The War In Israel
By Aiden Gallagher & Staff
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
The Israel and Palestine conflict can be traced back to biblical times, however, it has just recently reached a climax. The militant group Hamas has had a long-standing hatred and anger towards the Israeli government and its people. They have been governing Gaza and its two million Palestinians since 1987. Hamas published its charter in 1988 which called for the destruction of Israel. The tension between the two has been palpable for decades but has now reached a boiling point. On October 7, 2023 Hamas launched a deadly attack in Southern Israel killing civilian men, women and children/infants in their homes, young adults who had gathered at a peaceful concert, and medical workers in medical centers. They are currently holding over 200 hostages which they took from Israel. The hostages range from grandmothers to young children and range in nationalities. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) immediately began retaliating with military force. The fighting between them has been vicious, resulting in 16,000 casualties and nearly 3,500 dead. There has been no effort by either side to end this conflict and there probably won’t be anytime soon. You may wonder where this leaves the U.S. amid all the fighting. The United States has had a long-standing relationship with Israel and has said in the past that we will defend it; however, President Biden has not yet decided to put troops on the ground. However, the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group have both been deployed and are now in the region to provide support to Israel. The two sides have differing religious beliefs and naturally, they have debated where the border lies, and Israel has refused to recognize Palestine as a country. This has created immense tension between the two groups, and that tension has hit an all-time high.
The result of a missile strike
Hamas claimed, and multiple major media outlets reported, that a recent Israeli missile attack on a hospital resulted in the deaths of 500+ people. After an investigation, that statement/claim was proven wrong. Israeli, French, and U.S. intelligence agencies have produced evidence showing that, in fact, the missile strike actually hit a parking lot next to the hospital and was launched from within Gaza and caused by a militant group known as Islamic Jihad. Sadly, one fact that is known to be true: this conflict shows no signs of stopping and the death toll will only continue to grow.