The horrors of 7 October burst the bubble for progressives who had marched for democracy at home but sidelined the Palestinian issue

• Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of Haaretz

I live in central Tel Aviv, and walking around my neighbourhood I see packed cafes, restaurants and wine bars. Israel’s longest and toughest war is being fought several dozens of miles away, but our “non-stop city” has not altered its lifestyle. Last Tuesday at dusk, as news reports warned of the coming Iranian missile attack, the beach was full of surfers. But partying cannot hide the war from our minds. It is present everywhere in fading pictures of the Israeli hostages left behind in Hamas dungeons.

On the lamp post down the street, I look at the image of Eden Yerushalmi, a 24-year-old Tel Avivian kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival on the fateful 7 October. Her pictures are all over town, featuring her last words: “You will find me, right?” But we didn’t. Starved and tortured, Yerushalmi was murdered by her captors, with five other hostages, in late August in a tunnel in Rafah. Their horrible death was a stark reminder of Israel’s worst ever, continuing defeat.

Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of Haaretz