Government plan to change name of Gaza war would cost some NIS 2 million — report

The cost of renaming Israel’s two-year war against Hamas and Iranian proxies is estimated to cost NIS 2 million ($605,000), the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The cabinet is set to vote Sunday on a proposal to rename the campaign from “Swords of Iron” to “War of Revival,” at the suggestion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The premier is pushing for the name change due to “the fact that this war marks a milestone for the State of Israel’s revival,” reads the proposal’s explanatory notes, which were sent to cabinet ministers ahead of tomorrow’s discussion.

Netanyahu had already been seeking to change the war’s name two months on, and considered names such as “Genesis War”, “Gaza War” and “Simchat Torah War” alongside the one soon up for a vote, Kan reports.

He first suggested the name “War of Revival” during a cabinet meeting marking the first anniversary of the conflict last year, saying, “This is the war of our existence — the ‘War of Revival.'”

Critics have suggested that the government’s proposed name is part of an attempt to evade responsibility for any failures that occurred ahead of October 7, 2023, and on the day itself.