Tomas Visok, like many Israelis a reservist with long service in Gaza, awoke Tuesday to the news that Israel had launched surprise airstrikes across the Gaza Strip just hours earlier.
The attack shattered 42 days of a ceasefire he had hoped would hold.
On the radio, a steady stream of updates was coming through. More than 300 Palestinians had been killed, including many women and children, as well as a few Hamas leaders. The number later rose to over 400. Israel was reopening public bomb shelters, bracing for possible reprisals.
Why We Wrote This
After Hamas’ horrific Oct. 7 attack, Israelis mobilized almost without reservation for war, and sacrifice. But the airstrikes that killed hundreds in Gaza find many in Israel exhausted by the war and suspicious of their leaders’ motivations.
Mr. Visok, who immigrated to Israel from Argentina five years ago, has done 150 days of military reserve duty during the war, most of them fighting inside Gaza. He wonders aloud if all Israel’s reservists would show up to fight again if the airstrikes broaden into a ground invasion.
When Hamas-led forces broke through Israel’s border with Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, in a surprise attack that killed 1,200 people, Israelis rushed in a unified front to defend the country.
Nothing less than national survival was at stake, they said. Sacrifice was warranted to defeat Hamas and free the 251 hostages.
But almost a year and a half later, mentally and emotionally exhausted and fearful for the lives of the some 24 remaining hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, Israelis are much less unified in support of returning to war. Many openly question Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motivations in breaking the truce.
“I think there are many reservists who won’t come,” says Mr. Visok. “After 200 or more days of reserve duty, it’s hard to go, especially if you have children.
“At the beginning everyone understood the situation, and we showed up with all of our hearts. … I personally would go if needed, but the situation is really hard, especially for those with families. There are children who barely know their fathers after this past year.”
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