Over ten thousand Palestinian civilians have been murdered in just a month, with almost half of the deaths consisting of children. In Israel, about 1,400 have been murdered. Mothers and fathers are mourning the loss of their children and begging for war between the two countries to stop.
Since 1967, Palestine has been occupied by Israel illegally. Israel has cut off water, food, and medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The militant and terrorist group, Hamas, decided they did not want the violations against Palestinians in Gaza to continue and launched an attack on Israel. Hamas is a small group without a lot of power, and the country of Palestine in general does not have a strong military or lots of ammunition, and is very weak.
“From my point of view Israel is attacking Palestine,” junior Nghi Chau said. “I think that Palestine is just being done wrong.”
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7, 2023. Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would take “mighty vengeance” against Hamas and warned Palestinians that were living in Gaza to leave.
While trying to take out Hamas, Israel has bombed homes, mosques, and churches throughout Gaza. Protests have broken out in America for a ceasefire. Israel agreed for a ceasefire in Gaza and is allowing humanitarian aid in exchange for hostages that Hamas took to be freed. The ceasefire, although only lasting a couple days, has civilians in Gaza relieved for now.
“Israel should send special forces to eliminate Hamas” junior Ali Al-Dujaili said. “They should do this instead of bombing all of Palestine.”
Israel wants the land of Gaza from Palestine because they believe it is rightfully theirs, although Israel became a nation recently in 1948. Israel is majority Jewish, and Palestine is majority Muslim, so many people think this is a religious war. Lots of Palestine supporters are calling this an ethnic cleansing and a genocide in Gaza, and some even relating the bombings and killings to Hitler killing the Jews.
Palestinians have been trying to flee Gaza and relocate to somewhere safer, but it is nearly impossible. Gaza is surrounded by blockades, making leaving difficult. Israel also does not let anyone in or out of Gaza, so help is not an option. Palestinians also fear that even if they can leave, they may not be able to come back. If the land is left weak and defenseless, there will not be a home for them to come back to.
