War in Gaza

Beginning in 1948, what could be considered as one of the deadliest conflicts, is still on-going.  

Since May 14, 1948, Israel and Palestine have been at strife. Now, there is mass death among Hamas (Islamic resistance movement), Israelis, and civilians from both sides.  

Palestine and Israel have had tribulations since the late 19th century.  

There have been constant disputes regarding land ownership. 

 In the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the British government encouraged Jewish homeland in Palestine. Later, in 1939, the British changed its position in the Balfour Declaration regarding Palestinian Arabs. The Balfour Declaration led to both an increase in Palestinian nationalism and an increase in Jewish immigration in Palestine. In 1947, the British government gave the mandate back to the United Nations. The United Nations set up a committee known as the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, and this committee decided on a partition of Palestine into both a Jewish state and an Arab state. One day before the Balfour Declaration expired, Israel established the “State of Israel”, a Jewish State, in Eretz-Israel, sacred land. The Israeli Declaration of Independence claimed it would safeguard all holy places and allow equality amongst all inhabitants regardless of religion, race, or sex. The establishment of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and the ending of the mandate sparked war. This war led to an Israeli win; Israel took this opportunity to annex territory beyond the partition border. Many Palestinians fled and became refugees due to this. Territory was also given to other countries. For example, Egypt gained control over the Gaza strip. However, in 1967, after Palestinian attacks from the Gaza strip, Israel launched a strike on Egypt. This led to the Six-day war. The Six-day war resulted in Israel gaining control of both the Gaza strip and the West Bank from Jordan.  

According to www.sixdaywar.org, the leaders of 13 Arab states pledged to continue their struggle against Israel. This is more commonly known as “the three no’s”. They agreed to no peace with Israel, no negations, and no recognition. Later, in 1964, Palestinians developed the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Its original goal was to liberate Palestinians and allow for a Palestinian State to be established within the borders of the British Mandate before 1948.  

More disputes erupted amongst both Palestinians and Israelis in years to follow.  

Now, in 2023, another dispute has erupted. Furthermore, Hamas, a fundamentalist Sunni Islamist group, gained control of Gaza in 2007. This group is considered one of the two main coteries within Palestine politics. They are also considered a terrorist group amongst some governments, due to their political violence.  

On October 7th, Hamas launched an attack on Israel. This attack included the launching of missiles on Israel from the Gaza strip, the breaching of a borders separating the Gaza from Israel, and an attack on a music festival located in Israel, according to ABC News. Hamas claimed this was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza. Following the attack, Israel retaliated with the bombing of Gaza with airstrikes. According to Israeli media, Hamas initial attack resulted in over 200 deaths, over 1,000 injuries, and 250 in Israel were taken by Hamas as hostages.  

According to Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel is “at war”.  Since the initial attack of Israel, according to The Washington Post, on November 13th, over 11,000 people have died in Gaza. The majority being women and children. This number continues to rise. Continuing, Israel is targeting hospitals inside Gaza. Israel has also cut off electricity supply throughout the Gaza strip in order to retaliate against Hama’s attack. This has resulted in a loss of power to hospitals, loss of telecommunication, and loss of fuel.  

12,670 people dead and more than 35,000 people injured due to the conflict between Hamas and Israel, according to www.aljazeera.com. Over one million Palestinians have lost their homes. 13%-18% of structures have been damaged, said www.npr.org. www.aljazeera.com has also stated, “There are only 800-1000 Palestinian Christinas left in Gaza.”  

According to Reuters.com, as of November 5th, Israel is refusing ceasefire until their hostages are returned from Hamas.  

This war is still currently on-going.