By Olivia Finer
The War on Gaza
By: Olivia Finer
In the early hours of October 7, 2023, Nova Music Festival in Southern Israel was targeted by the HAMAS (the Islamic Resistance Movement) and underwent a surprise attack. 260 lives were taken along with 1,400 taken hostage by HAMAS and is currently at the time of this article being published is being held in Gaza. The Gaza Strip is the land between Israel and the Mediterranean sea. It is only 25 miles wide and is one of the most densely populated places on earth with 2.2 million people living within the area. This horrific event led the Israeli government to launch thousands of missiles into the Gaza Strip as a way to defend the country and eradicate Hamas since the terrorist organization is believed to be located there. On October 27, Israel told the Palestinians government to evacuate Northern Gaza as Israel launched ground invasions on the strip. However, this action has led to over 11,000 casualties caused by air and artillery strikes, with over 1 million losing their homes, forced to live in tents on the streets or going to refugee camps. Refusal from the Israeli government to provide water, electricity, and fuel shipments have led many civilians to suffer from the low supplies along with endangering more civilians who are in need of medical care. The Israeli government controls the telecommunication services and internet within Gaza; the war has led to phone towers being taken down, disrupting internet services and blocking information from being released from Gaza. Palestinian voices have been silenced, and are unable to portray their experience of the war.
The Israeli and Palestinian conflict can be dated back to the 1940s, when Palestine was being occupied by the British. Originally belonging to Palestine, the British established the land as a national home for the Jewish people with The Balfour Declaration, issued on November 2, 1917. Tensions grew between the two groups, causing the UN to split the Jewish and Arab into two separate states in 1947, establishing the city of Jerusalem as an international city. In 1948, the British declared the creation of the State of Israel. Since then there have been Arab-Israeli Conflicts, going on as recently as 2006. The result of these conflicts were Israel gaining more land, including the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Shebaa farms, and the Golan Heights. From there, Ireal restricted the rights of the Palestinian people, through restricting imports, failure to investigate violations against the Palestinian people, and many more restrictions that have abused the human rights of the Palestinian people.
During the most recent conflict, there have been multiple concerns with how the Israel defense is attempting to take down Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces have sent an estimate of 2,200 rockets and 25,000 tonnes of explosives onto the Gaza strip, taking down entire buildings. More damage has been created through the targeting of civilian homes, schools, places of worship, and hospitals that are continually being overpacked with injuries. Many civilians are forced to watch their loved ones die, or are being forced to dig them out of the rubble. Witnesses have recounted seeing individuals being blown to pieces and being buried alive in homes where life was thriving almost a week prior. Many organizations such as the United Nations have called for a cease fire or humanitarian pauses in order to prevent more civilian deaths, as well as to give more supplies to the hospitals. However, these propositions have been declined, with more videos coming forth of the bombs going off, civilians running for cover, people looking for family, and people sent to seek medical care.
Social media has been a facet for the Palestinian people to portray the atrocities that continue to occur. Media outlets such as TikTok and Instagram provide a possibility for the Palestinian people to reach the public: asking for help, showing the tragedies occurring during the war, and being able to share their own accounts of the conflict. Bisan Odeh (wizard_bisan1), Moataz Mashal, and many others have posted videos and images of the conflict. Creators have spoken out in response and called for boycotts of major companies that support Israel: Starbucks, McDonald, Disney, Nestle, and many more. Along with being able to spread information, creators have been fundraising using the Tik Tok paid creators program. Creators like @xojourdanlouise have created filters, using profits from usage of the filter to donate it to programs that send aid to Palestine. The events of the war on Gaza have impacted many people living in Gaza and around the world: protests have begun and continue in many countries, and individuals both in Gaza and abroad have expressed hopelessness awaiting a ceasefire or an ending to the war.
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