Looking for meaning in the rubble of Al-Tabi’in School in Gaza

Like Haniyeh, Shukr was targeted by a drone while in an apartment. Shukr was killed in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in a property where he was not publicly known to reside. It is intended to send a clear message to other Hezbollah officials: none of you are safe, we can eliminate any of you.

Killing civilians

By contrast, the victims of Israel's bombing of Al-Tabi'in School—along with the other civilians who die daily in Gaza and Lebanon—are simply classified as "collateral damage," their lives seemingly devoid of value.

Israel seeks revenge after more than 1,200 Israelis were killed on 7 October 2023 and more than 200 others were taken into Gaza as hostages. That is the rationale it applies to its actions.

A similar rationale was applied when Israelis assassinated Shukr, who they held accountable for the rocket fired at a football pitch in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan, killing 12 children.

So, what is the true essence of this conflict? For whom, or for what, is the fighting truly taking place? Is it to restore the rights of the Palestinian people? If so, what of the rights of those killed performing dawn prayers at Al-Tabi'in School?

Beyond revenge, is this, in fact, a war of attrition between Iran and Israel, centred on restoring deterrence, military initiative, and a balance of terror? Or a combination?

Rights and revenge

Occam's Razor is a theory that dates back 700 years, to a friar named William of Ockham in the 14th century, who said that if there are two competing ideas to explain something, always opt for the simplest.

Based on Occam's Razor, the core of the conflict lies in the rights of the Palestinian people that have been stripped away.

This includes their right not to be killed while praying, their right to medical care, to food and clean water, before we even get to all the freedoms guaranteed by international treaties governing human rights.

The path to a solution in Palestine lies in the restoration of these rights. Yet that is precisely what feels so elusive. This explains why so much blood could have been shed, why such heavy prices have been paid.

There is fault on both sides. When asked why shelters had not been built for Gazans to protect them from Israeli bombardment, a Hamas official once said this was the responsibility of the United Nations, not Hamas.

What is a life worth? It depends if these are the lives of fighters, military figures, and political officials, or simply 40,000 civilians who continue to pay for unjustified decisions of their rulers.

To work out what it has all been for, one must first work out where the true meaning of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians lies.