On Saturday, October 7th, the military group Hamas invaded Israel from the city of Gaza. They invaded 22 Israeli cities, launched thousands of rockets, kidnapped people, burned people alive, and held them hostage in Gaza. 250 Israelis were killed and 234 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and gun battles coming from Israel.
This attack was horrific. There is no justification for what occurred on Saturday. No human being or group of innocent people should be treated this way. Anything in relation to war is complicated and any side of the debate can not be satisfied. Aside from the horrific acts that occurred on October 7th, there is so much history between Israel and Palestine that is is dangerous to just have one perspective that could cloud one’s judgment on the genocide on Palestine.
Hamas and Israel have been at each other’s throats for so long and their conflict has caused so many Israelis and Palestinians to die. According to the New York Times article “Israel-Gaza Conflict Air-Raid Sirens in Israel Warn of Continued Strikes on Sunday” in December of 2008, Israel began a ground war with Hamas which killed 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. In November of 2012, Israel killed the Hamas military leader, Ahmed al-Jabari, which led to attacks on both sides killing 150 Palestinians and 6 Israelis. In 2014, Hamas killed three Israeli teenagers which resulted in Israel launching rockets at Palestine that killed 1,881 Palestinians and 60 Israelis. Palestine citizens tried the peaceful way, having protests on the fence of Gaza in 2018 and 170 people were killed because of that. Even recently in 2021, Israel raided a sacred place for Muslims and Jewish people, the Al Aqsa Mosque, that had 200 Palestinians and 10 Israelis. And in 2022, 166 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank because of terrorist attacks in Israel.
I am glad that there is a lot of support coming out for the citizens of Israel, who do not deserve this. My only wish is that this same support would be given to Palestine. The Western Media can be biased and spread propaganda so the information we receive may not explain the full story of Palestine’s experience with Israel’s occupation. They have experienced acts Israelites witness now from the Israeli Defense Force. There has been an apartheid regime of Israel that has been ethnically cleansing Palestinians since 1948. This began during the al-Nakba which is an Arabic term for catastrophe. During the al-Nakba, Palestinians were displaced from their homes and their land was stolen.
In relation to the occupation of Gaza itself, which occurred in 1967, Israel won the 6-day war between Egypt and they gained the Gaza strip. Palestinians had been living in the Gaza strip so when Israel took over, they segregated the Israelites from the Palestinians and established the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A system of apartheid was issued according to Amnesty International’s article titled “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.” There is no justification for this since the settlement is illegal according to the United Nations Resolution 2334, passed in 2016. People residing in the Gaza strip rely on Israel for all of their water, food, electricity, and fuel. But based on recent events, Israel has now cut that all off to punish the Palestinians.
That is not all. Palestinians are trapped, raped, shot in cold blood, and families watch their loved ones die in front of them, and have their homes are stolen by settlers. Children are the most impacted by this because half of the population is children. Palestinians are not allowed citizenship, prohibiting them to cross the Gaza strip and not allowing a way for them to return which means they’re trapped. They need IDs from the Israeli military to have jobs, and the refugees from 1949 that were displaced because of al-Nakba are not allowed to go back to their homes according to Amnesty International.
As this conflict continues Israel has attacked the Gaza strip and has completely obliterated the land and home of many. Hundreds of thousands of children and families have been killed, they have had no food or water and have been displaced. And Palestine is still not getting the same support and coverage Israel received.
This story is difficult to approach. We have to differentiate the Israeli government from their citizens and Hamas from Palestinians. The Israeli government and the Hamas terrorist group have been in conflict for years. However, we can still be angry at the Israeli government for apartheid in Palestine and the horrible way Palestinians were treated. Another distinction we need to make is that Hamas does not represent Palestine. They are not a revolutionary group there to take justice for Palestinians, they are just at war with the Israeli government.
This situation matters to me because I am Egyptian and I empathize with the way Palestinians are treated by the Israeli government and the media. It is difficult to live in a world where I am treated differently because of my last name at airports or just in general conversations with others. Outsiders already have an impression of me before they get to know me. I am not speaking about this in support of Hamas. I am in support of the innocent Israelis who were killed and the Palestinians who have experienced genocide for the last 75 years.
If you would like to donate and support Palestine below are resources for you:
Islamic Relief USA:
https://irusa.org/middle-east/palestine/
Save the Children:
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page/en_EN
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund:
