What We Know About the War Between Israel and Hamas (October 28, 2023) - Grade 6 group
Author: Matthew Mpoke Bigg
Bigg, Matthew Mpoke. “What We Know about the War between Israel and Hamas.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-what-we-know.html. Questions at the top are excerpted from: Network, The Learning. “The Israel-Hamas War: A Forum for Young People to React.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/learning/the-israel-gaza-war-a-forum-for-young-people-to-react.html.
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Read the “What We Know” explainer, below, and then, in comments, tell us:
- What is your reaction to Hamas’s attack on Israel and to Israel’s response? What emotions, feelings and thoughts are you experiencing?
- What questions do you have about what is happening now and about its larger context? This is a complex and quickly moving news story. If you don’t think you have enough background to respond to any of our prompts please post some of the things you are wondering about.
- How closely have you been following the news? Where are you getting your information? How do you know that what you are seeing and hearing is accurate? (For example, NPR’s “On the Media” offers a “breaking news consumer’s handbook” with tips like “focus on known, credible news outlets with reporters on the ground.” )
- What kind of conversations have you had with friends and family members on this subject? Have you and the others in your life had similar reactions to the attacks or different ones? Why do you think that is?
- Have you seen pictures, videos or social media posts documenting what life is like in Israel and Gaza right now? If so, what scenes or images have made an impression on you, and why?
- What do you think might happen next? Why?
- What do you know about how countries around the world are responding? What else, if anything, do you think the United States and other countries should do?
After Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Israel has been besieging and bombarding the Gaza Strip, worsening a humanitarian crisis.
On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists staged a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people in their homes, at a music festival and on the streets. In retaliation, Israel’s government vowed to destroy Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, and unleashed a devastating barrage of airstrikes against Gaza, where more than 7,000 people are now dead, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. The fallout from the violence has shaken the region and the world.
Here’s what to know:
What happened during the Hamas attack?
Early on Oct. 7, Hamas fired thousands of rockets that struck as far away as Tel Aviv and the outskirts of Jerusalem, cities normally protected by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. The attackers then infiltrated border communities and army bases, as well as an outdoor music festival, massacring men, women and children. It took days for Israeli forces to regain control after the attack, which marked the single deadliest day in Israel’s history.
Compounding the sense of shock to Israel, a country with the region’s most advanced military, Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza also took more than 220 civilians and soldiers hostage. Four have since been released.
How has Israel responded?
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, the Israeli authorities started airstrikes against Gaza and announced a “complete siege” of the territory that would deprive it of incoming supplies of food, water and fuel.
Israel has also assembled tens of thousands of troops to invade Gaza. An invasion has yet to start, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who has vowed to “demolish” Hamas, has indicated that it is coming.
Several U.S. officials have said the Biden administration had advised Israel to delay, to buy time for hostage negotiations and to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.
Days after the attack led by Hamas, Mr. Netanyahu formed a unity government that included Benny Gantz, a senior opposition leader and former defense minister. Some prominent Israelis say Mr. Netanyahu should ultimately resign because of the security and intelligence failures that allowed the country to be exposed to attack. Mr. Netanyahu has said the “disaster will be fully looked into” but did not take direct responsibility.
What is the situation in Gaza?
Israel, which says Hamas hides in civilian areas for protection, has launched thousands of airstrikes on Gaza, sometimes hundreds in a single day. These have devastated neighborhoods, caused widespread civilian casualties and worsened a humanitarian disaster. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in search of safety. Israel has warned civilians to move from the north to the south of the territory which has been under an Israeli blockade for 16 years, at times backed by Egypt.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza is contested.
Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas, on Wednesday said that more than 7,000 people have been killed. That figure could not be verified independently, and President Biden said he had “no confidence” in the Hamas casualty figures. He did not explain the assertion.
After Mr. Biden’s statement, Hamas released a list of 6,747 names of people it said had died in Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7. Among them were those of 2,665 children. It said it did not name a further 281 people who died because their bodies could not be identified.
The U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza, UNRWA, has begun to significantly reduce its operations after nearly exhausting its fuel reserves. It says that 38 of its staff members have been killed since Oct. 7. Aid officials say that the number of trucks carrying humanitarian supplies that have entered Gaza is inadequate to meet the territory’s needs. The World Health Organization this week said the situation is “desperate,” warning that 12 of 35 hospitals in Gaza cannot function.
The violence in Gaza has led to protests across the Middle East and beyond.
What have Palestinians said about the attack?
Muhammad Deif, the leader of the military wing of Hamas, said in a recorded message that the group launched its attack so that “the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”
He cited Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, which it captured during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, recent Israeli police raids on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the detention of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails. The Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is among the most deeply contested sites in the Holy Land.
Other Palestinians, while condemning the attack, say that the anger that has driven violence in Gaza for decades is rooted in part in displacement. About 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants are registered refugees — Palestinians forced out of present-day Israel in 1948, or their descendants.
More broadly, many Arabs say the American government is not only indifferent to the agony of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation or control, but complicit in it.
How have other leaders reacted?
Leaders of many nations have expressed horror at the attack on Israel and affirmed their support for the country and its right of self-defense. The United States has delivered weapons to Israel, and President Biden visited to show solidarity. Other visitors have included the leaders of Britain, France and Germany.
Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, have called for de-escalation, and have avoided blaming Hamas. They have recently called for a cease-fire.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey will not make an anticipated visit to Israel. He said that Hamas stood for liberation rather than terror, though added that he did not excuse acts against civilians. He also condemned what he called Israel’s brutality against Palestinians.
António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, has added his voice to growing calls for a humanitarian cease-fire. He told the United Nations Security Council that the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’ attacks and those attacks “cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” His remarks drew sharp criticism from some Israeli officials.
Elsewhere, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine equated the attack by Hamas with Russia’s invasion of his own country. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has offered a muted response to the attack on Israel.
Is a broader conflict coming?
The war in Gaza has led to fears of a broader regional conflict. At least 103 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since Oct. 7 in confrontations with Israeli forces and escalating settler attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In addition, Israel’s military has said that increasing attacks from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that controls southern Lebanon, had resulted in civilian and military casualties. Mr. Netanyahu has warned of severe consequences for Hezbollah and Lebanon should it join the war. Israel has also said it was moving residents from an additional 14 villages near the border with Lebanon to safer areas, an expansion of its evacuation plan.
The conflict also jeopardizes months of diplomacy by Mr. Biden and his top aides to push Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, two countries that have been adversaries.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a correspondent covering international news. He previously worked as a reporter, editor and bureau chief for Reuters and did postings in Nairobi, Abidjan, Atlanta, Jakarta and Accra. More about Matthew Mpoke Bigg
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