More than 100 days later, where does the war in Gaza stand? 

Over 100 days have passed since Hamas terrorists stormed Israel, killing 1,200 people and provoking a military response by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza that has left enormous death and destruction, along with an ongoing hostage crisis. 

This war is now the deadliest in Israel’s history, with no end in sight — and the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, seems prepared to fight on. 

American Jews, including me, are battling complex emotions, from horror at the Hamas attacks and the unfathomable antisemitism they spawned, to deep sorrow at the unacceptable loss of life in Gaza, where Palestinians, thousands of whom have been killed or displaced, are facing famine in a cold, cruel winter. 

So, where do we go from here? 

Without an internationally mediated settlement, the only immediate answer is to work around the edges of the conflict. How? Start with information. 

One step is to address the imbalances in media coverage of the conflict and the competing narratives that perpetuate division.  

Israeli television is dominated — understandably perhaps — by images and stories of the hostages and about IDF soldiers carrying out a difficult mission. Palestinian media, on the other hand, is consumed by the ongoing destruction in Gaza, reliant on social media for a daily feed of information (or misinformation). Many Palestinian journalists have been killed or have fled the conflict zone, and the only journalists allowed to cover the conflict need Israeli permission to be on the ground. 

Communications and internet service have been down for days in parts of Gaza, adding to the sense of a news blackout. Without any semblance of balanced coverage, divisions will fester, and misinformation will dominate storylines. 

Imagine the pain of a hostage family seeing videos from Hamas showing their loved ones, then getting reports from Palestinian media that the Israeli military targeted a building where the hostages were held — and then getting a call from the IDF saying none of it is true. 

Meanwhile, Western reporters are not able to do much ground coverage from Gaza, and U.S. media is now intensely focused on its own elections, with an American public deeply divided about the war and protests continuing across the country. 

Beyond the information imbalance is a seeming absence of any productive diplomatic policymaking to lower tensions in the region. 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan suggested this week at the World Economic Forum that the administration would like to continue down the path toward normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which was on track before the Oct. 7 attack and which still has traction with the Saudis but depends on the formation of a Palestinian state. 

All the while Gaza is burning, and the U.S. is caught up in responding to attacks in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels controlling Yemen. At the same time, Hezbollah, proxies of Iran, are threatening the northern border of Israel. The entire region is on edge. 

American choices seem bleak. As one expert writes in Foreign Affairs: “The United States’ choice is binary—either try to help create the conditions for a two-state solution or adjust to a post conflict situation that is worse than the status quo ante, resolves no underlying issues, and probably sets up the conditions for another war.” 

With global public opinion growing increasingly negative about the war, there is little hope of building the level of public confidence in the region needed to advance peace. The government of Israel is deeply unpopular in Israel and abroad, and the numbers have gotten worse in these last few months. 

Of particular concern is the view of Israel among young people — a key demographic in the Middle East and everywhere. In a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland, the percentage of those who want the U.S. to take the Palestinians’ side increased from 16.2 percent in October to 23.2 percent in November. 

For a two-state solution to work, young people in the Arab world will have to shift in their views. 

Analysis from the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan congressionally funded think tank in Washington, D.C., reinforces the problem, stating: “The Palestinian cause stands as a cornerstone of high significance to the Arab World. Apart from formal schooling, parents and other community members passionately teach the younger generations about the historical narrative of Israel’s occupation and the Palestinian plight, embedding the weight of Palestinian liberation from occupation and Israeli aggression towards Palestinians in their psyche.” 

At times when governments are unable to provide peaceful solutions, we might turn to organizations and people outside formal channels. We need more faith-based, community action that crosses religious and political lines, and more cultural diplomacy and youth outreach to rebuild trust and pave the way for better relations in this volatile part of the world. 

Tara D. Sonenshine is a senior fellow at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.