Over the past year, a brutal conflict has raged on in Israel and Palestine, which has so far claimed the lives of over 45,000 people. Ceasefire deals from both sides frequently get declined by the other, leading to the war continuing for this long.
On October 18, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was confirmed by Hamas to have been killed by Israeli forces the previous day, increasing the chance of the war coming to a close. Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the killing of Sinwar was “not the end of the war in Gaza,” adding “This war can end tomorrow. It can end if Hamas lays down its arms and returns our hostages.” Sinwar had served as the head of Hamas in Gaza since 2017.
The war has also expanded into Lebanon over the past few months. In September, Israel detonated the Lebanon pager explosions, which targeted Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. Their pagers, which Israel had gotten access to, exploded, causing 42 deaths and over 3,000 injuries in the span of 2 days according to The Guardian. Following this incident, Israel began bombing Lebanon on September 23, and launched an invasion of Lebanon on October 1.
2024 has also seen an escalation between Israel and Iran. On October 1, Iran launched about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, in response to Israel assassinating important Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, which Iran is allied to. The missiles caused up to $53 million in damages to Israeli military bases and homes, according to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper. In response, On October 26, Israel launched 3 waves of missiles at 20 Iranian locations in retaliation. As of November 25, the two nations have stopped firing missiles at one another.
The victory of former U.S. President Donald Trump to lead the nation again may have a big impact on this war. Trump has criticized sitting President Joe Biden for not aiding Israel enough. Specifically, Biden has called for a ceasefire to the conflict, while according to CNN, Trump said that Israel must “finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast, and we have to get on with life.” This implies that Trump believes Israel should continue its effort to destroy Hamas, but ramp up the speed at which they do so, so that the war can end sooner.
Gaza has also fallen into a famine over the last year. According to the UN, nearly 70% of Gaza’s cropland has been damaged or destroyed, and almost 95% of cattle are dead. The UN also says that over 1.8 million people in Gaza are facing extremely critical levels of hunger.
WMC teacher Mrs. Olsen doesn’t think the war will stop escalating in the near future, stating “Until the balance of power in the Middle East is defined by more moderation, as opposed to extremism or radical interpretations, the likelihood of escalating violence is persistent.” Mrs. Olsen then added that “long lasting peace in the region, in any region of the world, is anchored by a shared commitment among peoples at the civilian level and at the government level to set forth a path for prosperity for everyone.” She believes that for peace to last in Gaza and the Middle East, we must first tackle the issue of extremism and hatred that is present in the region.
WMC Senior Sean Howell says a way that a ceasefire could be achieved is by “An agreement to stop bombing each other in exchange for all the hostages. I think that, although unrealistic, due to how hostile both sides are to each other, would be a really good solution.”
