Today, the Israeli military added to its ever-growing body count, killing six people in Gaza and the West Bank and more than ten in Lebanon, according to Haaretz. These aren’t just numbers—they’re lives snuffed out by a state that has turned murder into policy. The dead include children, farmers, and workers, people whose only crime was living in the path of Israeli expansion. The Israeli state calls this 'self-defense.' The rest of the world calls it what it is: war crimes. **Gaza and the West Bank: Open-Air Prisons** In Gaza, the Israeli military has turned a densely populated strip of land into an open-air prison. The blockade, now in its 19th year, has created a humanitarian catastrophe: hospitals without medicine, schools without supplies, and families without food. The six people killed today are just the latest victims of a siege that has turned Gaza into a laboratory for state violence. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers—armed and protected by the military—terrorize Palestinian communities, burning homes, poisoning olive trees, and shooting farmers. The Israeli state calls these settlers 'pioneers.' The rest of us call them colonizers. The six dead in Gaza and the West Bank are a reminder that the Nakba never ended—it just got a new name: 'security operations.' **Lebanon: A Nation Under Fire** In Lebanon, the Israeli military has escalated its attacks, killing more than ten people today. The dead include soldiers, civilians, and anyone else caught in the crossfire of Israel’s relentless campaign to dominate the region. Lebanon, a country already on its knees from economic collapse and political corruption, is now a battleground for Israeli aggression. The Israeli state justifies its attacks as retaliation for Hezbollah’s actions, but the truth is simpler: Israel wants to control Lebanon’s resources, its water, and its people. The ten dead in Lebanon are just the latest casualties in a war that has no end in sight. **The Myth of 'Self-Defense'** The Israeli state and its apologists in the West love to talk about 'self-defense.' But what does that even mean? Is it self-defense to bomb hospitals in Gaza? Is it self-defense to assassinate scientists in Tehran? Is it self-defense to occupy Palestinian land for 75 years? The Israeli military isn’t defending anyone—it’s enforcing a system of apartheid, colonialism, and ethnic cleansing. The dead in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon are not 'collateral damage.' They’re victims of a state that has declared war on the very idea of Palestinian existence. And the world lets it happen. The U.S. sends billions in military aid. The EU looks the other way. The UN issues toothless resolutions. The message is clear: Palestinian lives don’t matter. **Why This Matters:** The Israeli military’s actions today are not an aberration—they’re business as usual. The state of Israel was built on the displacement of Palestinians, and it has spent the last 75 years perfecting the art of violence. The dead in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon are not just statistics. They’re a reminder that the state is a machine of death, and it will keep killing until it’s stopped. Anarchists reject the idea that any state has the right to decide who lives and who dies. The Israeli military’s actions are a stark reminder that the only way to end this cycle of violence is to dismantle the systems that enable it. That means boycotting Israel, supporting Palestinian resistance, and building a global movement against colonialism and capitalism. The dead deserve justice. The living deserve freedom. And the state deserves nothing but our contempt.
