Israeli writer Dror Raphael presents a bleak vision of the future of Israel. In an article published in Maariv newspaper, almost a year after the events of 7 October and the start pf the “Al-Aqsa Flood”, he stresses that “every Israeli has been walking around with a black hole in his heart for a year now.”
He explains there is no need to remind Israelis of what they are going through, because they live with pain and losses daily. The displaced (in the north and south) are still far from their homes, the prisoners are still in the tunnels of the Gaza Strip, and the pain of the dead does not subside.
“A decade of death and pain awaits us, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.” Dror Rafael – Maariv
The guy is very optimistic, whose contract? God willing, they will not survive even a half decade! pic.twitter.com/xHXNudRXUa
“Every Israeli has been walking around with a black hole in his heart for a year now,” referring to the role of social media, such as the famous Israeli account on X “News from last year”, which republishes newspaper headlines that predicted the crisis before it happened, he added.
He pointed out it was clear to everyone that Israel was heading towards disaster, but the leaders were busy with the “legal revolution”, unaware of the looming danger, noting that “the most common greeting these days is ‘the return of the kidnapped’ and the expression of negativity and pessimism.”
The writer expresses his disappointment with the political and social situation in Israel, considering that “the assumption of responsibility and other values that the Israelis believed they lived by turned out to be illusions,” noting in particular that “the government investigation committee, which was supposed to be established automatically after the attacks of 7 October, has become almost illegitimate.”
He believes that the young Israeli generation is suffering from a state of despair, and sites what former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said during World War II, expressing his hope that Israel would receive promises of “blood, sweat and tears” as Churchill promised his people, and says that “the reality indicates that we are facing a decade of death and wars with no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Titanic and Ice
Raphael sees that Israel is facing a “decade of death, pain and war” without clear leadership or vision to get out of this dark tunnel, likening the situation in Israel to the Titanic that is hurtling towards an iceberg.
The writer highlights the political situation in Israel, pointing to the extreme composition of the government, criticizing the leaders and officials, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the heads of the army and intelligence, describing them as “short-sighted, arrogant, boasting about Israel’s strength and deterrence without actually understanding what is happening.”
The writer points to the division in Israel and its future impact, saying, “people between the ages of 40 and 50 feel disgusted with the Knesset and the government, and therefore hesitate to participate in leadership.
The writer refers to the phenomenon of reverse migration among Israelis due to despair over the conditions in Israel, and said, “those born last year will live in another, different and colder country, a country whose citizens vowed not to leave, but have already established colonies in Cyprus, Thailand or Puerto Rico on the Atlantic coast.”
While the writer tries to alleviate the “gloomy picture” by referring to the young soldiers who he said are “fighting to repair the country that collapsed,” he concludes by directing a question to future generations: “How did they not see this happening? How did they not know? How did they not prevent or warn? And most importantly, how were they not ashamed?”
Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.
Alongside the relentless toll of fatalities from continuous Israeli bombardment, a silent death is sweeping through Gaza’s elderly and children—largely unrecorded and undocumented. This is the result of deadly living conditions deliberately imposed by Israel to exhaust the population. At the forefront of these crimes are starvation, the infliction of extreme suffering, deprivation of medical care, and the imposition of a total blockade—all constituting acts of ongoing genocide for over 19 months.
Now entering its third consecutive month, the intensified siege has had devastating and long-term effects—disproportionately harming Gaza’s most vulnerable. Israel’s systematic policy seeks to destroy all means of survival and eliminate any path to staying alive. This deepens the humanitarian catastrophe, making it a central instrument in the execution of genocidal policy.
Over the past week, 14 elderly Palestinians were documented to have died across Gaza from complications related to hunger, malnutrition, and lack of medical care. These deaths are directly linked to Israel’s complete closure of border crossings and its prevention of humanitarian aid and essential goods from entering the Strip since 2 March.
[My father] recently suffered a severe health setback. Hunger and malnutrition had left his body extremely weak and frail, so we transferred him to Nasser Hospital. After examination, doctors found he was suffering from acute anaemia and a severe deficiency in proteins and minerals
Jalal, son of Talib Al-Arja who died due to lack of food
The victims died in various areas of Gaza, where residents face acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Famine is spreading, the health system has collapsed, and even the most basic medical care is unavailable—leaving vulnerable people, especially the elderly and those with chronic illnesses, to die in total isolation from the outside world.
The death of Musbah Abdul Raouf Abdul Ghafhour, 84, was documented in Khan Younis on Saturday. His family told Euro-Med Monitor that his condition deteriorated sharply after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He could not be referred for treatment outside Gaza due to the total Israeli blockade. With no treatment available inside Gaza and his health further deteriorating due to malnutrition and lack of suitable food, he eventually succumbed.
The death of Talib Sabbah Suleiman Al-Arja, 80, was recorded on Tuesday, 7 May. His son, Jalal, told Euro-Med Monitor: “After the war on Gaza began and the suffocating siege was imposed, my father suffered repeated health setbacks due to a lack of food. We lived in miserable conditions in Rafah, and when we were displaced to Khan Younis, the suffering worsened. We lacked even the most basic necessities. My father complained about the intense heat inside the tent during the day and the biting insects at night. As an elderly man, he could not endure the hunger or thirst. He would ask for cold drinking water during the day, but we couldn’t provide it. He would long for foods like chicken, fish, eggs, and fruit—but none were available.”
He added, “He recently suffered a severe health setback. Hunger and malnutrition had left his body extremely weak and frail, so we transferred him to Nasser Hospital. After examination, doctors found he was suffering from acute anaemia and a severe deficiency in proteins and minerals. He remained in the hospital for less than 30 hours. His body did not respond to the medications, supplements, or IV fluids administered—and, in the end, he passed away.”
The Euro-Med Monitor team reported that dozens of elderly patients have been arriving at hospitals, the vast majority diagnosed with acute malnutrition and anaemia. With no access to treatment for their chronic illnesses, many have been forced to rely on canned food as their main source of nutrition—causing their health to deteriorate dramatically, in some cases leading to death.
An increasing number of elderly people, children, and patients are now dying as a direct result of the collapsing healthcare, severe malnutrition, and hunger, amidst the systematic breakdown of Gaza’s healthcare system caused by the Israeli blockade. The lack of an effective mechanism within Gaza’s Ministry of Health to monitor such cases means they are often recorded as natural deaths, though in reality, they result directly from deliberate starvation policies and the destruction of the health system. These practices constitute a pattern of intentional killing, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
Such actions amount to some of the gravest crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which classifies wilful killing — including causing death through starvation or denial of medical care — as a war crime and a crime against humanity, particularly when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack targeting civilians. This is consistent with the pattern of assault being carried out by Israel against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
These actions also meet the legal criteria for the crime of genocide, whether through acts of killing, inflicting serious bodily or mental harm, or imposing living conditions intended to bring about the physical destruction of a protected group, in whole or in part. This crime has been ongoing for over 19 months, perpetrated by Israel against the civilian population of Gaza.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. Hunger is no longer confined to vulnerable or marginalised groups—it now affects all segments of society. There has been an almost total collapse of essential public services and basic requirements for survival, including access to food, healthcare, and shelter.
The unlawful Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since the start of the genocide in October 2023—accompanied by systematic and arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian aid and the deliberate destruction of the healthcare system, particularly over the past seventy days—has caused catastrophic deterioration and led to irreversible conditions affecting the health and wellbeing of more than two million people in the territory.
The proposed Israeli-American mechanism for humanitarian aid in Gaza is nothing more than a new manoeuvre aimed at prolonging the illegal and comprehensive blockade. It repackages the crime of starvation in a misleading humanitarian guise, falsely legitimising its continued use as a weapon in the ongoing crime of genocide.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has called on all states, individually and collectively, to fulfil their legal obligations and take urgent action to halt the genocide and lift the illegal blockade on Gaza. Immediate and concrete measures must be taken to protect Palestinian civilians—especially the elderly and children.
The international community must act swiftly to lift the unlawful Israeli blockade, as it remains the only viable path to halting the accelerating humanitarian collapse and ensuring the flow of aid into Gaza. Any delay in lifting the blockade will only exacerbate the already uncontainable catastrophe, leaving more than two million people hostage to hunger, disease, and thirst—deprived of the most basic conditions for a dignified life.
The international community must also impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel in response to its systematic and grave violations of international law. This includes banning weapons exports to Israel and halting arms purchases from it; suspending all forms of political, financial, and military support and cooperation; freezing the assets of officials involved in crimes against Palestinians or inciting such acts; and imposing travel bans on them. Moreover, trade privileges and bilateral agreements that grant Israel economic advantages, enabling it to commit crimes, must be suspended.
All states must also be held accountable for their complicity or involvement in supporting Israel’s crimes—chief among them the United States—and any nations providing Israel with any form of assistance linked to the perpetration of these crimes. This includes aid or contractual ties in the military, intelligence, political, legal, financial, media, or economic sectors, or any other domain contributing to the continuation of these violations.
Israeli Army Radio has reported that personalities close to US President Donald Trump informed the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, that the US president had decided to cut off contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Army Radio explained that these acquaintances close to Trump informed Dermer that Netanyahu was manipulating the US president, stressing that what Trump hates most is being perceived as being manipulated.
The radio quoted an Israeli official as saying that Minister Dermer’s conversation with senior Republican officials, did not work because of his displayed arrogance.
This came hours after a report in the Israel Hayom newspaper asserting that the US president is “disappointed” with Netanyahu and intends to take “steps” in the Middle East “without waiting for him.”
Since the start of his new presidential term on January 20, 2025, Trump has offered diverse and unlimited support to the Netanyahu government, which has been waging a genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu-Trump conflict escalates
The Israel Hayom newspaper quoted sources close to Trump as saying: "We can clearly say that the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has reached its lowest point." pic.twitter.com/QckvxxcBQu
However, the Israel Hayom daily quoted an unnamed sources as saying that “there is a decline in the personal relations and mutual disappointment between Netanyahu and Trump.”
The newspaper added that two senior sources close to Trump said, in closed conversations in recent days, that he has decided not to wait for Israel any longer and is moving forward with steps in the Middle East without “waiting for Netanyahu.”
The sources did not elaborate on the nature of the steps Trump intends to take unilaterally, but there is a complaint in Tel Aviv that Trump sometimes acts without coordination with Israel.
The most recent example is the ceasefire agreement reached by the United States and the Yemeni Houthi group, which does not include Israel and which Israel was unaware of before its announcement according to Al Jazeera.
CrossFireArabia
