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Why the War in Gaza and the War in Ukraine Are Nothing Alike
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg attend the Turkey-US-Ukraine trilateral talks in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2025. Photo: Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
In recent months, we’ve seen a growing chorus of voices, particularly in Western media, comparing Israel’s war against Hamas with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These comparisons are not only inaccurate — but dangerously misleading.
The situations in Gaza and Ukraine differ in history, context, goals, and legitimacy. It’s time to stop equating these two wars. They are simply nothing alike.
Let’s start with the facts: Israel is a legitimate, sovereign nation, just like Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, countries that were created after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In 1947, the UN proposed a two-state solution. 77% of the land was allocated to the Arabs, and 23% to the Jews. The Jews accepted. Five Arab countries and the Arab population went to war to annihilate the newly-formed Jewish state and murder its residents.
Israel was reborn in 1948 and chose democracy, rule of law, and open society as its foundation.
Fast forward to October 7, 2023 — a day that will live in infamy for Israelis. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered, thousands more were assaulted, shot, and raped, and more than 250 people were kidnapped into Gaza. It was not just a terrorist attack — it was an invasion and an act of war.
No country on earth — not one — would allow such a massacre without a military response. And yet, Israel is the one being questioned.
In fact, Israel was invaded by Hamas just as Ukraine was invaded by Russia. The only difference is that Israel had the military strength to fight off the invasion, whereas Ukraine did not.
The Gaza war was never about territory. It is a war of self-defense, a war against terrorism that targets civilians. The war could end tomorrow, if Hamas would surrender, return the hostages, and disarm. But they refuse. Their goal is not peace, but Israel’s destruction. The Hamas Charter makes this crystal clear.
Now compare that to Ukraine and Russia. That war is about power, borders, and geopolitics. If Israel is comparable to any side, it is Ukraine.
Russia wants to wipe Ukraine off the map, just like Hamas does. Ukraine, on the other hand, is willing to live in peace with Russia. Putin is targeting Ukrainian civilians with indiscriminate rocket attacks — just like Hamas does. Ukraine, like Israel, is focusing on military targets.
Ukraine fights for sovereignty; Russia fights to reassert empire. While civilians suffer on both sides, it is still a conflict between two state actors. Israel’s war is not like that. Israel does not seek to occupy Gaza, nor to eliminate the Palestinian people. It seeks to dismantle a terrorist regime embedded in civilian infrastructure, using its own people as human shields.
To equate Israel’s war with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is to misunderstand both conflicts. Israel is not fighting for conquest; it is fighting for its very existence — and so is Ukraine.
Sabine Sterk is the CEO of Time To Stand Up For Israel
The post Why the War in Gaza and the War in Ukraine Are Nothing Alike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”