"The Israeli army is occupying Gaza City, and our fight is more urgent than ever"

Standing Together writes to supporters.

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We are angry and heartbroken this week following the Israeli army’s brutal strikes on Gaza City ahead of a full-on occupation of the city. On Monday night, blasts shook apartments as far as Tel Aviv, reminding everyone of what our government is causing just next door: dozens of Palestinians killed every day in bombings, a mass expulsion of people who have nowhere safe to go, and the abandonment of 48 hostages. We’re heartbroken again and again seeing videos on our feeds of more suffering: a father screaming over the body of his young daughter, children running for cover as buildings go up in smoke.

But it’s exactly in moments like these – when the horrors threaten to overwhelm us – that we have to continue to organize and act to change this reality. We simply cannot afford to despair now. Yesterday we staged a die-in at the Israeli army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, with hundreds of activists covered in red paint lying along the steps of the building to say no to this terrifying occupation that has led – and will lead – to more suffering and death!

This scene, of bodies on the street, of mass killing, is what Palestinians are experiencing right now, and it’s what our messianic government is promising more of. They know that top army brass have repeatedly warned there is no real military goal that can be achieved through this occupation, and hostage families know that it will only bring disaster for their loved ones in captivity.

Last week, we called on every single soldier and reservist to refuse the order to occupy Gaza – because it is possible to end the horrors in Gaza, it is possible to stop our extremist government, it is possible to choose a path of freedom, prosperity, and safety for all of us, Palestinians and Jews. But all of us must join the fight.

Right now, it’s critical that every single person in our society refuses our government’s death and destruction. There isn't a single moment to waste. All of us must do everything in our power to stop this catastrophe, because this is how we win.

Posted 17 September 2025