Keeping up with the Israel-Hamas War

Update: Israel Takes Action in Rafah

May 8, 2024: On Tuesday, May 7, the border crossing of Rafah was seized by Israeli troops. This occurred after Hamas accepted the Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, which would have Hamas gradually release hostages while Israel would withdraw its troops, according to PBS. AP News shared more details about Hamas’s proposed compromise, stating that the group calls for a “permanent cessation of military and hostile operations.” Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, claimed that the compromise did not meet Israel’s “essential demands,” as stated by PBS. Israel then ordered the evacuation of Rafah and initiated its attack. The Israeli government justifies this attack by stating that “Rafah is the last significant Hamas stronghold in Gaza (PBS).” AP News indicates that the Israeli military claimed the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes,” despite not showing evidence to back up the claim. 

Israel had no plan in the framework of this operation to protect Palestinian civilians, according to U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, and the effects of this assault have been immediate. This event has cut off a significant route for aid going to Palestinian civilians, and people can no longer enter or leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing, reported OPB. The source also states, “New airstrikes overnight hit a number of targets in the city, including more than seven homes, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The ministry says at least 25 people were killed in Monday night’s airstrikes, with people still trapped under the rubble. One of the strikes hit a home in a part of Rafah that didn’t receive evacuation orders, killing 13 members of the al-Dirby family, according to hospital records.” The Israeli military warned of the invasion on Monday and began its siege on Tuesday, only giving civilians a limited number of hours to attempt to escape the area. 

Israel’s actions have not gone unquestioned by the U.S. government. AP News reported that the U.S. paused a shipment of bombs a week before the event “over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on Rafah against U.S. wishes.” 

As of May 7, Al Jazeera’s live tracker has recorded 35,287 Palestinian deaths since October 7. It has been exactly 7 months since the beginning of the genocide. 

Update: Iran Attacks Israel + Lives Lost

April 18, 2024: On Saturday, April 13, Iran launched drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles at Israel. According to AP News, this attack “marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.” Israel has worked to intercept these attacks with help from the United States. Biden has made it clear that the United States will not participate in an offensive against Iran, but pledges to “support the defense of Israel.” Many other nations have also warned against further escalation; however, Prime Minister Netanyahu is still deciding whether or not to respond, and how to respond. According to AP News, “Iran’s president warned that even the ‘tiniest’ invasion of its territory would bring a ‘massive and harsh’ response.”

As of April 17, over 33,899 have been killed in Gaza, including over 13,800 children, . Over 468 people have been killed in the West Bank, and over 4,750 have been injured there. The death toll for Israel since October 7 remains at the initial death toll of the Hamas terrorist attack: 1,139. Since that date, over half of the homes in Gaza have been either destroyed or damaged, and infrastructure has been significantly desecrated. This includes 80% of commercial facilities and 80% of school buildings. According to Al Jazeera, “11 out of 35 hospitals are partially functioning,” and 83% of groundwater wells are “not operational.” Everyday, 15 people are killed, 42 bombs are dropped, and 12 buildings are destroyed. In this genocide, over 100 journalists have been killed (as of April 5).

Update: Israel pending action in Rafah

February 20, 2024 – Israel has killed over 29,000 people in its invasion of Gaza. The death toll has decreased from 400 lives daily to 150 lives. Now, according to the New York Times, Israel might invade Rafah, which is a city in the south of Gaza. Because some Hamas leaders and weapons are suspected to be in tunnels underneath the city, Israel may take a ground offensive to eradicate Hamas in that area. The NY Times speculates that one way to avoid an invasion of Rafah would require a ceasefire agreement in exchange for hostages.  

February 19, 2024 – CNN reported that the U.S. has proposed a draft resolution for a temporary ceasefire and a warning against Israeli action in Rafah. The U.S. has previously vowed to veto an Algerian proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire and has already voted against two other resolutions to the conflict. U.S. officials say that a vote on this draft is not urgent, and President Biden, according to CNN, “told reporters at the White House that he’s had ‘extensive conversations’ with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the last several days where he relayed his position ‘that there has to be a temporary ceasefire’ to secure the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas.”

Summary

On October 7, 2023, an Islamist terrorist group called Hamas issued a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 200 hostages. This event has sparked a widespread massacre of Palestinian people and marked the beginning of total warfare in Gaza and the West Bank.

So far, there have been assaults, bombings, imprisonments, and much worse, against Palestinian civilians in search of Hamas headquarters and hostages. Israeli forces have bombarded the West Bank, though it is 58 miles away from Gaza and is not the primary location of Hamas. Israel has bombed hospitals and refugee camps and has displaced thousands of families. 

As of January 21st, 25,105 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza alone, with over 62,000 wounded, according to APNews. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected plans that would lead to Palestinian statehood, insinuating that Israel has no intentions of showing mercy to Palestinians or honoring their human right to safety and shelter.

U.S. Involvement

The Biden Administration is currently backing Israel in both diplomatic and military aid, and has so far “twice bypassed the legislature to make “emergency” weapons sales to Israel,” according to The New Yorker. Biden’s support of Israel has not gone uncontested. According to NBC News, “Hundreds of federal government employees have signed an open letter to Biden demanding his administration push for a cease-fire to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.” Josh Paul, the former head of the State Department’s political-military affairs bureau, has resigned as of October. He could not endorse the U.S. giving aid to Israel “without stricter conditions,” (NBC). 

In December, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance previously existing anti-boycott legislation that targets the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is a Palestinian-led movement that calls for companies to end support of Israel. 

This month, U.S. military forces have conducted strikes against Houthi military bases in Yemen. The Houthi is a military and political organization that has been attacking ships it believes to be linked to Israel. According to AP News, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, said that it was never an expectation that the Houthis would immediately stop their attacks if the U.S. got involved. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also weighs in on the issue, “These strikes will continue for as long as they need to continue,” he said. 

The ICJ Case

South Africa has filed a lawsuit against Israel, accusing Israel of violating the 1984 Genocide Convention. The International Court of Justice has recently decided the case, ruling mostly in favor of South Africa, but not immediately calling for a ceasefire, according to the Middle East Eye. 

“The highly-anticipated ruling had been viewed as consequential for recognizing the genocide being committed by Israel against Palestinians (Middle East Eye).”

The ICJ ordered Israel to take “practical measures within its power to prevent genocide,” to provide humanitarian aid, to “prevent and punish public incitement,” and report back to the court within a month of this ruling. 

Israel has since appeared to ignore the verdict, and its leaders have reportedly called the court “anti-semitic,” according to the Middle East Eye. The decision made by the ICJ in response to South Africa’s lawsuit has now set a precedent that acknowledges the Palestinian lives lost and urges Israel to limit its actions in order to end the genocide. Whether or not Israel will comply will further decide how history is made and whether or not the atrocities continue.