Nov. 13, 2023
By Sean Disbrow
Staff Writer
On Oct. 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas led an attack against Israel, which caught Israel off guard and led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war.
According to the Associated Press, as of Nov. 5, more than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, and at least 9,770 people were killed in Gaza.
History teacher Mr. Duus said the attacks have had major negative impacts on Gaza and Israel.
“Many innocent Israelis were murdered and kidnapped by Hamas [while] unarmed and going about their daily lives,” Duus said. “People were murdered at a rave just enjoying music, while Gaza is a densely-populated urban environment where airstrikes and a ground invasion could prove to be destructive to the population, including civilians.”
According to NBC News, as a result of heavy bombing by Israel, by Oct. 27, Gaza suffered a near total blackout of cell phone services and internet. Due to the Israeli blockade, resources such as food, water and fuel have nearly run out. With limited fuel, a third of hospitals are non-functioning, meaning they cannot operate on or treat injured citizens, according to an Oct. 24 post by the World Health Organization on X.
“The people of Gaza are also running out of key supplies due to the Israeli embargo and are unable to escape the area because the traditional routes are all closed,” Duus said.
“Seeing the genocide being committed against my people as the world powers stay silent is beyond heartbreaking. It’s infuriating.”
Despite the humanitarian crisis occurring in Gaza, according to the Associated Press, the surrounding countries of Egypt and Jordan refuse to allow Palestinian refugees in because both countries are concerned it would result in their permanent relocation.
Duus said other countries have been offering aid to Israel.
“The United States and some other European countries such as Germany have already provided weapons to Israel along with other forms of aid,” Duus said.
To prevent further escalation of the conflict, Duus said it is best for other countries not to intervene with force.
“The most important thing is to prevent other countries from being sucked into the fighting,” Duus said.
History teacher Mr. Tessalone said the conflict is especially difficult and dangerous for both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
“War is always going to have an impact on civilians, and unfortunately civilians always suffer more, especially in urban warfare,” Tessalone said.
He said the Israeli-Palestinian relationship has been impacted by over 100 years of tension.
“The conflict in Palestine goes back to World War I when the Ottoman Empire was broken up and Britain took control of what is today Palestine. At the same time, Jewish immigration to Palestine increased to 30% of Palestinians in Palestine in 1939. Then in 1967, the war known as the Six-Day War is when Israel took control of Palestine,” Tessalone said.
Supervisor of Language Arts, Social Studies, World Language and Art Ms. Klein said the conflict intensified after Hamas was elected to government in 2006.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization, so things have not been good between Hamas and the Israeli people, and as a result, both sides were attacking each other,” Klein said.
She said it is important to consider the history of the war.
“Israel became a country in 1948 to offer a home to Jewish people after the Holocaust since other countries didn’t want to allow them in,” Klein said.
She said she is concerned about growing antisemitism on college campuses.
According to MSNBC, students have led protests relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict at Cooper Union in New York City, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and Tulane University in New Orleans. On Oct. 11, an Israeli student at Columbia University in New York City was assaulted while hanging posters of Israelis who were reportedly kidnapped by Hamas. On Oct. 31, a student at Cornell was arrested for making antisemitic threats online.
“It is disappointing as a Jewish American that the administration of these universities isn’t doing more to stop the antisemitic protests and events,” Klein said.
Senior Rola Mustafa, whose family are Palestinian refugees who immigrated to the United States from Jordan, said she is impacted by the conflict because she is Palestinian.
“Seeing the genocide being committed against my people as the world powers stay silent is beyond heartbreaking. It’s infuriating,” Mustafa said. “However, the people’s continued efforts and unity in the face of blatant genocide give me hope that the world will not allow Israel to continue their illegal and immoral occupation of Palestine.”
Mustafa said it is upsetting that violence has intensified over the past month.
“Israel has been carpet bombing Gaza, using banned weapons such as white phosphorus on civilians and collectively punishing Gaza by placing them under a complete siege,” Mustafa said.
She said being a proponent of Palestinian liberation and freedom is a human rights issue rather than a religious issue.
“Framing it as only a religious conflict is a grave injustice and severely limits the scope of understanding,” Mustafa said.
She said the conflict could end if all people were treated with dignity.
“To establish a lasting peace, Israel must end its illegal military occupation of Palestine, lift the siege on Gaza and establish equality–legal and civil–for all citizens regardless of religion and ethnicity,” Mustafa said. “If Palestinians have liberation and freedom, the need for resistance disappears.”
