The Israel-Hamas conflict that started a year agon on 7th October 2023 unfolded in a manner so predictable it could have been scripted by the most cynical of playwrights. The plot is familiar: Hamas launches a devastating attack on Israeli soil, prompting a ferocious response from Israel. And, true to form, Israel assumes its favoured dual role: the victim and the aggressor. The strategy is as old as the conflict itself, but the implications are more profound than ever. For in playing this double game, Israel leaves behind not just a legacy of destruction but a roadmap for how powerful states can wield their might without consequence, all while hiding behind a veil of victimhood.
Israel, that “plucky little nation” nestled in a hostile region, insists on the narrative that it is constantly fending off existential threats. It’s a line that has served it well for decades, ensuring a steady flow of support and sympathy from the West. But this notion of perpetual vulnerability becomes increasingly absurd when weighed against the reality of Israel’s military capabilities. With one of the most advanced armed forces in the world, Israel’s response to the October 2023 Hamas attack was not an act of defence—it was an obliterating fury unleashed on Gaza. Over 40,000 people, including women and children, have perished under Israeli bombs in the ensuing months.
Now, one must pause and ask: if this is defence, what on earth would aggression look like? Israel’s campaign has not been about precision; it has been about devastation. Entire neighbourhoods in Gaza lie in ruins, their civilian infrastructure destroyed. Hospitals, schools, and refugee camps—those supposed sanctuaries in times of war—became nothing but targets in this ongoing blitz. And for every building levelled, Israel maintains the same tired refrain: it is a victim defending itself against terrorism. Never mind that the death toll in Gaza dwarfs the casualties on the Israeli side. Never mind that the weapons and munitions raining down on Gaza bear the stamp of Israel’s Western allies. In this theatre of the absurd, the aggressor clutches its victimhood like a badge of honour.
The farce extends beyond Gaza. Israel’s reach into Lebanon, Syria, and other neighbouring regions has only expanded since the October attack. Hezbollah, the ever-present thorn in Israel’s side, finds itself facing relentless strikes, with Israeli officials boasting of assassinations and the dismantling of Hezbollah’s leadership. In Beirut, where Israeli bombs have already claimed hundreds of lives, it becomes evident that Israel’s idea of “security” is less about peace and more about domination. And it doesn’t stop there—Iran, Iraq, Syria, and even Yemen are now entangled in the conflict. Iran, with its network of militias, has retaliated with missile strikes, escalating tensions to levels not seen in years. But who stokes these flames? Israel, with its unabated campaign, continues to provoke, ensuring that the circle of violence widens until the entire region is set ablaze.
It’s a masterstroke of manipulation, really. Israel has successfully convinced its Western allies that its survival is intrinsically tied to their own strategic interests in the Middle East. The logic goes: “Save us, and you save yourselves.” The audacity of such a position is breathtaking—Israel, which refuses to end its occupation, and which repeatedly undermines any prospect for a two-state solution, now frames itself as the last bastion of Western civilization in the region. And the Western world, held hostage by the fear of losing influence, buys into this illusion. The United States, in particular, continues to funnel military aid and diplomatic backing to Israel, even as the cost is counted in shattered lives and ruined cities. It’s a deal with the devil, one where the U.S. sacrifices its credibility on the altar of strategic expedience, all the while enabling Israel’s worst excesses.
The tragedy of this theatre is that it is not merely political—it is deeply, catastrophically human. Gaza, now synonymous with suffering, bears witness to the gruesome consequences of unchecked power. When Israel’s fighter jets and artillery unleash their payloads, it’s the ordinary people of Gaza who pay the price. And what precedent does this set for humanity? It shows that might makes right, that powerful nations can brutalize with impunity, and that the cries of the powerless will be drowned out by the sound of geopolitical calculus. If the international community were genuinely committed to human rights, there would be a collective outcry, an insistence that Israel—alongside Hamas—be held accountable for war crimes. But instead, the world watches, hands tied by diplomatic alliances and economic interests, as the tragedy plays out on loop.
And then there is the matter of Lebanon. The bombings there mirror those in Gaza: indiscriminate, deadly, and far-reaching. When Hezbollah retaliates, Israel points and shouts “terrorist,” as if its own incursions were the actions of a neutral arbiter rather than an occupying force seeking to destabilize its neighbours. The memory of Israel’s 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, which saw massacres like Sabra and Shatila, serves as a haunting reminder of what unchecked aggression can look like. Yet, here we are again, with history threatening to repeat itself under the guise of “defence.”
Meanwhile, Iran lurks in the background, a spectre that Israel uses to justify nearly every act of violence it commits. When Iranian missiles are launched, Israel frames it as proof of its existential peril, conveniently ignoring its own provocations across the region. Iran’s network of proxies, stretching from Iraq to Yemen, is a direct response to Israeli and Western interventions. Tehran, like Tel Aviv, plays a dangerous game, but it is one where Israel holds the advantage of Western backing. The irony is that Israel’s narrative—one of fighting to exist in a hostile region—continues to generate the very hostility it claims to combat. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, one that ensures perpetual conflict and perpetual support from a West too blind or too complicit to see through the charade.
As the world watches, the tragedy extends beyond the Middle East. By endorsing Israel’s tactics and providing it with an unending supply of weapons, Western powers not only erode their credibility but also embolden other nations to follow suit. When international law becomes a tool for the powerful to wield selectively, it loses its meaning entirely. The message is clear: If you have the military might and the right alliances, you can act with impunity. Israel is not just setting a precedent for itself but for every nation that believes force is a substitute for diplomacy.
This illusive performance—of victimhood and aggression—is as dangerous as it is absurd. It is a narrative built on the bones of those caught in the crossfire, a show funded by Western dollars and political capital. The question remains: how long will the world continue to applaud from the sidelines before demanding a different act?
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Rajeev Ahmed
The Editor of Geopolits.com and the Author of the book titled Bengal Nexus
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