Days before the Israeli government’s controversial decision on Aug. 8 to take control of Gaza City, the war-torn Palestinian enclave now facing a humanitarian crisis, Israelis marked Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning.
Tisha B’Av commemorates several Jewish calamities and is regarded as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is observed with fasting and lament. That it coincided with weeks marked by mounting domestic and international pressure, protests, and despair among Israelis as the war against Hamas approaches two years was no coincidence, said David Pileggi, rector of Christ Church in Jerusalem’s Old City. The 176-year-old Anglican church is the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East.
Pileggi’s sermon marking Tisha B’Av centered on selections from the Book of Lamentations. He urged congregants weary of the war, as he admitted he was, to direct their fears and questions to the Lord—and pray for God’s merciful intervention.
The Israeli security cabinet’s move to green-light military action in Gaza marked a high-stakes escalation in the country’s 22-month war against Hamas, the Gaza-based jihadist militant group that led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. In approving the new offensive, Israeli leaders overruled high-ranking military officials who raised concerns over the strain on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and over further dragging the country into a long-term conflict.
On Aug. 10, the United Nations Security Council warned the offensive could trigger “another horrific chapter” in the war. European allies including France, Britain, and Germany sharply denounced the move as potentially worsening the Gaza Strip’s humanitarian crisis and violating international law.
At the same time, families of the 20 remaining Israeli hostages fear for the lives of their loved ones. In late July, Hamas released videos of two emaciated hostages, prompting domestic and international calls for their release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the military expansion in Gaza as necessary to achieve a decisive victory against Hamas. The offensive includes dismantling the last two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps, while transferring Palestinians to “safe zones” with food and medical care. Preparations could last weeks or months, allowing the possibility for a diplomatic maneuver that could alter the military operation.
During an Aug. 10 press conference, Netanyahu emphasized the purpose of the offensive is to “free Gaza from Hamas,” not to maintain permanent control of the entire enclave. After ceasefire negotiations in late July ended in another impasse, Netanyahu said Israel is left with “no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”
But as the war drags on, many question whether a complete defeat is possible.
“Israel is finding out right now that there’s no clean victory,” said Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The questions being asked are, ‘Is it worth sacrificing more soldiers? Is it worth more condemnation from capitals across Europe and the negative media attention?’”
Palestinians seek food at a distribution point in Gaza City on Aug. 2.
Omal Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images
Those questions linger in the minds of Matt and Elizabeth Finch, who have run Calvary Chapel Bible College in Jerusalem’s Old City since 2016. They have a daughter serving in the IDF, a son who will join in December, and another in 2026. Elizabeth said diminishing worldwide support for Israel and growing anti-Semitism weigh on young Israelis: “Every time they go online they are bombarded with so much hatred.”
Media reports continue to cast blame on Israel for the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where 1 in 3 people are going without food for days, according to a July statement from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an international panel of experts backed by the UN, a frequent critic of Israel.
Aid agencies and European countries blame Israeli security restrictions. But Israel pointed the finger at the UN and international organizations for a sharp drop in aid between June and July. Israel has also accused Hamas of thwarting the UN’s distribution of food and other supplies coming into the enclave.
Since mid-May, about 88% of UN convoys failed to reach their intended destinations, according to the organization’s own data. The food and supplies were “either peacefully … or forcefully” intercepted by Hamas, other armed groups, or Palestinian civilians, the UN admits.
Separately, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the U.S.-backed aid initiative created by Israel, has faced criticism for limited distribution sites and for stationing Israeli soldiers and foreign security contractors outside its locations, a measure Israel and the U.S. say prevents Hamas from looting the food.
Since GHF began operating in May, UN experts claim more than 800 Palestinians have been fatally shot near its sites, a claim the aid group denies.
Meanwhile, numerous reports have questioned the authenticity of photos depicting starving Palestinians. In early August, Israeli President Isaac Herzog accused Hamas of staging photos and waging a “PR campaign.”
Israel is finding out right now that there’s no clean victory.
Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has gained control of roughly 75% of Gaza and killed the majority of Hamas’ prominent leaders. But critics of the conflict have long pointed to the high number of Palestinian casualties as an indictment of Israel’s tactics. And now, “world opinion seems to be turning on Israel,” said Daniel Flesch, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
On Aug. 8, in response to Netanyahu’s planned offensive, Germany halted military exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Weeks prior, France and Britain announced their governments would formally recognize a Palestinian state in September if the war continues.
“Hamas is happy to see all of this play out,” Flesch said. “Despite what they did on Oct. 7, despite their intentional strategy of embedding themselves among Palestinian civilian centers, wanting to see civilian casualties, you have countries wanting to reward the Palestinians with a state.”
The United States has continued to defend Israel. During an Aug. 10 UN Security Council emergency meeting, U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said America has worked “tirelessly” to free hostages and compel Hamas to disarm and end the war. Shea said criticizing Israel undermined those efforts.
As it stands, “allowing Hamas to exist on the border, to be able to reconstitute and pose a threat again is something that Israel will not countenance,” Jonathan Schanzer told me.
That means the war shows no signs of ending.
At Christ Church Jerusalem, Pileggi says he prays that “on both sides, what human beings and the devil meant for evil on Oct. 7, God ultimately would turn to good, even if it takes 20 or 30 years.” He cautions congregants against apathy amid the death and destruction: “We continue to mourn and lament, and then out of that, we move forward as a community.”