Hamas, an Islamist Militant Movement, and Israel erupted in an unexpected war on October 7th, 2023 at 6:30 a.m, when Hamas and armed fighters breached Israel’s border and invaded in a sneak attack on civilians and soldiers. Hamas launched around 2,000 missiles on Israel grounds; these missiles landed in the Southern and Central region of Israel including Jerusulm and Tel Viv. Right after the attack by Hamas, Israel responded with airstrikes towards the Gaza Strip and deprived the citizens of food, water, and energy sources.
This conflict between these two nations has been ongoing for many years. It began in 1947 when the United Nations decided to split Palestine into two countries, one Jewish (Israel) and one Arabic (Palestine). This was due to the massacre of many Jewish people during the Holocaust and it was thought to give them their own land to practice their religion freely. This decision however was not accepted easily by the surrounding Arab countries.
Once Israel was declared an Independent nation on May 14, 1948, armies from Jordan, Egypt and Syria invaded. Israel had been given more land then the UN partition plan had set because of an armistice agreement in 1949. The Arabian countries joined with Palestine to try and gain back the land that was originally stated in the UN Partition Plan. They sent off an air attack on Tel Aviv, but Israel did not react and withheld. As Israel was granted their territory it led for 700,000 Palestinians to flee or be banished from their homes. Israel initiated a “Preemptive defensive” war against Jordan, Egypt and Syria. The attack was un-announced and Israel raided these Arabian countries. Israel was quickly advancing and took hold of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, The Golan heights from Syria, and the west bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan. Due to this historical background, Israel and Palestine still have tension today.
This current war has been called the “war between two countries”, including Palestine and Israel, but more specifically, this war was initiated by Hamas; this group governs more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza strip. Hamas which in short stands for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya” and translates to “Islamic Resistance Movement”, was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Hamas was created to counter Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), An organization devoted to destroying Israel to establish an Islamist Palestine. Many countries label Hamas as a terrorist organization who is known for hostility towards Israel. Once the attack occurred in October, Israel declared war on this group only, not the entirety of Palestine. Due to this, the war consists around the Gaza strip, where conflict initiated, and not on the other Palestinian territory.
During this current war, many innocent people have suffered. The losses of men, women, and children are outrageous and the numbers only go up as these two nations continue the battle. As the Israeli airstrikes do not stop, people in Gaza are left with barely any water because of power outages, and hospitals are relying on generators. Over 8,796 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza strip and 22,219 have been wounded. 40% of the people killed in Gaza are children. More than 1,500 Israelis have been killed and 200 are held captive as hostages. As the feud progresses it is unknown how many people will be wrongfully murdered.
