After Hamas militants stormed Israel on October 7, Israel officially declared war after decades of conflict. Multiple attacks from both sides have resulted in hundreds of deaths including: a bombing campaign, raids, terrorist attacks, and guarding the Gaza border. On October 7, Hamas stormed communities surrounding the Gaza Strip killing 1,400 Isrealis, and over 200 civilians were taken as hostages. In response, more than 7,000 Palestinies have been killed through airstrikes carried out by the Israeli military. Israel had guarded the border of Gaza in order to stop imports of food and supplies to the Gaza Strip, until they agreed to allow Egypt to provide a limited number of humanitarian aid. With aid from Egypt, the United States has also made a statement that the country will provide 100 million dollars of assistance to Palestine.
On October 17, the Israeli military bombed Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza. It is unclear what caused the explosion, but videos have shown it seems to be a highly explosive rocket launched from within Gaza. Palestine was quick to accuse Israel of bombing the hospital on purpose, but Israel released a statement saying that the rocket was ‘misfired.’
Dr. Na’eem, in a CNN interview, said, “I just finished one surgery and suddenly we heard a big explosion. We thought it’s outside the hospital because we never thought that they would bomb the hospital.”
After the explosion, many medical personnel rushed to tend to injured civilians but the devastation was overwhelming. Over 470 people died in the bombing. Airstrikes in Gaza continue to intensify as civilians leave their homes in search of aid and protection. The total death toll has risen above 8,000 in Palestine, most of them being women and children. Israel has been charged with war crimes -unlawful killing and torture- after they continue to target civilian residental buildings, medical facilities, mosques, refugee camps, and water sanitation plants. Palestinins have also been charged with war crimes after they attacked towns, kibbutzim, and border points.
In Israel, four of the 226 hostages have been released back to their country, but no other invasions have taken place. The war continues to escalate everyday, and the death toll continues to rise.
History Behind the Israel-Hamas War
The Gaza Strip, a Palestine territory, has been in conflict with Israel for decades. The Gaza Strip has been fought over by multiple countries for control of the land.
Less than one-tenth of the Palestine population traveled to Israel for low-grade jobs until Israel closed the border due to politically induced violent outbreaks. As a result, many Palestiniens were put out of work and forced into a thriving smuggling industry. The industry was based on a series of subterranean tunnels where people in the Gaza Strip could travel through to receive goods -fuel, medicine, weapons, food- from Egypt.
In 2007, Israel declared that Gaza was under the control of Hamas- an Islamic Resistance Movement. In 2008, Israel solidified the border between the two countries until Hamas militants demolished portions of the barrier. After months of back and forth attacks between the two countries, Hamas implemented a six-month truce. Once the truce was over, Israel responded with rockfire, airstrikes, and a ground-campaign. Israel and Hamas eventually declared a cease-fire. Airstikes and conflicts continued for multiple years after the cease-fire was declared and tens of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes.
