2026. 4. 13. 19:53ㆍ카테고리 없음
War is always accompanied by its own justifications. National security, self-defence, retaliation, deterrence, the eradication of terrorism — such words are repeated again and again. Yet no matter how strongly a state invokes its own security, if that war is built endlessly upon the lives of civilians, then we must stop and ask: to what extent can Israel’s current way of waging war truly be justified?
In this piece, I do not wish to condemn an entire people. No people can be described as collectively evil. Historical tragedy must never become the basis for yet more hatred. But the government of a state, its leader, and the military methods that leader has chosen can and should be subject to criticism. What deserves criticism now is not Jewish identity, but the manner in which the Netanyahu government has conducted this war and the devastating consequences it has produced.
The horrors in Gaza have gone on for far too long. In an April 2026 report, Reuters stated that more than 72,000 Palestinians had been killed during Israel’s two-year military campaign, and that Gaza’s health authorities said the majority were civilians. The same report also pointed to the spread of famine, the destruction of most buildings, and the repeated forced displacement of the vast majority of residents. Any attempt to dismiss this reality as merely “collateral damage” is close to a cruel sophistry. The way the Netanyahu government has conducted this war is eroding even the minimum standards of humanity and international law.
The situation in Lebanon is no different. On 8 April 2026, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, criticised Israel’s large-scale strikes on Lebanon, saying that “the scale of the killings and destruction is shocking”, and stressed that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and that all alleged violations must be investigated promptly and independently. On the same day, Lebanon’s civil defence authorities announced that 254 people had been killed across the country in Israeli strikes. As the war continues, what the international community keeps hearing is not the language of military success, but grim reports of hospitals, ambulances and homes being destroyed. How much longer will Netanyahu drag the world into fear and instability through his war of reckless brutality?
The reality in Lebanon has reached a point where it can no longer be concealed behind the phrase “limited conflict”. On 13 April 2026, Reuters reported that the Israeli military said it expected to secure full operational control of the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil within days. This can hardly be read as a mere retaliatory strike; it points instead to an effort to establish de facto military domination over southern Lebanon. Yet what the international community has witnessed in that process is not evidence of military precision, but the horrific record of civilian suffering. Reuters reported that 254 people were killed across Lebanon in Israel’s large-scale strikes on 8 April, and that even hospitals and ambulances had been hit. AP likewise reported that more than 180 people were killed in strikes on Beirut and densely populated residential areas. Faced with such a reality, to repeat only the words “security” and “self-defence” is not persuasive — it is an evasion of responsibility. No justification can excuse a war that keeps destroying civilian lives and the places in which they live.
So why is criticism of Netanyahu’s government growing ever stronger now? The reason is simple. Overwhelming military power carries with it an equally great responsibility. The right of self-defence may be recognised under international law, but it cannot become a licence for unlimited violence. The principles of civilian protection, proportionality and distinction must never be ignored, even in wartime. Yet what is being raised again and again in Gaza and Lebanon is precisely that even these minimum principles appear to be collapsing. UN reports have pointed to unlawful uses of force in Gaza and the occupied territories, the systematic destruction of residential areas, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and even indications suggesting an attempt to engineer permanent demographic change. In such circumstances, to keep repeating the word “security” is not a responsible explanation, but language that conceals a horrifying reality and seeks to justify civilian suffering.
The course of events at the International Criminal Court is not something that can be brushed aside lightly either. According to Reuters, in July 2025 ICC judges rejected Israel’s request to withdraw arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The warrants remain in force, while questions over the court’s jurisdiction continue to be contested separately. Of course, an arrest warrant does not in itself amount to a conviction.
But at the very least, it makes clear that the current conduct of this war has become the subject of grave legal suspicion and scrutiny even at the level of international law. And yet Netanyahu appears largely unmoved by this. His corruption trial, which began in 2020, has already been delayed many times, and Reuters reported that he sought another postponement even ahead of its resumption in April 2026. This only deepens the suspicion that he is using national crisis and war as a shield for his own political survival. He no longer appears to be a leader capable of choosing peace, but one who can sustain his power only through war.
I do not wish to abuse historical comparisons here. But one thing is clear. A society that carries the memory of suffering does not always make just choices. The pain of the past is not a licence for the present. If the memory of the Holocaust is indeed precious to Israel, then precisely because of that memory, it should be even more uncompromising in the face of today’s killing of civilians, collective punishment, starvation and destruction. The most faithful way to remember a past tragedy is not to remain silent when another tragedy, under a different name, is unfolding in the present.
The Netanyahu government’s war of reckless brutality has already gone far too far. Whether it is spoken of in the name of security or in the name of retaliation, if a war is built upon civilian blood and ruins, then the world must no longer remain silent. What is needed now is not the victory of one side over another, but the restoration of human dignity above war itself. The moment we lose that principle, we all lose. So the question now is this: who will stop Netanyahu? Who, indeed, will dare to tie a bell around the neck of a man who seems to regard himself as the master of limitless power?
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