Israel-Hamas War: Here’s what happened
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Israelis and Palestinians have constantly been head to head for the past two centuries. The two have attacked each other relentlessly back and forth, one of the recent attacks being Israel’s attack on the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. However, today, they may have met one of the deadliest incidents yet.
Sunday, October 8th - Israel has officially declared war on Palestine. Here’s what happened:
On Saturday, October 7th - Palestine, more specifically the Hamas, coordinated an assault against Israel called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” The Hamas began firing thousands of rockets, targeting Tel Aviv and the borders of Jerusalem.
Afterward, Hamas crossed Israel’s borders by sea, land, and air. They infiltrated over 20 towns and army bases, taking hostages as they went and bringing them to Gaza, a Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. As a result, Israel faced one of their deadliest days in decades with over 900 people reported dead.
With their intelligence and defense systems overthrown, this attack was a surprise to Israel. Therefore, Israel, vowing to take revenge against the Hamas, declared war. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed they were ready for a “long and difficult war” to take vengeance for their actions.
Netanyahu claims that Israel’s first stage was to destroy the enemy’s forces that had penetrated their territory and caused harm to the country. This would be followed by an “offensive formation.”
On Monday, Israel’s defense team, the IDF, launched “Operation Swords of Iron” and targeted the Hamas around Gaza. Although Israel warned the civilians in Gaza to escape as soon as possible, their forces killed 400 Palestinians in retaliation using airstrikes. Tank units have also been sent out, sending speculation that Israel is also sending ground units to drive out the Palestinians.
In addition, Israel has ordered a complete siege on Gaza, which included closing “electricity, food and fuel” or even water.
In Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government to “thoroughly prepare safety measures for our residents and travelers” in Israel. Therefore, as of Sunday, measures have been implemented to safely escort Korean travelers back to Korea. Israel’s government assures that no harm was done to any international travelers.