Gaza Herald_ Israel’s war on Gaza has not ended with the withdrawal of its tanks or the silence of its warplanes. The devastation left behind tells its own story , tens of thousands killed, entire neighborhoods leveled, and nearly two million Palestinians forced from their homes. Yet the most dangerous phase may only be beginning. Israel appears to be reshaping its war into a new form , one that no longer requires its direct military presence but continues to break Gaza from within.
Militias in the Rubble
As Gaza’s cities lie in ruins, a darker force has begun to rise. Armed groups have taken advantage of the power vacuum and deepening despair, using people’s suffering to build their own influence. Once speaking in the language of resistance, many of these groups now turn their weapons inward, exploiting the chaos to assert control over neighborhoods and streets. Gaza, which once lived under siege yet remained socially secure, is now haunted by a new fear, not only of Israeli attacks, but of armed men among its own.
The Killing of a Journalist
The recent killing of journalist Saleh Al-Jafarawi in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood marks a chilling sign of this transformation. The 28-year-old reporter, long known for documenting Israeli atrocities and defying repeated threats, was shot dead days after the ceasefire , not by an Israeli drone or sniper, but by Palestinian gunmen. His murder revealed the new phase of Israel’s war: one waged through division, internal violence, and mistrust. The occupation no longer needs to fire every bullet itself; it has planted enough seeds of chaos to make others pull the trigger.
Divide and Rule, Reimagined
This approach follows an old colonial logic , divide and rule. A fractured society cannot resist. By encouraging or enabling internal violence, Israel weakens Palestinian unity while relieving itself of the cost and scrutiny of direct military action. The result is a Gaza that continues to bleed , not from Israeli bombs this time, but from within.
Collaborators in Disguise
The militias now spreading fear across Gaza do not defend its people; they serve the occupier’s strategy under another name. Empowered during the war to act where Israel could not act openly, these factions carry out the work of fragmentation. Yet Israel’s history with collaborators is brutally consistent: once used, they are discarded. Those who turn their guns on their own will find themselves without protection, without honor, and without a people to return to.
The Price of Lost Clarity
For Palestinians, this descent into chaos is catastrophic. True liberation cannot grow in soil watered by fear. The Palestinian struggle has always been rooted in justice, dignity, and freedom , values incompatible with rule by militias. When resistance becomes indistinguishable from oppression, it loses its legitimacy. From Lebanon to Iraq, history has shown how external powers use militias to splinter nations and bury liberation under factional greed. Gaza cannot afford that fate.
An Urgent Call for Unity
If Gaza is to survive, Palestinians must refuse to allow armed factions to define their future. The struggle must return to its moral foundation , the collective will of a people who resist occupation together. This means rejecting the politics of fear, refusing to normalize chaos, and demanding leadership that places unity above factional gain. Occupation destroys not only through bombs and blockades, but by tearing apart a people’s social fabric , turning their streets into battlefields and their homes into prisons.
Strength in Defiance
The people of Gaza have already proven extraordinary resilience. They have endured siege, displacement, and unimaginable loss. They should not now face the humiliation of being ruled by the same kind of fear their occupier designed. The strength of the Palestinian struggle has always come from moral clarity , from knowing what it means to be just even in suffering. That clarity must not be lost to those who mistake domination for freedom.
Israel’s Proxy War
Israel may imagine it can continue its war by proxy , letting Gazans fight each other while it stands back. But Palestinians still have a choice. They can reject the path of militias and remind the world that their cause is greater than any faction, stronger than any weapon. The real danger now is not only in the skies but in the erosion of the Palestinian soul , the fading of the belief that liberation belongs to everyone and that freedom must never come at the cost of dignity.
