As someone coming from Generation Z myself, the Israel-Palestinian conflict is something that has been seemingly ever present. While I have seen many fights between Israelis and Palestinians breaking out over the years, the intensity and suffering that has ensued over the last 10 months is something, certainly our generation has never witnessed between Israelis and Palestinians. I think that is a major reason you have seen such stark reactions from younger generations, especially.
Of course, members of our generation have witnessed many wars throughout our lifetimes. Modern media has made it that you can literally see in real time the horrors of war. However, fighting between Israelis and Palestinians has never been this destructive in many of our lifetimes. We have definitely witnessed some major skirmishes breaking out. However, the death and destruction on display this time round is much more intense than on any other previous occasion.
We are nearing the 11th month of fighting within Gaza, ever since the October 7th attack. According to Palestinian health authorities, around 39,000 people have been killed since the start of the fighting. It is looking more and more likely that when we reach the first anniversary of the October 7th attack, fighting would likely still be taking place in Gaza. The prospect of a ceasefire being agreed upon by both parties continues to look unlikely, despite the months of efforts aiming towards bringing an end to the fighting.
The conflict has been going on for so long that there had been a stage where international media outlets began severely limiting their coverage of the conflict. The drama that engulfed US politics of the last few weeks meant that the US Presidential elections had taken up much of the world’s attention. It is only because of the major events that have taken place over the last week that have reinvigorated the interest of international media outlets once again.
First, we had the Houthis in Yemen manage to fly a drone all the way to Tel Aviv to conduct a strike that killed one person and injured 10 others. The next day, Israel struck Yemen in retaliation, hitting a Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which had reportedly led to the deaths of three people and left around 80 injured.
Then we had the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, fly over to the United States of America and deliver an address to the US Congress. While Netanyahu’s address had been boycotted by a number of Democratic lawmakers, his visit had been met with thunderous applause by members from both parties in the US Congress. The optics of the address served as a stark reminder that the United States is completely behind Israel, despite the criticisms that have been waged against the Israel state, for its conduct during the war in Gaza.
The images of Netanyahu being greeted with thunderous applause served as a major contrast to the massive protests we have seen within the United States, and around the world, over the last year. Even more so, it served as a major contrast to the destruction we have seen within Gaza, as civilians continue to bear the brunt of the suffering as the war has continued to drag on.
However, the news would not be all good for Israel, as the news of a horrific attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights by Hezbollah left 12 Israel children dead. For months, there have been major concerns about an all-out war breaking out between Israel and Hezbollah. As there have been constant exchanges of rocket fire between Israel and Hezbollah in northern Israel, since the October 7 attack.
Moreover, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has resulted in thousands of civilians being displaced from their homes in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon. This attack, in the Golan Heights, is the sort of thing people have been warning could cause a serious escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. And just like the Houthi attack, we have seen Israel make retaliatory strikes in Lebanon the very next day.
Israel even went as far as striking Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in an attack which it claims to have killed Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander. The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the attack as a “criminal act” in a “series of aggressive operations killing civilians in clear and explicit violation of international law,” according to the BBC.
Now, as if there wasn’t enough attention on the conflict in the Middle East already, it has been announced that Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been assassinated in Tehran, in an Israeli airstrike. This came as Haniyeh had been in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The Iranian President said in a tweet in reaction that “he would make the terrorist invaders regret their cowardly action.”
In response to the attack, a Hamas senior official, Sami Abu Zuhri, described the assassination as “a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas.” He reiterated that “Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices, and we are confident of victory,” according to Al Jazeera.
While the death of Isamail Haniyeh may not exactly garner a lot of sympathy from many people, as he was a senior Hamas leader, it definitely may throw a wrench into the efforts towards achieving a ceasefire. As he was the head of the political wing of Hamas and seen as the overall leader of the group. That’s no to even talk about the anger and call for more retaliation among Hamas members at seeing their top figure being assassinated.
At the centre of all of this are the civilians within Gaza, who continue to bear the brunt of the suffering as a result of this war. They are the ones who face daily airstrikes and who have been displaced multiple times as a result of the fighting. Many losing their homes, their livelihoods, who have been injured and maimed as a result of the fighting, and the many who have lost their lives.
Likewise, as we are edging closer to the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack, there are still 115 hostages still being held within Gaza. One can only imagine the amount of suffering that they and their families have been subjected to as a result. The tragedies that have come about as a result of the war have truly been insurmountable.
It is also worth mentioning that, while the attack on the children in the Golan heights was truly horrific. It is sadly the case as well that thousands of Palestinian children have been killed and maimed as a result of airstrikes within Gaza. That same pain that has been felt by so many Israelis, is the same pain that so many Palestinians have felt after losing their loved ones, as a result of the war. That is why it is so important that an end to the conflict is brought about to prevent things getting even more out of hand that currently already are.