoats.
The result has been that they have been left alone with nothing to do and say about the peace agreement pushed by Donald Trump nor, even more serious for their pride, about the future of the region.
Far from understanding that Hamas was not seeking the creation of a Palestinian state (which it already had in Gaza since 2007), but the destruction of the state of Israel, European leaders, starting with Macron in France, followed by Starmer in the UK and Pedro Sanchez in Spain, set about trying to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to force it to stop its military campaign. Their instrument, the recognition of a Palestinian state that no one knows where it is and which did nothing to help resolve the Gaza conflict, but quite the opposite, gave new wings to Hamas.
Their actions were due to a growing domestic weakness, ignorance about the region, political stupidity and, in the Gallic and British case, fear of the important Muslim minorities kidnapped by jihadist elements. In the case of Spain’s Sanchez, simply to his wickedness of putting up a smokescreen to cover up the corruption cases involving his wife, brother, and close associates, with no regard for the consequences for Israel or the Palestinians.
The result has been that they have been left alone with nothing to do and say about the peace agreement pushed by Donald Trump nor, even more serious for their pride, about the future of the region.
Internal wars
The third front for the Israeli government and most especially for the prime minister was domestic. And in two fold. On the one hand, a constant struggle with the military high command - or the establishment of security and defense - who were very reluctant to eliminate Hamas if it meant that they had to occupy Gaza and take responsibility for the Strip. Up until the last minute they have been saying that victory over Hamas was unattainable. But Netanyahu did not budge and forced the campaign on Gaza City (in addition to the bombing to eliminate Hamas’ political leadership in its golden exile in Qatar), he has achieved what seemed impossible: bending Hamas’ will to resist.
The second domestic battle unfolded around the relatives of those kidnapped by Hamas. The left and the opposition in general turned to the hostages as their best lever to force the resignation of the prime minister, since every other avenue had failed. The suffering of the hostages’ families is understandable and that they prioritized their return at any price, logical. That the opposition argued that the government was prolonging the war for political gain, an argument that has turned out to be false and that promoted the demonization of the prime minister internationally, has undermined the legitimacy of all of Israel to fight its enemies.
Israel’s defense, the defense of the truth
The final war that Israel has also had to wage has been against the Hamas narrative, aimed at delegitimizing Israel and undermining Jerusalem’s freedom of action.
On the battlefield, the facts are verifiable: there are winners and losers, positions conquered, enemies eliminated. In the media arena, on the other hand, the truth is fragmented, edited, manipulated and forgotten as quickly as an image is consumed on a screen.
Its strategy was not just to attack, but to narrate the attack: to construct a story in which the killers appeared as victims and the victims as executioners.
Hamas knew from the beginning that it could not defeat Israel militarily, but it could defeat it symbolically. Its strategy was not just to attack, but to narrate the attack: to construct a story in which the killers appeared as victims and the victims as executioners. Every dead body in Gaza, every demolished building, every wounded child became political ammunition. Death ceased to be a tragic end and became a means of propaganda.
Social media amplified that narrative with unprecedented effectiveness. Videos without context, figures without verification, images of previous wars presented as current: everything served to reinforce the emotional framework Hamas needed. Post-truth replaced journalism, and emotion replaced analysis.
Unfortunately, the major international media - some out of ignorance, others out of ideology - replicated the narrative without contrast. And some rulers also surrendered and chose the side of the lie.
With that, supposedly legitimate criticism of the decisions of a democratic government like the Israeli one turned overnight into anti-Semitic demonstrations whose sole aim was to wipe Israel off the map and exterminate Jews everywhere.
With an alliance of the radical left, university Wokism and rampant Islamism, in London, Paris, Madrid and New York, the Palestinian flag became a symbol of moral purity and the Jewish State, its opposite. Few noticed the irony of thousands marching in freedom to defend a group that, if it governed their countries, would deny them that same freedom.
The information war has turned values into merchandise. Every tragedy is measured by its media potential; every victim, by its political utility. In this context, the defense of Israel also becomes the defense of a principle: the very possibility of truth.
Hamas succeeded in manipulating the media into believing that Israel was carrying out a genocide, killing children and women above all, even though its data were easily dismantled; and, secondly, that Israel was using the weapon of humanitarian aid to cause a famine in Gaza. It didn’t matter that the problem was that Hamas kept the food, fuel and medicine that entered the Strip and that the much-vaunted famine never materialized.
There is no war without mistakes, no army without failures, no democracy without contradictions.
Israel has known how to fight its external enemies. Now the time has come to overcome the toxic divisions that only weaken the international image of the Jewish State.
But to reduce Israel’s history to a succession of prefabricated culpabilities is tantamount to denying its right to exist. And that, more than a manipulation of information, is a moral aggression.
Unfortunately, military victory does not guarantee media victory and we are already seeing how demonstrations are being organized not to celebrate the release of the hostages, but to continue chanting “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea,” extolling not only terrorism, but ethnic cleansing and true genocide.
Israel has known how to fight its external enemies. Now the time has come to overcome the toxic divisions that only weaken the international image of the Jewish State.
If Israel today knows what it is fighting for, it is largely because its prime minister, so reviled by the opposition and repudiated by much of the international community has stood firm all this time. He believed he could achieve what was desirable. And he has achieved it.
What’s more, with a stronger and more prosperous Israel, for the first time in decades there is an opportunity to walk towards a new Middle East where peace and prosperity prevail.
Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize much more than an Obama who did nothing for it. But the one who has really earned it is Benjamin Netanyahu.
Published originally on October 11, 2025.
