US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg attend the Turkey-US-Ukraine trilateral talks in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2025. Photo: Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

In recent months, we’ve seen a growing chorus of voices, particularly in Western media, comparing Israel’s war against Hamas with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These comparisons are not only inaccurate — but dangerously misleading.

The situations in Gaza and Ukraine differ in history, context, goals, and legitimacy. It’s time to stop equating these two wars. They are simply nothing alike.

Let’s start with the facts: Israel is a legitimate, sovereign nation, just like Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, countries that were created after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In 1947, the UN proposed a two-state solution. 77% of the land was allocated to the Arabs, and 23% to the Jews. The Jews accepted. Five Arab countries and the Arab population went to war to annihilate the newly-formed Jewish state and murder its residents.

Israel was reborn in 1948 and chose democracy, rule of law, and open society as its foundation.

Fast forward to October 7, 2023 — a day that will live in infamy for Israelis. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered, thousands more were assaulted, shot, and raped, and more than 250 people were kidnapped into Gaza. It was not just a terrorist attack — it was an invasion and an act of war.

No country on earth — not one — would allow such a massacre without a military response. And yet, Israel is the one being questioned.

In fact, Israel was invaded by Hamas just as Ukraine was invaded by Russia. The only difference is that Israel had the military strength to fight off the invasion, whereas Ukraine did not.

The Gaza war was never about territory. It is a war of self-defense, a war against terrorism that targets civilians. The war could end tomorrow, if Hamas would surrender, return the hostages, and disarm. But they refuse. Their goal is not peace, but Israel’s destruction. The Hamas Charter makes this crystal clear.

Now compare that to Ukraine and Russia. That war is about power, borders, and geopolitics. If Israel is comparable to any side, it is Ukraine.

Russia wants to wipe Ukraine off the map, just like Hamas does. Ukraine, on the other hand, is willing to live in peace with Russia. Putin is targeting Ukrainian civilians with indiscriminate rocket attacks — just like Hamas does. Ukraine, like Israel, is focusing on military targets.

Ukraine fights for sovereignty; Russia fights to reassert empire. While civilians suffer on both sides, it is still a conflict between two state actors. Israel’s war is not like that. Israel does not seek to occupy Gaza, nor to eliminate the Palestinian people. It seeks to dismantle a terrorist regime embedded in civilian infrastructure, using its own people as human shields.

To equate Israel’s war with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is to misunderstand both conflicts. Israel is not fighting for conquest; it is fighting for its very existence — and so is Ukraine.

Sabine Sterk is the CEO of Time To Stand Up For Israel