On October 7th Palestinian militant group known as Hamas attacked Israel without warning in the early morning hours. This attack has since led to Israel declaring war on Hamas as a direct retaliation.
According to “The Wall Street Journal” 1200 Israeli people died in the initial attacks on Saturday, alongside another 2400 who were injured. Since Israel’s retaliation, 2670 Palestinians have been killed, and another 9,600 have been injured as of this report.
This conflict has led to an unprecedented number of casualties in the 21st century. In 2014, violence flared between the two groups but not to the degree it has within the short span of time since the attacks in the Saturday morning.
The United States has backed Israel in multiple ways, most notably by sending an aircraft carrier to the region as a show of force. According to the BBC, the U.S. has also pledged “additional equipment and resources” to Israel. In the past, the U.S. has usually tried to cool tension by encouraging Israel to a ceasefire or peace of some kind. This time, however, considering the catastrophic damage and loss of civilian life, it is not a likely outcome, as the U.S. is having to navigate what CNN describes as “outrage without escalation.”
Israel’s allies growing suspicions are targeted at Iran, as Hamas is supported by the Iranian regime. According to the “Washington Examiner,” presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley has called for the freezing of Iranian access to six billion dollars in Qatari banks and for those funds to instead be sent to Israel. She herself received criticism from fellow republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for having a “video game like” outlook on foreign policy.
Misinformation is already at the forefront of this war. According to CNN, Israel has walked back on some of the claims made of actions taken by the militants throughout the weekend, admitting that they were unfounded. Many social media accounts are looking to sway people for and against either side and will use misleading information to do so.
Rallies of support- for both Palestinians and Israelis- have broken out across the nation and the world. At the time of this report, 27 Americans have been killed in the Hamas attacks. Another 14 Americans remain unaccounted for.
