The War of Narratives: The Clash Between the Discourses of Defense and Aggression in Gaza

 The Al-Aqsa Flood operation (October 7, 2023) marked a major turning point in the long-standing conflict between the Palestinian resistance movement and the Zionist occupying regime, ushering the Arab-Israeli military confrontation into a new phase. One of the most significant outcomes of Al-Aqsa Flood was the opening of a new front in the soft war, alongside the ongoing military conflict. This paper addresses the nature and grounds of the war of narratives and the confrontation between the discourses of defense and aggression in Gaza—a major regional and international issue with far-reaching consequences. Pursuing a policy of widespread repression and mass killings, Israel seeks to eliminate the narrative of defense and resistance forever. However, contrary to the Zionist regime’s aspirations, the opening of the soft war front and the clash between the two narratives has posed a serious challenge to Israel. The primary question of this study is: In the war of narratives over Gaza, which of the two discourses—resistance or occupation—has gained the upper hand? This paper addresses the question by employing discourse theory and method. According to discourse theory, opposing discourses—aggression and defense—strive to highlight their own identity markers while presenting a negative portrait of the rival discourse, seeking to dominate the narrative space and marginalize their opponent. In the war of narratives, the Israeli regime attempts to portray itself as defensive while labeling the opposing discourse with the central signifier of terrorism. In contrast, the resistance movement endeavors to highlight the Zionist regime’s longstanding record of occupation, mass killings, and systematic aggression against the people of Gaza, projecting an image of the regime as terrorist, occupying, and aggressive. The findings of this study, based on discourse theory and method, indicate that Israel has suffered defeat in the war of narratives, while the discourse of defense and resistance has gained ascendency. The soft war and the confrontation of narratives in Gaza, amplified by media coverage and the exposure of widespread killings, have laid the groundwork for the hegemonization of the resistance discourse. Among the major outcomes of the war of narratives are the consolidation of the resistance identity on the global stage, the growing delegitimization of the Zionist regime, the marginalization of the discourse of compromise, the surge of public outrage against the discourse of aggression, and the exposure of the deceptive nature of American human rights narratives. Each of these elements has ultimately contributed to the victory of the resistance discourse and the defeat of the discourse of aggression on both regional and global scales. The transformation of the identity of the Zionist regime as an occupying and aggressive force into a collective perception within the global community, the spread of revulsion against Israel’s repressive policies, and the emergence of a new wave of global public opinion in support of the resistance and against aggression—all illustrate the failure of the occupation discourse and the triumph of the Palestinian defense and resistance narrative. In conclusion, despite Israel’s policy of mass killings in Gaza and Palestine, it has failed to achieve its objectives, and ultimately, in the war of narratives, the defense and resistance discourse has become the dominant public perception worldwide.