Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal neighborhood in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Photo courtesy of Wafa via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel declared war on Hamas following an attack by the militant group.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, on Oct. 7 Hamas “fired more than 2,000 [rockets] at Israel” and militants breached the Israeli border.
Israel is reporting that at least 199 people were kidnapped and more than 1,400 people were killed – children, women and civilians included — according to the New York Times.
It was the bloodiest day in Israel’s history according to The Economist, which reported that “More Jews were killed on October 7th than on any day since the Holocaust.”
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “Hamas is an Islamist militant movement” that governs Gaza – a small Palestinian territory to Israel’s southwest. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by many countries, the United States included.
Israel’s response to the attack has been intense and largely focused on Gaza.
CNN reports that between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12, Israel dropped more than 6,000 bombs on Gaza. The toll on civilian life and property in Gaza has been extensive.
The Gaza Health Ministry is reporting that Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 2,750 Palestinians since the war began.
According to NPR, “the Palestinian minister of health says a third of all those killed [in Gaza] since the beginning of this war have been children.”
At the time of publication, Israel is amassing soldiers, weaponry and armored vehicles along its border with Gaza, according to multiple media outlets, and it appears that Israel is preparing to invade Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
In an Oct. 13 speech reported by Reuters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowed to wipe Hamas “off the face of the earth.”
In an interview with The Northern Light, political science professor Kimberly Pace said that it’s important to remember “that there are real lives involved here on both sides … there are good people in Israel and there are good people in Palestine.”
Pace said that the Palestinian territories and Israel have seen disputes since the inception of Israel following the Second World War. Before modern Israel, the area was known as Palestine and had a long history “going back hundreds and hundreds of years of Jewish people in that area, so the decision was made to make that the state of Israel,” said Pace.
She explained that “Palestinians were living there for centuries” as well. The partitioning of the land was the “impetus” for what is currently happening, said Pace.
“On and off there have been skirmishes and conflicts and wars … pretty much ever since.”
Pace said that better technology such as drones and satellites have brought the current conflict closer to the limelight.
“We’re seeing a lot more images now, in real-time than we ever did before.”
She also said that weapons “have drastically … gotten more efficient. And so, we see just utter devastation of cities, communities and villages.”
Pace also said that the conflict is not fully limited to just Israel and Hamas. “Iran is a … supporter of Hamas. And what the United States doesn’t want to see is Iran get more involved.”
Iran also “has close ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon,” said Pace.
The Israeli military has clashed with Hezbollah militants in limited skirmishes over recent days, according to CNN and the Associated Press.
According to ABC:
“Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday [Oct. 15] that the group is ready for all possibilities” and that “Hezbollah’s next step ‘is tied to what is going on in Gaza.’”
Pace mentioned that the United States sent “an aircraft carrier to the region” as a “show of strength.”
According to The Associated Press, Israel has ordered an estimated 1.1 million people to evacuate northern Gaza.
Israeli Defense Forces dropped leaflets from the air displaying evacuation information, warning Palestinians to leave northern Gaza before the Israeli offensive.
Palestinians heeding the evacuation order have only one option: head south. All entry and exit points have been sealed off or destroyed in the recent fighting. The Associated Press reports that aid intended for Palestinians is stuck in Egypt where trucks at the border of Gaza are not currently able to enter the territory.
According to Reuters, Israel’s “total siege” of Gaza has resulted in the complete cutoff of all food, water and fuel to the territory and the only power plant within has been shut off.
At the time of publication, Axios is reporting that water supply to the southern Gaza has been resumed.
On Oct. 14, an official press release from the Israeli Defense Forces stated:
“With the support of an extensive logistical effort and hundreds of thousands of drafted reservists, IDF forces are currently preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans, which can include combined and coordinated strikes from the air, sea and land.”
The Israeli Defense Forces plan to “dismantle Hamas and ensure that the threat does not repeat itself,” according to the organization’s official website.
Al Jazeera reports that streetlights have been switched off on roads that straddle the border and that signposts are being covered up. Al Jazeera reporters on the ground have also taken note that “GPS systems often stop working” near the border.
President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials have reiterated that the United States stands by Israel. In response to the Hamas terror attack, Biden said in an Oct. 10 speech that, “Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond – indeed has a duty to respond – to these vicious attacks.”
NBC reported on Oct. 16 that 2,000 U.S. troops were ordered to be ready to deploy “for possible support to Israel.”
Biden is expected to visit Israel on Oct. 18 to “reaffirm solidarity with Israel,” according to Reuters.
Pace said, “Solve Israel-Palestine … If you can solve this, I firmly believe that … our world becomes a more peaceful place.”
“Presidents of the United States have been struggling with this for decades. World leaders have been struggling with this for decades. And this [the current conflict] is not making it any easier.”
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