JERUSALEM, 20 October (H.S.): On Sunday, the 745th day of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli government officially renamed the conflict The War of Revival, a move proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has drawn significant controversy and criticism.

The cabinet overwhelmingly approved the new name, which replaces Swords of Iron, the designation given by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shortly after the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023.

At the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated the name change signifies Israel's resurgence from the terrible disaster of October 7.

He framed the conflict as a continuation of Israel's War of Independence and indicated that military decorations awarded to soldiers will bear the new official name.The decision, however, has been met with sharp condemnation from political opponents and families of hostages, who view it as a political maneuver by Netanyahu to distance himself from the intelligence and security failures preceding the initial attack.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid lambasted the renaming, asserting, It was, and remains, the October 7 war, and the October 7 government, and the disaster of October 7. All the attempts to erase what happened there won’t succeed.

The vote was not unanimous within the cabinet. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli abstained, arguing the term revival belongs to the state's founding generation, while Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock voted against it, deeming it too early to define the war's outcome.

Critics and hostage families have also voiced their disapproval. Tzur Goldin, whose brother's body has been held by Hamas since 2014, stated that no discussions about the war's name should occur until all hostages are returned.

Jon Polin, father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, questioned the meaning of revival in the context of the ongoing crisis.Despite the official change, many in Israel continue to refer to the conflict as the October 7 war.

The government's move comes as Netanyahu has resisted calls for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar