The Israeli-Hamas War

By Alyse Troyer

    For decades, the Israel and Palestine situation has been tense. This is because of their differences in religious beliefs, and the fact that they both claim Jerusalem as their holy city. Palestinians were given the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights; Israel is in control of these three places, yet they chose to let the Palestinians live there since they claim Jerusalem. 

    Recently, Israel declared war on Hamas, after the Islamic terrorist group fired missiles into Israel, came into different Israeli settlements (kibbutz), swarmed into an open concert, and killed over 1,400 people on October 7th. Israeli military officials have told all Palestinians to evacuate Northern Gaza in case of a ground assault. The United States is siding with Israel, and on October 17th, President Biden flew to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to decide what actions they need to take against Hamas. 

    The next day, Hamas-supported Islamic Jihad misfired a rocket that landed in a hospital parking lot, although Hamas claimed it actually struck the hospital killing hundreds. They immediately blamed the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Press outlets and politicians unfortunately spread the misinformation of Hamas’s claim which led to worldwide protests and condemnation of Israel.