Over two years of genocide, Gaza endured. But Israel lost the world

As the ceasefire in Gaza takes effect after two years of relentless devastation, one truth stands clearer than ever: Israel did not win, and Gaza did not break.

For all the ruin and grief, Israel’s war ended not in victory but in exposure - the exposure of a state that failed militarily, politically, economically and morally. 

What unfolded in Gaza was not a demonstration of strength, but the collapse of legitimacy.

From the outset, Israeli leaders vowed to "eliminate the resistance", "purge Gaza", and "restore deterrence". Yet, none of those objectives has been realised. The resistance remains standing; its leadership has survived; and its networks continue to function. 

Despite the siege, bombardment and destruction, Gaza’s defenders remained organised and unbroken. The Israeli army, once mythologised as "invincible", emerged battered, demoralised and stripped of its aura of superiority. 

What Israel succeeded in doing was killing tens of thousands of civilians, annihilating neighbourhoods, and committing atrocities that the United Nations itself described as acts that amount to genocide.

A pariah state

Beyond the battlefield, Israel’s decline is even clearer. Economically, the war has been catastrophic. The direct cost is estimated at tens of billions of dollars, while tourism and foreign investment have collapsed. 

Many global companies - from airlines to technology firms - have cut or frozen their dealings with Israel.

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The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has recorded its worst performance in two decades. Inside the country, deep social fissures have widened between the religious and the secular, the far right and what remains of the centre, settlers and soldiers.

Fear and mistrust now shape daily life, and emigration to Europe and North America has quietly surged.

Politically, Israel stands more isolated than at any point in its modern history. Western parliaments have condemned its actions, and political parties that once defended it are now calling for sanctions. 

Across Latin America, Africa and Asia, governments have expelled ambassadors or suspended relations altogether. Even within the United States - Israel’s closest ally - public support has fallen to record lows. 

Protests on university campuses, statements from trade unions and dissent within Jewish communities have made it clear that unconditional backing for Israel is no longer sustainable. 

The image of Israel as a "beacon of democracy" has given way to the reality of a pariah state, now under investigation by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide.

Triumph of Palestinian narrative

Meanwhile, Gaza - the territory Israel vowed to erase - still stands. It did not win in the conventional military sense, but it triumphed through endurance.

Air strikes could not crush its spirit, nor could siege extinguish its humanity. 

From beneath the rubble, life continues to re-emerge: parents who bury their children return to rebuild; teachers open makeshift classrooms in tents; children study by candlelight. 

Gaza bleeds, but it refuses to bow. Its people carry on not out of defiance alone, but out of an unyielding belief that dignity is non-negotiable.

This war has also reshaped global consciousness. For the first time in decades, the Palestinian narrative has overtaken Israel’s in the international arena. 

The machinery of Israeli propaganda, once able to dictate western perception, has faltered in the face of overwhelming evidence. The world has seen, in real time, the killing of families, the destruction of hospitals, and the deliberate starvation of civilians. 

No amount of public relations could conceal that. From New York to London, Paris to Johannesburg, millions have taken to the streets demanding justice for Palestine. University encampments, once unthinkable in the West, have become enduring symbols of moral resistance.

Moral standing lost

Ironically, the war Israel launched to restore its deterrence has shattered its image. It has emerged not as a regional power to be feared, but as a morally bankrupt state sustained by impunity. 

Israel today is not merely a state that failed to achieve its military aims; it is a project in deep crisis -  politically, socially and economically

The resistance it sought to erase has instead become a universal emblem of persistence and faith. Gaza, far from being broken, has redefined the meaning of resilience itself. 

Israel today is not merely a state that failed to achieve its military aims; it is a project in deep crisis -  politically, socially and economically. 

A state haunted by fear, judged by the world and increasingly alienated even from its own supporters. It has lost something far greater than soldiers or weapons: it has lost its moral standing, its narrative control and its sense of purpose. 

Gaza, by contrast, has lost its buildings, but not its soul.

It remains what it has long been - a wound that exposes hypocrisy, a symbol that redefines steadfastness. It did not win because the world abandoned it, but it did not break because its faith in justice is stronger than destruction. 

In Gaza, victory is not measured by rockets fired but by the mothers who rise from the ruins, the children who keep learning in the dark, and the people who still believe that what is bombed cannot be erased, and what is besieged cannot die.

Israel did not win because it has lost its humanity. Gaza did not break because it still clings to the root of life itself. The war may be over, but the greater struggle - the struggle for conscience, truth and justice - has only just begun. 

In that moral reckoning, Gaza has already prevailed.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.