A cost we are paying with lives.

The desert wind gives no warning. It arrives suddenly, dry, suffocating, reminding us that time waits for no one. Out there, amid the dust and the war, are our brothers, forgotten in some dark place, waiting for an answer that never comes. Hostages. Hostages not just to their captors, but to our inaction, to our choice to look away while the government hesitates. And we, what do we do? We remain silent, as if that silence could somehow calm the storm.

Netanyahu speaks of rebirth, but how can there be rebirth when lives are trapped in limbo? When lives are suspended between fear and oblivion? The government pushes decisions forward, sweeping the problem under the rug, hoping it will disappear. But we, each of us, do the same. It’s not only Netanyahu hiding behind hesitation. We chose him, we allowed him to take command. We chose the comfort of inertia, hoping the tragedy would solve itself. And deep down, it hurts. It hurts to know that our inaction is also a choice. It hurts because we know we are failing them—those who now live in fear, in the hands of those who show no mercy.

And what remains? Silence. A silence that weighs heavier than the sound of missiles crossing the sky. This deafening silence is our response—or rather, our lack of response. As we hesitate, life is being swallowed whole. And time does not wait. Every second we let pass is a sentence for those still out there. Life slips away as we wait, and we, complicit in this abandonment, continue pretending not to see.

The real question is not what will be done, but what we are failing to do. What we choose not to confront is just as powerful as any action taken. Our inaction is a form of cruelty disguised as prudence. And when the calm comes—because somehow it always does—what will remain is the bitter taste of something essential that was lost. Something we will never get back: the chance to save lives that were lost while we hesitated.

And so we continue. Not just by what we accomplish, but by what we let slip away. It’s not just Netanyahu who hesitates. We are the ones who left him there, at the very moment we needed someone to act. And now, while lives are at risk, we, in silence, keep choosing to do nothing. Because inaction is also a choice. And it comes at a high cost. A cost we are paying with lives.