Has the world had it with Israel?
In Israel, left-wing politician Yair Golan, a retired general, recently stirred controversy when he said in an interview with Israel Radio that 'Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state' and added that 'a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself the aim of expelling populations.'
In the face of intense criticism, he has since walked back those comments.
But while Golan's comments were condemned across the Israeli political spectrum, they 'also sparked a discussion about Israel's conduct and what it is doing and the toll of the war on civilians,' said Tia Goldenberg, a correspondent for the Associated Press in Jerusalem.
In an interview with Vox's Today, Explained, Goldenberg said Golan's comments are indicative of the fact that Israelis are increasingly turning against their country's war in Gaza.
That war began on October 7, 2023, when an attack by Hamas fighters left 1,200 dead and 250 captured. Some of those kidnapped have been returned; others have died. There are 58 hostages remaining in Gaza, of which a third are believed to be alive.
Israel's attacks on Gaza have killed more than 50,000 people and have devastated Gaza, leaving much of it uninhabitable. In recent weeks, it has expanded its military offensive, with increased air strikes and a goal of capturing the entire Gaza Strip and moving the population of Gaza to the south of the territory.
That escalation comes amid a dire hunger crisis. Israel began a total humanitarian aid blockade on March 2 in order to increase pressure on Hamas to return the remaining hostages, leading one critic to accuse the country of using aid as a 'weapon of war' during an April hearing on Israel's war strategy at the International Court of Justice.
'During these few weeks, or nearly three months actually, no aid was being let into Gaza, no food, no medicine, no fuel, and you had a situation where food experts were warning that nearly 1 million Palestinians barely had enough access to food, and nearly half a million Palestinians were at the risk of possible starvation,' Goldenberg said.
The escalating strikes and threat of mass starvation haven't just roiled Israeli politics; they've also drawn worldwide condemnation of Israel and created an unlikely coalition of critics.
MAGA-friendly podcaster and standup comedian Theo Von recently described the ongoing conflict in Gaza as a 'genocide' and 'one of the sickest things that's ever happened.'
Leading children's entertainer and YouTube star Ms. Rachel has used her platform to talk about how the conflict is affecting children in the region.
'It's sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering,' she told Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan. 'I think it should be controversial to not say anything.'
The new pope, Leo XIV, like his predecessor, has appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza, the freeing of the remaining hostages, and called on Israel and Hamas to respect international humanitarian law.
German leaders have made public comments about changing their country's long-running special relationship with Israel, while French President Emmanuel Macron has floated acknowledging Palestine as a state.
Even President Donald Trump, a longtime ally of Israel and of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has started to suggest he's seen enough. 'Israel, we've been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,' he said last weekend.
All of this suggests an inflection point in Israel's long-running war. It has been made possible in part thanks to aid from allies like the US, Germany, and France. If that support were to deteriorate, continuing its operations could become more difficult.
That is not to say the war's end is necessarily near.
Despite the shift in rhetoric, few of Israel's allies have made any material changes to their relationship with the country. Israel's goal of completely destroying Hamas has not changed. It recently killed Mohammed Sinwar, believed to be the head of Hamas's armed wing.
'It's just been an intense, intense conflict. And yet that hasn't dislodged Hamas from its position. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is under a lot of political pressure from his governing coalition to continue the war,' Goldenberg said. 'It's hard to see how the sides reconcile and come to an agreement that ends this war.'
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. State Department on Saturday announced a pause on any visitor visas for individuals from Gaza as the agency conducts a review of the "process and procedures" related to the issuance of a small number of those visas on a "temporary medical-humanitarian" basis. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer claimed on X that the pause was in response to her report that "unvetted Palestinians" were arriving in the United States. However, the State Department did not specify why it had decided to conduct the review. Newsweek reached out to the State Department by submission form outside of normal business hours on Saturday. 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Loomer was present alongside Trump at times during his 2024 campaign, and has been tied to Trump's decision to relieve national security adviser Mike Waltz of his post, even as officials denied she played any factor. What To Know On X on Saturday morning, the State Department wrote: "All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days." Visitor visas have remained a contentious issue for the second Trump administration, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this year announcing plans to more aggressively revoke and scrutinize student visas from China, which would ostensibly be in response to failures by college institutions to crackdown on student demonstrations against Israel. Pauses on visa issuance in narrowly defined circumstances can delay urgent medical travel and complicate humanitarian coordination involving U.S. hospitals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foreign governments. The announcement did not specify how many visas were affected, how long the review would last, whether pending appointments or already-issued visas would be canceled or resumed, or how the State Department would handle urgent medical travel during the review. However, Loomer on X took credit for prompting the review, writing in a post that the department announced its pause "following the release of my reports yesterday exposing flights of GAZANS arriving at airports all across the U.S." In her initial posts on Friday on X, Loomer took aim at the group Heal Palestine, a nonprofit founded in 2024 to "deliver urgent relief and long-term support to Palestinian children and families," according to the group's website. Heal Palestine says on its website that it has evacuated 148 individuals, including 63 children, from Gaza to receive care in the U.S. Loomer questioned how the Palestinians received their visas and further were able to leave Gaza, calling the entire operation a "national security threat" and demanding that whoever "signed off on these visas" should be "fired." Newsweek has also reached out to Heal Palestine by email outside of normal business hours on Saturday. "Who approved the visas? How many more are being given visas to come into the US, and why are [Gavin Newsom] [Greg Abbott] harboring Palestinian 'refugees' in California and Texas?" Loomer asked. She posted several videos of people from Gaza arriving in an airport which she claimed is in the U.S. while comments under the videos said it was in Europe, possibly Belgium. She therefore applauded the State Department's decision to pause its visitor visa program, writing: "This is fantastic news. Thank you @SecRubio for your prompt response to this invasion of our country by NGOS that have been accused of being pro-HAMAS," she wrote. "Hopefully all GAZANS will be added to President Trump's travel ban. There are doctors in other countries. The US is not the world's hospital!" Meanwhile, Representative Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, credited Loomer as the reason for the State Department's decision in a post on X on Saturday morning and wrote: "Massive credit needs to be given to [Laura Loomer] for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura." Loomer responded by thanking the congressman for "speaking out about this and sharing my report." Secretary of State Marco Rubio is seen in Washington, D.C., on August 14. Inset: Displaced Palestinians attempt to fill water containers in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, on August 14. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is seen in Washington, D.C., on August 14. Inset: Displaced Palestinians attempt to fill water containers in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, on August 14. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images // AFP via Getty Images What People Are Saying Right-wing activist Laura Loomer on Saturday wrote on X: "There are doctors in other countries. It's incredible isn't it how Qatar and Saudi Arabia rolled out the camels, Red and purple carpets and the most luxurious gifts and decorations for President Trump and his staff in the Middle East." "If the Arabs have money to get flashy with Trump, they have money to buy some prosthetics for GAZANS or import them to their own hospitals and luxurious towns. They constantly brag about how rich they are. They want to shame the West into accepting more Muslim invaders. They think their bribes and flashy bling will make the West turn a blind eye. The Arabs need to pay up or just put their money where their mouth is and take these GAZANS they want to force on the West." Representative Randy Fine of Florida wrote on X: "BREAKING: [Donald Trump] and [Marco Rubio] have immediately halted visas to Gazans that were being issued by deep state actors while we get to the bottom of how this national security risk was allowed. Massive credit needs to be given to [Laura Loomer] for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura." What Happens Next? The Department's post indicated a review was underway but did not provide a timeline, leaving the duration and operational consequences of the pause uncertain.
