For those who often watch news or are frequently browsing the media, you have most likely heard of the conflicts in and around Israel. Having spoken to multiple people about these conflicts, it seems as though there is a lack of information regarding the history and causation of these conflicts.
While the recent fighting between the Hamas and Israel may seem to be the only issues, this fighting dates back Before Christ (BC). The Israelites have been protecting their homeland and increasing its size for thousands of years now.
This determination to preserve “The Promised Land” stems from the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible. God promised Abraham that his descendants would have the land of Canaan. (For those seeking to read more of this, read Promised Land)
The land of Canaan now is composed of modern day Israel, and Palestine. This is where the main issue lies. The Israelites, seeking to preserve their Promised Land, have been fighting with Palestinians for centuries. This is a series of fighting that may never stop, strictly due to religious views.
More recently in Israel, Hamas have been attacking the “Iron Dome”, Israel’s missile defense system. Hamas is a “Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood” (dni.gov). They seek to establish “an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel.” The United States and European Union have both labeled Hamas as a terrorist group; their violent resistance against Israel has earned them this title (Council on Foreign Relations).
The attacks in the recent past have not been particularly effective. In early October, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel and were unfortunately successful. At around 6:30 AM Hamas began their attacks, launching thousands of missiles which destroyed Israeli surveillance systems. Armed Hamas soldiers then flew in on paragliders into nearby villages, taking hostages and killing hundreds of Israeli citizens.
Israeli military forces responded to the missile attacks almost instantaneously, but the ground invasion on the border was practically ignored. Citizens were forced to hide anywhere they could, and waited for rescue. Many people waited for more than a day (26 hours) for the Israeli army to defend them.
Nearly 1,200 people were killed in the attacks. Information has now been released showing Hamas’ violent killings and torturing of children, infants, and babies (discretion is advised The Times of Israel). An exact tally for those injured has not been released, but there are thousands. From Chatham House, as of now “Hamas is holding between 100 and 150 people hostage in the Gaza Strip.” These hostages are most likely to be used as leverage for compliance from the Israeli Government.
One fact that raises many questions is that the Israeli military forces knew of the ground invasion within minutes of its happening, and still, citizens had to wait for over 24 hours to seek assistance. Had the military been there when they knew about it, countless lives could have been saved.
Even with an understanding of what happened, the question still remains, why did Hamas attack Israel on such a large scale? From NPR, the “attack came in response to ‘Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and the West Bank’ and to ‘break the blockade on the Gaza Strip.’ He said it was also meant to free thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.” These statements contradict what Hamas has said in the past, which is that they want to resist Israeli occupation, and seek revenge for the Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque in 2021.
This situation is very complex, and seemingly never ending. For as long as both countries are in existence, there will most likely be fighting, that is the way it has been for centuries now. Future events and retaliation may come forth, but the Israeli government seems to be holding back and waiting to respond until they have a plan.
