Yedioth Ahronoth: A global shock after the broadcast of footage documenting massive destruction in the Gaza Strip

Israeli political analyst Itamar Eichner warned that the coming days will witness a global wave of footage documenting the massive destruction in the Gaza Strip, which will dominate the international media landscape for a long time.

In an article published in Yedioth Ahronoth, Eichner explained that international media outlets, which will be allowed into Gaza after a ban of more than two years, will be warmly received by Gazans, who will share their painful human stories, accompanied by an image that reminds the world of the devastation of Hiroshima caused by the US atomic bomb in 1945.

However, he pointed out a fundamental difference between the two cases: in today’s age of social media, these images won’t remain confined to archives, but will be powerfully launched across digital platforms, causing an unprecedented global shock.

In his analysis of Israel’s future on the international stage after the war ends, Eichner presented two possible scenarios: the first is the optimistic one, which assumes that implementing the first phase of the agreement, including the release of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of the Israeli army to an agreed-upon line, will calm global anger and open the door to Israel’s gradual return to the enlightened world, with calls for boycotts and sanctions receding.

The second scenario, which he described as most likely, sees Israel suffering for years from severe political and diplomatic repercussions that could have been avoided had the crisis been handled effectively.

In this scenario, calls to isolate Israel in sports, culture, and science will continue, and anti-Semitism won’t abate, but will remain closely linked to the hatred of Israel that exploded after October 7.

Eichner warned that Israel’s opponents will continue to portray it as the world’s new leper, with financial and political support from countries like China, Iran, Russia, and Qatar, who believe that the real battle today is being fought in the arena of consciousness, not on the battlefield.

However, Eichner believes that the reality will be a combination of the two scenarios: Israel will continue to struggle for its international legitimacy, as it did before October 7, and even more determinedly after “Hard Saturday”.

The difference now, according to his analysis, is the presence of hope within the international community, led by the United States, that the Middle East will witness a transformation from war to cooperation, and from destruction to construction.

Eichner concluded with a stark warning: “There will only be one catastrophic scenario for Israel: a return to fighting… And the world won’t forgive us for that, regardless of who bears responsibility for its recurrence”.