On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked the Nova music festival near the Israeli/Gaza border and took multiple people hostage. Later on, more than 260 bodies were found after the attack. After that, Hamas militants attacked homes of civilians and took more hostages. These hostages are not just Israelis but also from other countries, including many Americans. There are about 240 people taken hostage by Hamas and there have been ongoing negotiations to release the hostages. Ever since, there has been all kinds of reaction, everyone from politicians to movie stars seem to be voicing their reaction to this gut wrenching attack, the hostage situations, the ongoing conflict and the Israeli government’s response.
Shortly after the attacks, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying, “The savage attacks that Hamas perpetrated against innocent Israelis are mind boggling: slaughtering families in their homes, massacring hundreds of young people at an outdoor festival, kidnapping scores of women, children and elderly, even Holocaust survivors.” In the same statement, he declared that Israel was now at war and would take all necessary actions to fight against Hamas.
The response from the United States has been fully supportive of Israel. President Biden as a part of his statement said, “In this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere that the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back. We’ll make sure they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.” Biden has pledged full American support of Israel and has been calling on congress to pass aid for them.
On the other hand, the effect on Gaza and civilians has been devastating. Thousands have been misplaced, injured or have died. On October 17, an explosion took place at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. This caused large amounts of casualties among Palestinians who were seeking shelter. Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the explosion as it is unsure who and what caused the explosion. Then on October 22, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) striked a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, killing 2 people. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza because of Israeli strikes in the past month.
Since the conflict, there have been protests all around the world supporting either Israel or Palestine. Specifically in the United States, there have been big rallies in major cities like New York and Washington D.C. and many protests on college campuses. The amount of civilian deaths has caused a lot of anger and calls for a ceasefire. Although, it is unlikely a ceasefire would happen since Prime Minister Netanyahu had rejected all calls for a ceasefire, Israeli allies have encouraged Israel to make efforts of deescalate so they can negotiate to free the 240 hostages.