By Julian L and Jadon W
Disclaimer: As this is a report of an ongoing event, statistics might not be fully accurate.
On October 7th, 2023, Hamas (the political group that currently rules Palestine) launched a large-scale invasion of Israel. This is known as Operation al-Aqsa Deluge. It began when the Hamas group launched thousands of missiles onto Israeli territory. On the same day, Israel responded with airstrikes on major cities in the Gaza Strip, such as Gaza City and Khan Yunis, claiming that it was just the start and would continue unless Hamas was defeated.
Over the past few days, Israel and Palestine’s casualties have been increasing. As of the 13th of October, Israeli sources say that more than 800 Israelis have been killed and more than 2300 have been wounded. Palestine health authorities say that more than 1300 Palestinians have been killed, with many more injured, mainly by the airstrikes carried out by Israel on the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, civilian casualties will most likely continue to rise in numbers due to a probable event of an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli government announced that Israel would allow “…no electricity, no food, no fuel…” to be allowed into Gaza, setting up a “full siege” on all sides. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reduce Gaza to nothing. He alerted the civilians to leave. However, as they are cut off by Israel and have no permission to go to Egypt, they have nowhere to flee. Later, he declared that Israel would be at war with Palestine.
Since then, Israel has reported that it has struck down 2000 ‘Terrorist targets’ in Gaza and the strip’s health facilities are in the ‘critical stage.’ “Medicine, medical consumption, and fuel are running out, and hospitals are fully occupied with wounded patients on the ground,” said a spokesperson.
As a result of this war, more than 120,000 people have been displaced, and some were even taken hostage and are currently being held in Gaza. US officials say that Hamas and Hezbollah officials traveled to Iran, recently, with Iranian leaders to plan potential launch attacks on Israel. However, the UN ambassador of Iran has stated that it has nothing to do with Hamas’s surprise attacks.
References:
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/second-october-war-israel-palestine [accessed on 2023/10/10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2023_Gaza%E2%80%93Israel_conflict [accessed on 2023/10/10]
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-10-08/israel-hamas-war-continued-second-day [accessed on 2023/10/10]
Israel-Hamas war updates: Latest news on Gaza from Oct. 11 (cnbc.com) [Accessed on 2023/10/14]
Comments