An Israeli airstrike struck Gaza City on Saturday after Hamas militants executed a surprise attack on Israel Photo Credit: AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
An Israeli airstrike struck Gaza City on Saturday after Hamas militants
executed a surprise attack on Israel Photo Credit: AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Ava Lindstrom
The America-Eurasia Center
Middle Eastern Program
International Security Program
www.eurasiacenter.org
Israel-Gaza Explodes into War After Hamas Attacks Israel
A man looks out into the rubble of a building in Ashkelon that was damaged
by rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza Photo Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters
At 6:30 in the morning on October 7, 2023, Israelis woke up to alarms ushering them into bomb
shelters and air raid shelters, ahead of thousands of incoming rockets launched by Hamas, the militant
Islamist terrorist group that controls Gaza. By October 9th, the death toll had topped 1,500, with over
2,000 wounded on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides and continued to rise steadily. Hamas declared
this attack, dubbed Al-Aqsa Storm, to be in response to the increase in Israeli provocations at Al-Aqsa
Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, and to Israeli violence over the past decades toward
Palestinians.1 In addition to the rocket attacks – Hamas claiming 5,000 rockets, the Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF) saying 2,500 – Hamas also launched a sophisticated ground raid, using hundreds of guerillas against
at least 22 locations in Israel, shocking Israel’s vaunted intelligence services.2 Innocent Israeli civilians as
were killed while going about their daily lives, and even four days later, the death toll continues to grow
as Israeli soldiers and their families grimly search for their loved ones. Children, women, the elderly, and
men all have been victims of these egregious crimes.3
A map of where Hamas attacked Israel and where Israel responded in Gaza
through the use of air strikes and shootings Image Credit: Al Jazeera
In response to the attacks, Israel has declared war on Hamas, launching multiple air strikes at
suspected Hamas targets in Gaza, killing at least 687 Palestinians as of October 9, 2023. Many of these
casualties appear to be collateral damage in the extremely densely-populated Gaza, where Hamas has
embedded much of its military apparatus among the civilian population. Hamas militants broke through
the steel and concrete wall that kept Palestinians inside Gaza and proceeded to attack from land, sky, and
water, going on a killing and kidnapping frenzy, including parading the hostages through the streets as
trophies. Hamas has claimed to have at least 150 Israeli hostages.4
Israel has made it clear that Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this attack, an attack
unprecedented in both scale and sophistication. Israeli ministers have called for a “complete siege” of
Gaza.5 Israel is expected to launch a ground attack on Gaza this week with 300,000 troops along the Gaza
border; Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared, “Nothing is allowed in or out. Without fuel,
electricity, or food supplies, we fight animals in human form and proceed accordingly.”6 In addition to a
blockage of supplies to Gaza, Israel Katz, Israeli infrastructure minister, tweeted that he had “ordered to
immediately cut off the water supply from Israel to Gaza,” along with fuel and electricity to more than 2
million Gazans.7 Israelis and Palestinians now search for a safety that cannot be found, and in heart-wrenching uncertainty about how to proceed with this new normal.
Palestinians search for victims under a house that was destroyed after an Israeli response
attack in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip Photo Credits: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Israel has been in a consistent state of violent conflict with Hamas and other Palestinian militant
groups for decades. Hamas formed after the first Intifada (uprising) in late 1987, with its greatest strength
in Gaza and some support in the West Bank. The group calls for a recognized Islamic-Palestinian state, to
the exclusion of the State of Israel. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and
numerous other nations, having waged a multi-year campaign of terror against Israeli border communities
and beyond, especially since becoming the dominant political power in Gaza in 2006.8 On October 10, the
White House addressed the conflict, condemning the actions of Hamas, which was echoed by the rest of
the world. The White House has also tried to reach out to all of its allies in the Middle East to intervene
with Hamas in an attempt to negotiate hostage rescue, including American citizens being held by Hamas.9
For many years, Israeli officials felt that there was a possibility to live side-by-side with Hamas;
however, this recent attack reinforces the need to eradicate Hamas from the area for the sake of Israel’s
future security measures and the well-being of Palestinians. According to The United Nations Human
Rights Office the High Commissioner is currently working on a report that addresses the unfortunate
aggression by all sides. It is collecting evidence and analyzing the violations to the international laws,
especially the withholding of water, food and electricity that will impact innocent civilians in the Gaza
strip. The Commission “emphasizes that the only path towards ending violence and achieving sustainable
peace” is through tackling the root causes and “ending the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory”
whilst recognizing Palestinians’ rights to self-determination.10
Saturday’s events were unexpected, and its gravity and damage were felt worldwide, shocking
people with reminders of 9/11 in the United States. The global community abhors terrorism, and Israel is
receiving unwavering support while Hamas is unequivocally denounced for its massacre of innocent
civilians.
- “What Is Happening in Israel and Gaza? A Look at the War with Hamas.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 9 Oct. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/what-is-happening-in-israel-and-gaza-a-look-at-the-war-with-hamas. ↩︎
- “What Is Happening in Israel and Gaza? A Look at the War with Hamas.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 9 Oct. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/what-is-happening-in-israel-and-gaza-a-look-at-the-war-with-hamas. ↩︎
- Times, The New York. “Hamas Leaves Trail of Terror in Israel.” The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023,
www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-war-hamas-deaths-killings.html. ↩︎ - “Israel-Hamas War Death Toll Tops 1,500 as Gaza Strip Is Bombed and Gun Battles Rage for a Third Day.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-death-toll-gaza-strip-palestinians-israelis-latestnews-day-3/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023. ↩︎
- “Israel-Gaza Live Updates: Israel Mobilizes a Record 300,000 Reservists; Gaza under ‘Complete Siege.’” CNBC, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/10/09/israel-hamas-live-updates.html. ↩︎
- “Israel-Hamas War Death Toll Tops 1,500 as Gaza Strip Is Bombed and Gun Battles Rage for a Third Day.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-death-toll-gaza-strip-palestinians-israelis-latestnews-day-3/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Nctc. “National Counterterrorism Center: Groups.” National Counterterrorism Center | Groups,
www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/hamas.html. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023. ↩︎ - News, A. B. C. “How Will America Respond to the Attack against Israel?” ABC News, 7 Oct. 2023,
abcnews.go.com/International/america-respond-attack-israel/story?id=103807416. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023. ↩︎ - “Commission of Inquiry Collecting Evidence of War Crimes Committed by All Sides in Israel and Occupied
Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023.” United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner , 10 Oct. 2023, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/commission-inquiry-collecting-evidence-war-crimescommitted-all-sides-israel. ↩︎
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