ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT IN GAZA

By Hashim Ibrahim

Image: Reuters

   The history of Gaza goes back almost 4,000 years, but the current dispute can be traced back to June 28, 2006. That conflict lasted until a ceasefire in 2014 with both sides still having sporadic clashes with no major military advancements until October 7, 2023.
  During an Israeli/Jewish holiday where the IDF personnel were taking time off, around 2,500 Hamas militants stormed and flew motorized paragliders over the border wall and began massacring neighboring Israeli communities. Approximately 1,400 were killed including 260 people at the Re’im musical festival. Bodies were paraded in the streets and the attack was celebrated by the Hamas militants. Over 200+ hostages were taken by the Hamas militants and forced into the Gaza strip. Hamas occupied the Israeli settlements surrounding Gaza until the IDF reported that they have retaken and secured the area(s) on October 9th. “Hamas said it received support from Iran for the attack, which it says was in response to Israeli settler violence, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as Israeli atrocities against Palestinians over the decades.” - Wikipedia
  The IDF began retaliatory strikes on Hamas & commenced a total blockade on the Gaza strip as their first response. Israel then ordered Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza and began cutting off power, water, and other vital necessities to Gaza. The IDF began mobilizing over 300,000 reserve personnel for a supposed ground offensive into the Gaza strip.

Sources: Reuters, CNN, Wikipedia