Every War Gave Birth to Another

Amid this frenzied rush toward war, no one seems to know anymore where the front line is—or how many fronts there are—or why they erupted and continue to threaten further escalation. Is all this fire, these missiles, ashes, and death really for the sake of the Republican Party or Likud?

Since October 7, the land has been burning, exploding, and being rendered barren, so that it may never bear fruit again. Cities have become graveyards, scenes of famine, and mountains of rubble. But where is the war?

The German magazine Der Spiegel reports that 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza, with an equal number wounded. It attributes to Israeli soldiers the claim that their orders were clear and brief: Kill everyone you see.

Yet the war has neither ended in Gaza nor has a ceasefire begun anywhere else. Quite the opposite. A major war erupted in southern Lebanon, driving its inhabitants from their homes, destroying its villages, leaving them vulnerable to occupation, and paving the way for—or already beginning—the establishment of security strips or buffer zones reminiscent of the era of Saad Haddad. No one knows how long they will remain.

On the other side of the battlefield lies the “great war”: President Donald Trump’s confrontation with the columns of Persepolis. One day, it seems they are about to collapse entirely, bringing everything down with them; the next, it appears the confrontation is merely an opportunity to showcase the art of warfare and military maneuvers.

Amid this overwhelming uncertainty, the world has become crowded with fortune-tellers and horoscope readers. Escalation or de-escalation? The soothsayers are working tirelessly to find an answer, yet even the man at the center of it all seems unsure of what he holds in his hands.