Israel says it’s made a significant dent.

The US says it’s made it’s point.

Iran, not to be left out, declares a glorious victory.

It’s the kind of global group project where everyone insists they did all the work. And what did they all do, exactly? Slap each other?

Yes, slap. Not punch. Not kick. Just slap.

You know, that noisy, open-palmed gesture that looks aggressive but doesn’t quite knock your opponent out. The international equivalent of saying, “Take that!” while hoping it doesn’t escalate into something that requires a hospital visit… or worse, a full-blown war.

“We made our point,” says one side. “We retaliated,” says the other. “We retaliated to the retaliation,” says the third, and before you know it, it’s a grand, global slapping contest. And I imagine all the world leaders, in a line like schoolboys outside the principal’s office, comparing who gave the loudest slap.

But here’s what is not told:

While they slap each other with their high-sounding warnings and surgical strikes and controlled escalations — down below, far below their underground bunkers, people bleed. People die. Children grow up without parents. Grandparents lose homes. Dogs whimper in the rubble. And somewhere in a dusty classroom that no longer has a roof, a little girl wonders what she did to deserve this sudden symphony of slaps raining down on her life.

Because unlike the slap of a politician — which is mostly for effect, or headlines, or domestic approval ratings — the slap that reaches the ground isn’t metaphorical. It’s literal. It shatters buildings, burns fields, and breaks families.

What’s even more tragic is how practiced this performance has become. The choreography is precise: Slap. Deny. Condemn. Slap back. Issue statement. Threaten. Repeat. It’s almost theatrical, except the props are real missiles and the audience has nowhere to run.

And I wonder, when did shaking hands become so unfashionable? When did diplomacy become dull? Maybe it’s because shaking hands doesn’t go viral on social media. A handshake won’t be retweeted like a dramatic video of something going boom in the night sky. It won’t fetch votes. It won’t silence the opposition. It won’t make your supporters beat their chests.

But it will save lives.

Imagine a world where instead of asking, “How hard did we hit them?” leaders ask, “How far did we reach across the table?” Where power isn’t measured in decibels or debris but in dialogues and de-escalations. A world where global problems aren’t solved with a slap, but with an outstretched hand.

Because slaps may be funny at the top —but down below, the echoes are deadly.

Down below, people don’t see strategy. They see suffering.

So dear leaders of the world, next time your hand rises, ask yourself: Is it to slap… or to shake?

And if it’s the latter, thank you. Ordinary people like you and me will finally get some sleep…!

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