Summary
An ABC News report provides an ongoing timeline of events relating to the recent conflict in Palestine and Israel. [Source]
On 7 Oct 2023 at 6:30 AM, approximately 2,200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian Gaza Strip territory into Israel. This was accompanied by a ground invasion and some use of air gliders to escape the Gaza compound which is generally fortified by fences on all sides.
One of the first targets of the attack involved music festival where 260 civilians, mostly young people, were killed and others were taken hostage. [Source] Others captured in the area included women, children, and elderly people, as well as a holocaust survivor who uses a wheelchair. [Source]
Osama Hamdan is a senior spokesperson of Hamas. On October 8, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Hamdan stated, “We are not attacking civilians.” [Source] This statement highlights the discord between the top-level Hamas leadership and the actions of those participating in the conflict which may be driven by vengeance and hatred without considering the impact of their actions on public opinion and the inevitable retaliatory harm inflicted on people living in Gaza.
Resources and Topics
The remainder of this document will consist of resources and short topic summaries listed in alphabetical order. More topics and resources will be added in the concluding days of the heightened conflict which hopefully will not drag on or get worse.
Gaza – Context
The video below describes the oppression and desperation in Gaza that fuels militant extremism.
Gaza – Map
The Gaza map below, updated in September 2023 , was created by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). [Source] Click the image for a larger detailed PDF view. [Source]
Peace – Resistance
While many people will view peace and stability as a good thing, efforts to establish “peace” in the area will be perceived by some on both sides as an effort to placate people with legitimate grievances and demands.
For someone kicked off their generations-old family farm, no agreement or compromise will be acceptable other than being back on their land. A peace movement is viewed suspiciously as an effort to disarm efforts toward material progress.
News – Polarization
News sources loyal to each side will report according to their bias. Efforts to provide balanced factual reporting will be perceived by one side to be favoring the other side. Here are some points to consider.
- Israeli news sources will provide details of Israeli civilians killed or injured as well as non-military targets of violence inside Israel. News sources sympathetic to the Palestinian cause will report on hospitals, residential areas, and mosques attacked as well as women, children, and other civilians killed or injured. Neither side will report on the civilian suffering of the other side.
- Each side attempts to portray the other side as barbaric and evil.
- Each side attempts to portray its own people as the victims and martyrs.
- Neither side admits to the decades of wrongs and atrocities committed against the other side.
- Each side recounts their long history in the land and legitimate ownership of the land. Farmers show deeds to properties that have been in the family for generations prior to being kicked off their land.
- While the conflict is certainly a physical military conflict, there seems to be heavy use of social media to sway world public opinion in a way that can translate into money, humanitarian aid, and perhaps military aid.
These contrasting narratives make it difficult to arrive at an aggregate understanding of the situation which would be necessary to explore how to bring stability and cooperation to the region.
Outcomes of Strikes
Large-scale government-sanctioned military strikes on densely populated areas tend to result in negative public opinion globally and can fuel new and worse extremism internally. In the video below, Karim Emile Bitar explains the problem in 60 seconds. [Source: France 24, 11 Oct 2023 – queued to 5m 30s]
Regional – Iran
Antony Blinken has stated: “We haven’t yet seen direct evidence that Iran was behind this particular attack.” Despite the lack of direct evidence, Lindsey Graham and other members of government claim Iran must be involved because of the long history of Iran supporting Hamas. [Source] A Wall Street Journal report from 9 Oct 2023 has the title “Iran Supported Hamas in Attack Against Israel.” [View Video]
A video of the ground invasion shows about a dozen men with motorized gliders flying into Israel. [Source] Another video shows a front-end loader knocking over a fence. [Source] One video shows the attack of an Israeli tank using a drone. While these methods are innovative and different than the tactics of previous uprisings, they aren’t evidence of Iranian involvement.
Other speculation that seems more likely is that the recent progress toward normalizing relationships between Israel and Egypt are viewed negatively by antagonists of Israel.
Refugees in Gaza
Because a large number of people in Gaza are refugees who were taken from their land, it is viewed with a different lens. For example, the Norwegian Refugee Council refers to Gaza as the world’s largest open-air prison. [Source]
Military attacks on Gaza have historically targeted utility services such as electricity and water as well as hospitals, mosques, and residential areas. This pattern has world humanitarian agencies concerned.
Video News Links
Embedded videos quickly fill-up web pages and delay load times and some videos are only available on YouTube. For this reason, links are provided here in chronological order emphasizing the source for each entry. Dates reflect CT US unless otherwise noted.
FEATURED
- Barack Obama, “Put yourselves in Palestinians’ shoes,” CBS News, 21 Mar 2013 [View]
- Bernie Sanders, “We must not deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and dramatically undermine Israel’s security,” 18 Oct 2023 [View]
- Josh Paul, “Ex-State Department official explains why he resigned over U.S. response to Israel-Hamas war,” PBS, 19 Oct 2023 [View]
- Rabbi Sharon Brous, “We’ve Lost So Much. Let’s Not Lose Our Damn Minds,” IKAR, 15 Oct 2023 [View]
- Rashid Khalidi, “Violence Is Bred by Occupation,” PBS, 18 Oct 2023 [View]
13 OCT 2023
- CNN, “Drone footage of war-torn Gaza show immense destruction,” 13 Oct 2023 at 3:02 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 7:02 PM CT US [View]
- MSNBC, “Israel: Gaza water and power supply will remain off until hostages are freed,” 13 Oct 2023 at ~3:00 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at ~7:00 PM CT US [View]
- NewsNation, “Cuomo: I disagree with protecting US audience from images of burned Israeli babies,” 13 Oct 2023 at 4:41 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at ~8:41 PM CT US [View]
- NewsNation, “Cuomo: In Israel-Hamas war, ‘pain is everywhere’,” 13 Oct 2023 at ~ 3:30 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at ~7:30 PM CT US [View]
- NewsNation, “Israeli forces could face ambush on every Gaza corner,” 13 Oct 2023 at 3:42 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at 7:42 PM CT US [View]
- NBC News, “Millions in Gaza have nowhere to go as Israeli bombs fall from the sky,” 13 Oct 2023 at ~3:00 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at ~7:00 PM CT US [View]
- NBC News, “Blinken on Israel-Hamas war and getting Americans out,” 13 Oct 2023 at 3:00 AM Local Time / 12 Oct 2023 at 7:00 PM CT US [View]
12 OCT 2023
- BBC, “Gaza situation dire, UN says, as Israeli military admits security failures,” 12 Oct 2023 [View]
- BBC News, “1,400 dead in Gaza airstrikes – the humanitarian crisis,” 12 Oct 2023 [View]
- MSNBC, “Richard Engel live from Israel-Gaza border ahead of looming ground incursion by Israeli forces,” 12 Oct 2023 [View]
- NewsNation, “Panel: Do Harvard students deserve doxxing over anti-Israel letter?,” 12 Oct 2023 [View]
11 OCT 2023
- Al Jazeera, “Gaza’s sole power plant now out of service: Energy Authority,” 11 Oct 2023 at 3:30 PM Local Time / 7:30 AM CT US [View]
- Al Jazeera, “Palestinians start their morning with smell of gunpowder, dust in the air,” 11 Oct 2023 [View]
10 OCT 2023
- Al Jazeera, “Israel hits seaport in Gaza,” 10 Oct 2023 at 5:50 PM Local Time / 9:50 AM CT US [View]
- Al Jazeera, “Barrage of rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel after Hamas military wing issued warning,” 10 Oct 2023 at 5:38 PM Local Time / 9:38 AM CT US [View]
- CBC News, “Are Gaza residents warned about Israeli airstrikes?,” 10 Oct 2023 [View] Summary – “The U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency reports Israeli bombings have damaged 18 of its buildings in Gaza including 4 schools and 8 healthcare facilities.” length 8m
- DW News, “After attack by Hamas: More dead bodies found at kibbutz in southern,” 10 Oct 2023 [View]
- NBC, “Disinformation spreads on Israel-Hamas war across social media,” 10 Oct 2023 [View]
- NBC, “Hamas threatens to execute hostages as conflict in Gaza deepens,” 10 Oct 2023 [View]
9 OCT 2023
- BBC, “Massive Gaza onslaught as Israel warns airstrikes are ‘just the beginning’,” 9 Oct 2023 [View]
- CNN, “Israel orders ‘complete closure’ of Gaza,” 9 Oct 2023 [View]
- MSNBC, “Families grapple with the hostage crisis in Israel,” 9 Oct 2023 [View]
- MSNBC, “‘Hell on Earth’: Mehdi Hasan reveals what life is like in occupied Gaza,” 9 Oct 2023 [View]
- PBS, “Israel levels parts of Gaza in retribution for Hamas terror attack,” 9 Oct 2023 [View]
8 OCT 2023
- Al Jazeera, “‘We are not attacking civilians’: Hamas,” 8 Oct 2023 [View]
Wikipedia Reference
The crowd-sourced online encyclopedia provides a somewhat comprehensive collection of documents. Here are a few key links.