Italian
Two years after that October 7th that shook the Middle East and the entire world, the wound remains open. The terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel was not just a military or political event, but a deep moral fracture that unleashed an endless spiral of violence.
ISRAEL – October 7, 2023, marked a turning point in the history of the Middle East. On that day, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a brutal attack against the Israeli population, causing the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and taking numerous hostages, some of whom remain in the hands of the terrorists. The images from that morning—the massacred civilians, the kidnapped children, the unjustifiable brutality—left an indelible mark. Yet what followed was no less atrocious: a conflict that engulfed an entire population, turning Gaza into a place where life is suspended, where hunger and destruction have replaced hope.
The legitimate defense of a state cannot become a license for annihilation. Proportionality is not a mere legal detail but the measure of civilization. When people are reduced to “collateral victims”—as Cardinal Parolin stated in a recent interview—the very language betrays reality: these are not numbers but lives, names, stories.
The Conflict
October 7, 2023, split the history of the Middle East into before and after. Hamas’s attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza triggered a spiral of events that transformed a local conflict into a regional war. Over two years, the fire spread to Lebanon with Hezbollah, to Yemen with the Houthis, and to Syria. A decisive turning point was the shift from indirect to direct confrontation between Israel and Iran. At the same time, Israel’s international political capital significantly diminished due to the high human cost of the Gaza offensive.
Today, Israeli hostages remain trapped in Gaza’s tunnels. Palestinian civilians, caught between hunger, bombings, and forced displacement, are also hostages of a logic that regards them as expendable. Both peoples—Israeli and Palestinian—are prisoners of the same inhumanity.
As the conflict rages on, a resurgence of old and new antisemitism grows worldwide, fueled by simplifications and blind rage that fail to distinguish politics from identity. Meanwhile, Palestinians suffer under opposing stereotypes. This is the logic of mutual hatred that feeds itself.
The Call for Justice and Diplomacy (Opus Iustitiae Pax)
Peace is not a utopia but an act of political and moral courage. It means saying no to the logic of annihilation. The two-state solution remains the only rational path: two peoples, two states, two rights to live in security.
To achieve this goal, diplomacy is the only way. The diplomacy of States, the only one capable of bringing about the long-awaited day of peace, has the duty to persist in this work of justice—the only path to lasting serenity. Not by chance, the guiding principle remains: Opus iustitiae pax (peace is the work of justice).
This diplomatic effort requires absolute unity of purpose among States, political parties, and national and supranational institutions. Only a united front can guarantee the hoped-for outcome. It is also crucial to prevent the Middle East war from becoming merely an internal source of contention in the streets or political debates. The desire for peace, shared by all honest citizens, must never degenerate into violence, insults, or divisive rhetoric that ultimately obstructs any progress toward a durable solution.
It is essential that new generations be given the tools to understand the historical reasons behind the situation and be wisely guided in analyzing the present. Young people must not become victims of a system that exploits their enthusiasm and natural desire for justice to fuel violence and unjust causes.
Finally, reconciliation cannot be founded on denying historical facts or suffering. It is a moral imperative to express solidarity with the victims of the October 7, 2023 violence, such as Jewish women whose reality has sometimes been denied. The political class must firmly condemn statements that harm human dignity because true peace can only be built on mutual acceptance and respect.
Italy’s Position and the Glimmer of Peace
For some time, the Italian government has reiterated the need to support every initiative aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip and securing the release of hostages still held by Hamas. The humanitarian situation remains dire: the civilian population is exhausted after months of bombings.
The proposal put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump has been welcomed in Italy as a concrete opportunity to reach a stable ceasefire, the immediate release of hostages, and safe, continuous access to humanitarian aid. The American plan, structured in twenty points and already approved by Israel, calls for a cessation of hostilities, the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the total disarmament of Hamas, and the establishment of a transitional government under international supervision.
Italy has responded positively, calling the plan “a potential turning point” and reaffirming its willingness to collaborate with the United States, European partners, and countries in the region. Rome also recalls its diplomatic tradition of supporting the “two-state” process, while maintaining a cautious mediating role.
As the government has reiterated, “Ending hostilities is essential to address the terrible humanitarian crisis affecting the civilian population of…” The government’s support balances delicately between backing a peace initiative and responding to domestic public pressure demanding firmness on humanitarian issues.
Despite uncertainties, Italy urges all parties to seize this opportunity. If implemented with transparency and genuine will, the plan could open the way to a just and lasting peace.
Two years later, the question remains the same: how much longer must the carnage continue before someone truly says enough? To be reborn today means recovering the ability to be outraged, to discern, and to act.
