Starting in early October, a violent and deadly war broke out between Israel and Hamas, a militant Islamist group. Israel and Palestine have been in an ongoing conflict since the nineteenth century. Tension has risen in the region since then and is now at a new high. Since 2006, Hamas has controlled Gaza, one of two of Palestinian territories. On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel by sea, air and land in a surprise attack. Thousands of rockets were let into Israel causing mass devastation. According to ABC News, as of Oct. 19, “More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel,” not including the thousands injured. The U.S. State Department released that around 32 of those killed were Americans. More than 3000 people have been killed in Gaza and a large number of Americans have been taken hostage by Hamas. Gaza is currently in a very bad situation, with no electricity and food shortage. On Oct. 17, the Pentagon confirmed that 2000 U.S troops are being put on an increased state of readiness, in the case of a possible deployment to the Middle East. On Oct. 18, President Biden arrived in Israel, met by Prime Minister Netanyahu. There he told Israel that the U.S. will supply them with whatever they need and applauded them on their bravery, Biden then returned to the White House on Oct. 19. Israel has now pledged to step up its force, and is expected to do what it takes to take down Hamas. Global aid organizations have warned that relief in Gaza is not enough and insufficient, warning that health facilities are expected to run out of fuel in the coming days. The U.N. has called for an increase in resources to Gaza, and more military assets will be sent to the Middle East. Recent concerns are about airstrikes to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians have taken shelter. As of Nov. 1, 8,700 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Gaza. These numbers are only growing by the day.
