Israel Under Attack

by Asa Forrest

Picture used with permission from the US Department of State.

An estimated 3,000 people have been killed in the attacks in Israel thus far. The deadly attacks come after Palestinian terror group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in October. In order to fully understand what is happening, we have to look far back into time. 

Both Jewish and Islamic people claim that Israel is crucial land for their religion. Thus, there have been many fights throughout history over it. In the early 20th century, England took control of the region, known as Palestine, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Palestinian people occupied most of the area, with Jewish people living there as well. Between 1920 and 1940, many Jewish people came to the area. Both groups claimed that the land was their ancestral home, and they both wanted to be the other group to occupy it. In 1947, the United Nations voted to split up the area, and give both groups their own state. Jewish leaders accepted the plan, but Palestinian leaders did not. Thus, the plan never went into action. In 1948, Jewish leaders declared Israel a sovereign state, following the withdrawal of British troops from the region. The day that Israel was created, five different Arab countries attacked it. The two sides fought for almost a year, and Israel controlled most of the territory. Currently, two million Palestianians live in the Gaza strip, which is a narrow strip between Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is officially an Israeli territory, and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. 

On October 7th at around 6:30 AM Israel Standard Time, air raid sirens started going off, signaling to Israeli citizens that they needed to take cover immediately. This was a fairly regular thing for them, and they all have shelters in their homes. When the missiles did not stop, they realized this attack was bigger than usual. At a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border, approximately 260 people were killed, as they had nowhere to hide from the missiles and Hamas soldiers. The soldiers also took hostages back to Gaza. The attacks continued throughout the day, and the following days as well. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel is at war.” 

The United States of America has come out in support of Israel. Under direction of President Joe Biden, various cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers in the US Navy were sent into the region. Among these is the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest and most advanced ship in the US Navy. President Biden made a trip to the region last week, and was expected to meet with Arab leaders to discuss a way to de-escalate the situation. However, following the attack on a Gazan hopital, the meeting was canceled. The attack, which killed hundreds of people, has still not been proven to be from Israel. In fact, evidence is emerging that suggests it may have been a Hamas missile that malfunctioned. 

In terms of what is coming in the future, I reached out to the US Office of Palestinian Affairs. Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken said, “No country… can be expected to tolerate this, to live with this.  And as we’ve said from the start, Israel has both the right and even the obligation not only to defend itself but to try to make sure that, to the best of its ability, this can’t happen again.” This statement helps to show that the US backs Israel, and will do their best to support them in the coming weeks and months.

With all that is going on, innocent civilians on both sides are being killed. Everyone at the Maverick Roundup wishes our condolences for those affected by this conflict, and we hope a compromise can be agreed upon to end the fighting.