After decades of disputes and conflict in the Middle East, Israel and the Palestine terrorist group Hamas are at war. The conflict began with a series of coordinated attacks, conducted by Hamas, which extended from the Gaza Strip onto bordering areas in Israel. The attack occurred on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
The issues in the Middle East date back centuries but received large amounts of attention in what many historians believe to be the main start of conflict; The Six-Day War which took place in 1967. Israel launched a defensive war against Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. An article from The Guardian explains, “The attack caught Arab governments by surprise and saw Israel achieve rapid victories including seizing the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt (…) Its capture of all of Jerusalem and newly acquired control over the Biblical lands (…) opened the way to the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which became central to the conflict.”
Ever since the Six-Day War Israel has regarded Palestine as under Israeli control. The Israeli government used the Palestinians as a cheap source of manual labor. In 1987, Palestinians revolted against the Israeli government. This was known as the first Intifada and the establishment of Hamas. The Israeli government responded with large-scale arrests and punishments of the Palestinians.
Hamas was originally a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and an Islamist political and social movement originating in Egypt. The National Counterterrorism Guide explains, “The group’s charter calls for establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel and rejects all agreements made between the PLO and Israel.” Since the 1990s Hamas has conducted large-scale attacks, consisting mostly of bombings, and in 2006 won legislative elections in the Palestinian territories, gaining full control. After several suicide bombings in 2008, the US officially named them a terrorist group. Ever since, tensions have been high in the Middle East however the recent attack has prompted a war.
A BBC article breaking down the events explains, “Hundreds of Hamas gunmen crossed from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel by breaking through the heavily-fortified perimeter fence (…) The gunmen killed 1,400 people, most of them civilians, in a series of raids on military posts, kibbutzim and a music festival, and took hostages back into Gaza.” The attack prompted the Israeli government to formally declare war on October 8, 2023. Since the declaration of war, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been left without homes, and clean food and water. Along with hundreds of civilians being taken hostage, the conflict has rapidly escalated into a humanitarian crisis.
Israel appears to be setting up for a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza. The conflict continues as humanitarian aid rapidly pours in from countries around the world.
