There was a world before 7 October, 2023, and now there is a world after. For Gaza, for Israel, for the wider Middle East, and for everyone else too. Not all hinge points in history(历史转折点) are obvious at the time. Three years on from the day it began, and precisely one year since a supposed ceasefire was agreed, this one is now impossible to ignore.(这场战争爆发三年之后，又恰逢所谓停火协议达成一周年，这个转折点如今已无法被忽视。)
2023年10月7日之前是一个世界，之后是另一个世界。对加沙如此，对以色列如此，对整个中东如此，对所有人也都是如此。历史上并非每一个转折点在当时都显而易见。但这场战争爆发三年之后，又恰逢所谓停火协议达成一周年，这个转折点如今已无法被忽视。
The before-and-after pictures(前后对比照片) tell part of the story. An update to Google Maps, released last week, underscore(凸显、强调)s just what three years of relentless(不间断的、无情的) Israeli military onslaught(猛攻、猛烈攻击) has done to Gaza. Satellite images show how entire towns have been reduced to rubble(化为瓦砾). Mosques and hospitals, visible three years ago, have now disappeared. Meanwhile the once-empty shoreline(海岸线) is now crammed(挤满的) with tents. This is what it looks like when an attempt has been made to destroy a people.(当有人试图毁灭一个民族时，景象就是如此。)
前后对比的照片只讲出了故事的一部分。上周发布的谷歌地图更新，凸显了以色列三年不间断的军事猛攻给加沙带来了什么。卫星图像显示，整座整座的城镇已化为瓦砾。三年前还清晰可见的清真寺和医院，如今已消失不见。与此同时，曾经空无一人的海岸线，现在挤满了帐篷。当有人试图毁灭一个民族时，景象就是如此。
For Israel, too, there has been a before and after. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had cultivated(营造、培养) a sense of security, even of impregnability(坚不可摧). The ease with which Hamas carried out its terrorist attack, killing 1,200 Israelis, including hundreds of young people at a music festival, destroyed that belief for ever.(哈马斯轻易发动的那场恐怖袭击——造成1200名以色列人死亡，其中包括数百名在音乐节上的年轻人——永远摧毁了这种信念。)
以色列同样也有前后之分。总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡曾精心营造出一种安全感，甚至是一种坚不可摧的形象。而哈马斯轻易发动的那场恐怖袭击——造成1200名以色列人死亡，其中包括数百名在音乐节上的年轻人——永远摧毁了这种信念。