If you’ve so much as turned on the news or the radio in the last few weeks, you are probably aware that there is a major conflict happening in Gaza right now. Here’s everything a high schooler needs to know.
On October 7, a terrorist group, called Hamas, launched an unexpected and devastating attack on Israel. They fired thousands of rockets across the Gaza-Israel border, ravaging several cities and communities, including Tel Aviv, the most populous city in Israel. A group of Hamas fighters also infiltrated the border and charged through 22 different communities, slaughtering civilians and soldiers along the way. Families were murdered in their homes; the annihilated bodies of men, women, children, and babies were found by first responders. Some Israelis were even kidnapped by Hamas and taken across the border to Gaza. At least 1,400 people were killed, and a confirmed 199 people are being held captive.
The night of the attacks Israel declared war against Hamas. Since then, Israel has launched multiple airstrikes in areas it claims are populated by Hamas. However, many Gaza citizens have been among those killed. Furthermore, Israel has ordered a blockade of Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, and food. In response to the blockade, over 338,000 Gaza residents evacuated and are now displaced. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are suffering from Israel’s Hamas-aimed attacks.
The violence and terrorism surrounding this conflict are utterly disgusting. It begs the question: why would the Hamas attack Israel in the first place? Israel and the Palestinian countries around it have had a complicated history to say the least.
Both Muslims and Jews consider the land that is Israel (especially Jerusalem) to be holy. Muslims had inhabited this land for about two millennia, but in 1948, the United Nations, eager to designate a safe place for Jews to immigrate after World War II, established Israel as a Jewish National Home. This was met with contempt from Muslims in the area. To lesson Palestinian indignation, the U.N. partitioned the land into Jewish land, Arab land, and Jerusalem, which was shared. However, their efforts were to no avail. Since 1948, multiple wars and conflicts have taken place between Israel and the Muslims in the surrounding areas, which has resulted in a larger Israel and a smaller designated Arab land. The Hamas, like other Arab terrorist groups, use violence to fight to regain their forefathers’ land.
The Israel-Hamas War is the breaking point in a decades-long cycle of blood and vengeance. It encapsulates the horror and destruction that can follow disregard for others.
