What happened?

We all are aware of the conflict between the two countries. War has broken out between two very important nations, creating chaos worldwide. To put the conflict in the simplest of terms, both countries claim ancestral and sacred sites within the city of Jerusalem, therefore they are fighting for the land. The city of Jerusalem is critical to both Palestinians and Israelis, which is why this conflict has been going on for many decades. Most recently, however, Palestine has been strongly retaliated during this ongoing conflict which sparked a series of attacks back and forth between the countries. Eventually, this led to the current state of war.  

What is happening now?

After Palestine’s attack, over 1,400 civilians and soldiers were killed in Israel and over 5,000 Palestinians were killed in the air. Currently, the Gaza Strip is occupied by Hamas, an Islamist military group, and is also ruled by the movement. Both Israel and Palestine are holding hostages as a military and war tactic. With Palestine holding over 200 and Israel 4,500 within their prisons. According to BBC News, this has been the deadliest year for both Palestine and Israel. A series of kidnappings and murders occur on both sides of the hostages being held in each country. This has been going on since October 7th.

Sources:

Israel-Palestine: Everything you need to know – Vox

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396 

The US has ignored the hopelessness of the Israel-Palestine conflict for too long | The Independent

This is an ongoing global war and event. Numbers are in constant flux and are provided from both sides of the Israel-Hamas Conflict. The students, teachers, and the faculty of FTHS, as well as the people of the world, stand with the civilians trapped in the middle of this awful conflict.

On October 7th, 2023, thousands of Hamas militants infiltrated into Israel. They proceeded to murder and kidnap innocent civilians. Simultaneously, Hamas began launching rockets from the Gaza Strip to overwhelm Israel. The number of Israelis dead remains around 1,400, and the number kidnapped into the Gaza Strip by Hamas stands at 245. 

Israel was caught off guard, and in some cases, it took hours for the IDF to show up in the southern communities. Many Israelis even took it upon themselves to attempt to protect their communities. Once the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) neutralized and pushed Hamas militants back into the Gaza Strip, a feeling of grief was evident. 

Israel was quick to strike back at Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel has been firm on their position that Hamas uses human shields, which has been confirmed by sources within the Gaza Strip. Days after October 7th, Israel announced an evacuation order on Northern Gaza and advised civilians to move south for their safety. It has been reported that both Israeli air strikes and Hamas killings within the strip have made the evacuation rather difficult. Despite the evacuation order being issued on the northern part of the strip, Israel continues to strike all over Gaza. Israel has recently begun a ground invasion of Gaza and has effectively encircled the northern part of Gaza. Hundreds of Hamas militants have reportedly died within the strip since the start of the ground invasion. As of now, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 10,000 Gazans have died since October 7th. 

The events that took place on October 7th have caused increased fears amongst Jewish communities across the world, and antisemitic incidents are at a 400% increase. In addition, Islamophobic incidents have also begun to increase. Memorial events for those killed in Israel and protests for those who have been kidnapped have been held worldwide. Since the Israeli strikes on Gaza, many protests have been held in cities across the world to support Palestine. It is unclear what may happen next- however, what is clear is that Israel will continue the ground operation, and tensions will rise across the world.