By Ty Regan | Associate Editor
December 8, 2023
Hamas’s deadly, unexpected strike against Israel on October 7th, 2023, served as an escalation to the already deadly Arab-Israeli conflict; the question as to how much greater of a dispute this will spark remains to be seen, but the magnitude of what has already occurred is certainly worth considering.
Early in the morning on October 7th, Hamas, an Islamist organization believed to be operating undercover in the density of the Gaza Strip, launched a coordinated, unexpected, and premeditated strike against Israel that has been described by US officials and human rights groups as a terrorist attack.
Prior to Hamas’s interference, the Arab-Israeli rivalry was already active and intense. So, this attack was undoubtedly a catalyst for increased tension between Arab nations and Israel.
The state of Palestine and Israel is unique. Both countries hold religious ties to the same land and specific cities (notably Jerusalem and Bethlehem). Their shared state is divided into several sections that have grown to become densely populated. And, as mentioned in President Joe Biden’s speech in response to the attack, that population provides terrorist organizations, like Hamas, with the ability to blend in and orchestrate plans, also giving a reason as to why this encounter was of such unanticipated magnitude.
Hamas, the organization behind the October 7th attack, is an Islamist political faction of the state of Palestine. In Palestine there are two main political parties: Hamas and the Fatah. Founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, they now preside over two million people in the Gaza Strip alone, but don’t hold full control over their nation. They are a self-declared militant organization headquartered in the Gaza Strip with the primary goal of using armed aggression against the Jewish state of Israel. Hamas has revealed in online posts that tunnels under the Gaza Strip allow them to move below the surface of the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip, which is a part of Palestine’s territory, is one of the most heavily populated slivers of land in the world, and as mentioned, this gave Hamas the ability to camouflage and develop this attack. Israel and Egypt have had a blockade on the city since 2005 and have held it together, despite some uprisings. This blockade has been considered by Hamas themselves to have been, in part, what fueled such an attack. One of the few released hostages confirms Israeli reports that Hamas has developed an intricate network of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, further affirming Hamas’s operations and commissions to be under buildings such as schools and hospitals.
This attack also questions the true abilities of the military, internal, and central intelligence agencies of Israel, noting that these organizations are supposedly some of the most capable on the face of the earth. It is clear that Hamas’s attack on October 7th was premeditated over a long period of time, so the inability for Israel’s Mossad to even detect or anticipate it definitely provokes the question of not only their own effectiveness, but also the agencies of Israeli allies.
Israel’s response to Hamas’s infamous assault, however, was and—according to Israel authorities—will be relentless and harsh. So far, Israel has gone after Hamas with aggression, raining intense air assaults and leading merciless ground offensives. But what has truly hit the Gaza Strip the hardest is Israel’s deliberate suspension of basic human necessities: food, water, electricity, and medical supplies. Hospitals are on their final straw in Gaza, and their loss will add to the already towering casualties of innocent Arab and Israeli civilians.
As of now, it is unclear what will happen going forward. On October 7th, over 200 Israelis, ranging from infants to seniors, were captured by Hamas and have been held hostage in dangerous environments ever since. Talks of ceasefire in order to ensure their safety have been discussed, but are not guaranteed. The situation is constantly updating; but, it seems as if the hostages are the motivating factor, so any other negotiation will likely correspond to their conditions.
The ultimate goal going forward for all, except Hamas and its allies, beyond the state of the hostages or hospitals, is that this struggle does not drag the rest of the world in with it, for it would stir a dispute of further, unfathomable chaos beyond what has already been exhibited.