Israel vs. Palestine by Chase Seeley
As I'm sure we have all heard, recently a war began between Israel and Hamas. This war has taken an extreme toll on both sides and has shown no signs of slowing down. This article is going to look at some of the basics of why the war started and some recent developments in the conflict.
The war first began when Hamas attacked the Gaza Strip by air, land, and sea on October 7th, 2023. Hamas stated that this attack was a result of the long building anger over Israel's policies, along with recent outbreaks of violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and over the general treatment of Palestinians and the expansion of settlements by the Israelis.
On the other side of the conflict, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel believes that the goal is to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities along with freeing the hostages. Israel also touches on how they plan to have the overall security responsibility for the Gaza Strip, they intend to keep that for an indefinite period after the conflict.
The war has taken a heavy toll on both sides, with almost 16 thousand Palestinian people having died since October 7th, including over 10,000 civilian lives being lost. Over 1300 Isralis have perished in the conflict as well. This war is also a big hit to the economy, costing Israel over 50 billion dollars.
During the early days of the war, there was lots of talk of a ceasefire between the two groups, and finally on November 24th the ceasefire began and was renewed twice before ending on Friday, December 1st. This ceasefire allowed humanitarian aid to enter and help the people, while it also allowed Hamas to release captives along with Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.
With the conflict back in full force, it is now more important than ever to push for peace and support the ending of this war. But now let’s pray for the civilians and hope that they may weather the storm and live a life conflict free in the future.
The war first began when Hamas attacked the Gaza Strip by air, land, and sea on October 7th, 2023. Hamas stated that this attack was a result of the long building anger over Israel's policies, along with recent outbreaks of violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and over the general treatment of Palestinians and the expansion of settlements by the Israelis.
On the other side of the conflict, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel believes that the goal is to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities along with freeing the hostages. Israel also touches on how they plan to have the overall security responsibility for the Gaza Strip, they intend to keep that for an indefinite period after the conflict.
The war has taken a heavy toll on both sides, with almost 16 thousand Palestinian people having died since October 7th, including over 10,000 civilian lives being lost. Over 1300 Isralis have perished in the conflict as well. This war is also a big hit to the economy, costing Israel over 50 billion dollars.
During the early days of the war, there was lots of talk of a ceasefire between the two groups, and finally on November 24th the ceasefire began and was renewed twice before ending on Friday, December 1st. This ceasefire allowed humanitarian aid to enter and help the people, while it also allowed Hamas to release captives along with Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.
With the conflict back in full force, it is now more important than ever to push for peace and support the ending of this war. But now let’s pray for the civilians and hope that they may weather the storm and live a life conflict free in the future.