Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared war against Hamas on Oct. 7, shortly after an estimated 2,200 rockets were fired upon central and southern Israel. Following the attack, the commander in chief of the Hamas’ military arm Al Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, declared responsibility in a video statement.
As of Oct. 17, at least 3,400 individuals were injured and 1,400 people have been killed by Hamas’ attacks, including 31 Americans. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 2,700 Palestinians are dead as a result of Israeli retaliatory efforts in Gaza.
Hamas has taken hostage an estimated 150 people, U.S. citizens among them, claiming to seek the release of over 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. A handful of these hostages were captured at the Supernova festival in Kibbutz Re’im where Hamas attacked and killed 260 attendees.
“I can’t even explain the energy [the militants] had,” 25-year-old attendee Maya Alper said. “It was so clear they didn’t see us as human beings. They looked at us with pure, pure hate.”
Israeli families have taken to social media to post videos and photos asking for help in finding their missing family members.
One hostage is 85-year-old Israeli citizen Yaffa Adar, who was abducted soon after the fighting began. Her granddaughter, Adva Adar, posted on Facebook Sunday asking for information on Yaffa’s whereabouts and urging the Israeli government to help her.
“My grandmother established the kibbutz with her own hands, believed in Zionism, in this country that has abandoned her, a hostage,” Adva Adar wrote in the Facebook post. “She is apparently thrown somewhere, suffering from severe pain, without medication, without food and without water.”
Later that day, Israel began bombarding Gaza with airstrikes in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks. Netanyahu ordered a blockade of Gaza, inhibiting access to food, water, fuel and electricity to citizens.
“They’re wiping us out,” Gazan University student Efaf al-Najar said. “This is a genocide. It’s not even an attack anymore. They keep saying, ‘leave the Gaza Strip.’ Where? They’ve bombed everything, even the only border we can leave through.”
President Joe Biden released a statement condemning the terrorist attacks and announcing his support for Israel.
“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel,” Biden said. “Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. My administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
On Oct. 13, the Israeli military ordered over one million Gazans to evacuate Northern Gaza prior to an expected Israeli retaliatory ground invasion. Despite the warning, Hamas officials encouraged people to not evacuate. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that the Israeli government needed to give Palestinians more time to evacuate.
“You cannot move such a volume of people in [a] short period of time,” Borrell said.
According to the UN, at least 423,000 people, almost one in five Gazans, have been forced to abandon their homes by Israeli airstrikes. According to Hamas’ media office, Israeli warplanes hit fleeing cars, killing more than 70 people.
To help the victims of the Israel-Gaza crisis, visit this article by Annie Nova.
