This article may still be updated

Preamble:

This situation is still unfolding and has been for just over a week at the time of writing this. Due to the sensitive subject matter (as demonstrated by the global reaction of this conflict), we have decided it best to hold this document to a special format. The historical background of this situation is extensive, and it would be very complicated to write the full story from the start. Thus, we are only writing about the incidents starting on October 7th. We are striving to keep a stronger sense of neutrality by citing officials and unbiased news networks. If you feel like any part of this article is not held to these standards, please reach out to us over email or Instagram. Our hearts and minds go to the family and friends of the victims, as well as those currently in or around the conflict zone.

The Update of 10/18:

• Updated the preamble

• Updated certain statistics in the article, including the death toll

• Updated wording in certain paragraphs to clarify information

• Added recent information to “The Reaction at the UN and NGOs”

• Added recent information to “The Reaction by World Countries”

• Added the section “Gaza Hospital Struck”

• Added the section “Statements Made by Israeli Politicians”

• Removed the sources section due to too many entries

The Attack by Hamas:

The attack that Hamas launched into Israel was a 3-pronged attack involving land, air and sea assets. It fired thousands of missiles from Gaza towards military and civilian targets in southern and central Israel, including “The child development center at the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon”, reported by Al-Jazeera. According to Hamas, the exact number was around 5,000 rockets. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF), however, states that less than half that was the actual count. 

Simultaneously, Hamas operatives started streaming out of Gaza into Israeli communities by motorcycle, boat, pickup truck, and even paragliders. Their aim seemed to be similar to the missiles’: Attack both military targets as well as civilian ones, like the Nova Festival, a music concert. Around 100-150 civilians were kidnapped by Hamas throughout the area of conflict and brought to secluded locations within the Gaza strip. The overall death toll, as of the morning of October 18, has passed the 1,400 in Israel, with 3,500 wounded. CNN’s Anderson Cooper was reporting live that evening that missiles had begun launching again into Tel Aviv.

A statement was made by Mohammed Deif, the commander in chief of the Al Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas to explain the recent attack: “The Zionist colonial occupation occupied our Palestinian homeland and displaced our people, destroyed our towns and villages, committed hundreds of massacres against our people, killing children, women and elderly people and demolishing homes with their inhabitants inside in violation of all international norms, laws and human rights conventions.”

According to Hamas officials, they want to use the civilians they kidnapped in prisoner swaps for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. “We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still on,” Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau, stated last Saturday. The attack was also an attempt to force Israel to stop the blockade on Gaza.

The Retaliation by Israel:

After this major attack by Hamas, the IDF responded in kind rapidly, launching airstrikes into Gaza within hours of the first rocket launch. Borders between Gaza and Israel were shut down rapidly and tanks were seen along the border, blocking anyone from moving in and out. Strikes were also used to fire White Phosphorus into Gaza, which is a war crime. The latest (10/18) death toll was close to 3,000 Palestinians with over 4 times that wounded. Over one third of the dead Palestinians are children. 

The following days saw some heavy strikes by the IDF, including on the only remaining open border crossing point, at Rafah. This crossing between Gaza and Egypt, was bombed by the IDF three times within a 24 hours window. One of the strikes was to close a smuggling tunnel, according to the Israeli forces. However, these strikes have forced Egypt to close the crossing, effectively boxing in Palestinians and stopping any aid from reaching. 

Strikes were also used to hit other humanitarian targets, including 6 different refugee camps and 4 hospitals. Multiple doctors have died in strikes around Gaza, as well as over 17 journalists. Medical staff on the ground are alleging that the IDF is targeting ambulances, which is a very clear violation of the Geneva Convention. On top of striking humanitarian locations, the IDF has hit 6 schools and 7 mosques. Certain mosques were allegedly locations where Hamas operatives were known to visit, but this clear targeting of civilian infrastructure is only half of the total strikes, with many houses and apartments buildings being hit too.

Not only is little aid currently able to move into Palestine at the moment, Gaza was also cut off from Israel in terms of water, food, and electricity. These three basic human needs are all sent into Gaza by Israel, and were cut off by October 9th. The Palestinians had begun being hit harder than the already bad conditions within Gaza, with stored water and food supplies largely depleted. Multiple countries and NGOs have called on Israel to reopen the border to allow aid in and also resume sending water and electricity into Gaza.

Just before 11 AM on October 12th, local time, Israel informed the United Nations that the entire northern half of Gaza, which contains over one million people, should be evacuated south over the span of the next 24 hours. This statement has received widespread anger from Non-Governmental Agencies (NGOs) and the United Nations, as it is impossible to do such a task. Additionally, Israel dropped leaflets telling people to evacuate too. According to AP News, “Hamas told people to ignore the evacuation order, and families in Gaza faced what they saw as a no-win decision to leave or stay, with no safe ground anywhere. Hospital staff said they couldn’t abandon patients.”

Gaza Hospital Struck:

On October 17th, a major strike hit the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which led to a lot of chaos both on the ground and on the internet. The Palestinian Health Authority estimated the losses to be in the range of 200-300, with Hamas affiliated actors stating the toll to be closer to 500. There are still bodies to be pulled from the rubble, and with thousands of people seeking refuge in the hospital due to the forced relocation by the IDF, the outlook on the death toll is bleak at best. 

This strike has caused a lot of finger pointing between terror groups in Gaza and the IDF. Hamas was quick to announce that the IDF sent an air strike to hit the hospital, and the IDF in turn claimed that Islamic Jihad terrorists, a smaller and more extremist group, had a missile fail and crash into the hospital. Currently, there is no evidence that confirms either side’s story. That being said, multiple IDF and Israeli accounts on social media and news outlets posted videos allegedly showing the strike. The only issue is, the video’s timestamps were 40 minutes too late, or timestamps set in the future.

Statements Made by Israeli Politicians:

We have now seen two different Israeli former members of the Knesset, the Israeli equivalent to a house of representatives, go on TV to have conversations regarding Gaza, only to voice certain extreme opinions. These statements obviously do not represent the voice of the millions of Israelis or even the whole government, but these statements must be highlighted to understand the way certain key people affect the resolution of this situation. 

 The first statement came from former deputy foreign minister Daniel Ayalon. He stated in a televised interview with Al Jazeera that he believes that Palesinians in Gaza need to “Go to the Sinai Desert. There is a huge expanse, almost endless space in the Sinai Desert just on the other side of Gaza.” Ayalon’s claims were followed by a statement saying that Palestinians will be allowed back into Gaza once Hamas has been removed. Many online claims his statement called for “ethnic cleansing”, “collective punishment”, and a second “Nakba”. The first Nakba occurred in 1948 when the partition occurred, creating borders and expelling over 700,000 Palestinians from their homes.

The second political figure is Gideon Sa'ar, who stated that Israel is “at war with Iran”, and that “Gazamust be smaller at the end of the war”. These words came from the former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel. To explain his statements, Sa’ar stated “They [Palestinians] must pay the price of loss. For them, human life or damage to property is much less important… …Losing land is the price Arabs understand.” As this statement is much more recent, there hasn’t been an international reaction to the statement yet. 

Misinformation Regarding the Situation:

Multiple stories were shared on social media that caused major uproar on both sides of this conflict. Very famously, a headline came out stating that Hamas had beheaded over 40 babies and children in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza. This headline was later debunked by IDF forces, stating such events did not occur. Even after this headline was debunked, many people kept posting it on social media, furthering such claims. Many children were killed by Hamas, and this should not be ignored. However, the specific number of children and the method seem exaggerated in this specific scenario. “We got very very disturbing reports that came from the ground that there were babies that had been beheaded… I think we can now say with relative confidence that unfortunately this is what happened in Be’eri,” stated an IDF spokesperson on X, however, no sources can confirm this at the moment.

Videos were shared on TikTok and Instagram allegedly showing Hamas shooting down IDF military vehicles. However, experts and video gamers alike indicated errors with the videos. Some came from prior conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, whereas others came straight from video games like War Thunder.  Other forms of manipulated media were posted on X, formerly Twitter, like a fake internal memo from the White House stating that the US had sent 8 billion dollars more in aid to Israel. In reality, such aid was sent to Ukraine, and the memo was edited. 

Another method of spreading disinformation or misinformation is just flat out denying claims, like some have done, stating Hamas did not attack the music concert. In reality, plenty of videos show the attacks and were verified by news outlets all around the world, as well as the death toll, which is around 250. More claims were made, regarding both Hamas and the IDF, on abuse towards children or women. However, we are waiting on clearer proof of either side engaging in these atrocities before reporting them as fact.

This flood of fake or edited videos, photos, and statistics has prevailed strongly on X, Elon Musk’s attempt at improving Twitter by making it more ‘free speech forward’. However, due to his lack of control regarding this misinformation, the European Union (EU) has called on him to implement stricter regulations regarding this news. His response was "Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports," Mr Musk wrote on X. "Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that the public can see them." Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, stated that the level of disinformation on X regarding the Israel-Hamas war "being algorithmically promoted" on the platform "is unlike anything I've ever been exposed to in my career as a political scientist".

The Reaction by World Countries:

Let’s start with the biggest elephant in the room: The United States of America. The US has strongly been allied to Israel since 1987, and has been its strongest backer at the UN security council. Secretary of State Blinken visited Israel late last week, followed by Secretary of defense Austin. An aircraft carrier has been moved close to the region to support Israel in its campaign, and new armament has been transferred to the IDF. This comes with the latest (10/18) American death toll rising to 31, with more expected. This has pushed the United States to organize flights out of Israel for its citizens, and recommendations for those in Gaza to approach the Egyptian border. Earlier today (10/14), the border was open for a few hours for Palestinian-Americans with cooperation by Egypt, Israel and Qatar.

America’s reaction wasn’t limited to support for Israel. It also included threats to Iran to “be careful”. This comes as Hamas is financially supported by Iran, and has been for a long time, according to the New York Times. Countries surrounding the conflict are mostly pro-Palesinian, with Lebanon and Jordan already committing or sending aid to Gaza. Turkey’s president has called out Israel for its “massacre” of Gaza, even with a few Turkish people attacked by Hamas. Some were taken hostage, and Turkey is currently negotiating with Hamas for the release of hostages, Turkish or otherwise.

Iran has also warned Israel of regional escalation, if their ‘aggressions do not stop’. This pushed the United States to send another aircraft carrier to the region, and President Biden will be going to the region to meet with leaders trying to get a ceasefire or some sort of humanitarian aid in. 

Many European countries stand with Israel too, with France specifically banning pro-Palestine rallies on the basis of curbing anti-semitism. There was also an attack on French soil which may have been linked to the conflict, according to the Ministry of the Interior. France has the highest population of both Muslims and Jews of any European nation, leading it to go on high alert and deploying a lot of internal forces to assure higher security.

The Reaction at the UN and NGOs:

The Security Council of the UN itself has been awfully quiet about this entire situation, with very little being said by delegates too. However, a (metaphorical) bombshell was dropped Friday afternoon, with the Russian delegate staging he had presented a draft resolution to vote on. This draft resolution was not public, but sources indicate it was pretty short and mainly humanitarian in nature, with the Russian delegate saying himself that the goal was humanitarian relief and a ceasefire. 

The resolution was put to a vote late Monday night and was struck down due to insufficient votes in favor of the resolution, with only 5 of the required 9 votes being there. The main point of contention with other delegations was that Hamas was not mentioned in the resolution, which was quelled in the opposing resolution by Brazil. The Russian delegation seemed willing to pass the resolution grated there were some amendments to the document, including a ceasefire and “also unequivocally condemns indiscriminate attacks against civilians as well as against civilian objects in the Gaza Strip depriving civilian population of means indispensable for their survival, in violation of international law.” The resolution hasn’t been voted on

Other UN affiliated bodies also made statements, primarily regarding the war crimes committed by both sides. The Red Cross has “appalled to see the human misery” and called on both sides to stick to the humanitarian law of not attacking civilians. Doctors Without Borders (MSF/DWB) was also appalled, but prioritized the Gaza side of the conflict, stating that the “Israeli order to evacuate northern Gaza [is] outrageous.” 

Here is a statement from Meinie Nicolai, MSF general director, on Israel’s evacuation order: “The Israeli government’s 24-hour notice that people in northern Gaza must leave their land, homes, and hospitals is outrageous. This represents an attack on medical care and on humanity. We are talking about more than a million human beings. 'Unprecedented' doesn’t even cover the medical humanitarian impact of this. Gaza is being flattened, thousands of people are dying. This must stop now. We condemn Israel’s demand in the strongest possible terms.” This statement was posted to social media platforms by MSF/DWB.