Ted Eytan

Israelis and Palestinians in front of the White House each protesting for what they believe is right. There are many various people from other countries that stand with either side. (Ted Eytan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been going on for years, so this war comes as no surprise to many people and nations. There are many opinionated people all over the world, on both sides. Each side has its history and reason to be fighting for the land. 

How the war started

Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist group that according to many news sources is trying to take land from Israel that they claim belongs to the Palestinian people. Other sources say that Palestinian people/Hamas want to be recognized as a nation by Israel which is why they are using these forces to try to change the way that Israel sees them as a collective. 

As of October 7, 2023, Hamas made an invasion of Israel from the Gaza Strip. Hamas then announces that they are calling an operation “Al-Aqsa flood.” Hamas started bombing areas with large populations of people. Israeli government officials say that they consider this the equivalent of the 9/11 attack on Israel. Hundreds and thousands of Jewish people were killed in this Hamas attack. Israel did not stay quiet on the matter. The Israelis quickly strike back; with this, they also kill a large number of Palestinian people. After each country made its claim, the war began. Neither country is willing to back down, leading to a loophole of events. 

The conflict

On October 7, 2023, at 6:30 a.m. Israeli time, it was estimated that around 2,200 rockets were launched with Central and Southern Israel as their target. In these groups, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were included. (Hamas’ militia claims). On the other hand, Israel claims that an estimated of around 5,000 rockets were launched into the Central and Southern parts of Israel. (Israel claims). Both sides are consistently giving news sources different information about each major situation that is publicly announced.   

As of October 23, 2023, the most recent act was the bombing of the Gaza hospital. Hundreds of people, from both Israel and Palestine, were killed and injured. It still remains under debate whether it was the Israelites that sent a bomb into the hospital or it was a failed Hamas bomb that was trying to get launched. Many different sources claim different things. Many sources including Hamas claim that Israel made a clear attack on the Gaza hospital, although Hamas was unsuccessful in proving that. On the other hand, Israel came out with a statement saying that the strike was a failed strike from Palestine that they do believe was not intended to hit the hospital but hit clear Israeli territory, but unfortunately ended in the hospital. Whilst neither side can be confirmed, the issue remains under question.

Stands with Palestine

Dani, a 56-year-old Bulgarian, was asked about her opinion on the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. She responded that she sided with Palestine in the conflict. “Although I say that I side with Palestine, that shouldn’t be confused with standing with Hamas. I am completely against Hamas’ horrific action,” she said. She said that she believes that if Israel would just give in and recognize Palestine as a nation and give them their land then this whole war could be over, and history as we know it “can move on.” She mentioned also that this has been an issue since she could remember. She says that she also believes that neither side is handling the situation well. Hamas strikes and Israel then proceeds to strike back twice. 

Stands with Israel

Anna, a 46-year-old living in America, says that she believes that Hamas’ attacks on Israel are completely out of hand. She said that she believes that Hamas has no grounds for what they are doing. “Land being taken and won from wars is how life works, it’s how every country has formed by fighting over land. Palestine shouldn’t be claiming this land as their own when in history it’s no longer theirs” she said. “Although both countries aren’t handling the situation well, Israel in the long run is responding to horrific acts from Hamas. She also mentions that she believes that all of these acts from Hamas that are taking place are very brutal and uncalled for. “I understand that sometimes when two countries aren’t getting along they need to take military measures, which are unpleasant but sometimes very necessary, but that is far from what Hamas has chosen to do. I believe that what Hamas is doing goes against the rules of war and is just being extremely brutal,” she added.

Interview from Israeli Citizen:

Sarrah is a young woman from Israel that has asked to stay as anonymous as possible throughout the article“To me the situation is so surreal,” Sarrah said. Her story began with her just going to visit some of her family members in Israel. “I left for Israel in late September with a return flight on October 5,” she added. She began by saying that it was just supposed to be a quick trip, nothing too extravagant. When she was getting ready to leave, she said things were calm and things seemed normal. Her flight was late on October 5 following the sixth (a day before the tragic event). “My flight took off with no issues, everything was smooth,” she said. She continued with her connecting flight in Germany which she missed. “I wasn’t really stressed about missing my flight because I was able to book another one for the 7th which is only one day so I didn’t stress’ ‘ she said she stayed in the airport for the duration of her wait. ” I was watching the T.V. screen when it switched to breaking news.” She said she sat intrigued since all the tv screens switched to one new channel with breaking news.” “When I saw Israel on the news my heart dropped into my stomach. All I wanted to do was get back on the plane and go back. My first instinct was to call my parents and make sure they were okay. Waiting for them to pick up the phone felt like ages, waiting to make sure that my family was okay was the worst feeling I had ever experienced. When my mother picked up the phone, I was so extremely thankful and relieved.” she said. She said she had no idea what to do. She said she felt helpless having just left. “I just sat waiting in shock at the fact that I could have been in Israel while these events were happening,” she added.

News & Media Influence

Both of the people who were interviewed are from two different countries. The person interviewed from Bulgaria stands with Palestine. Although the government of Bulgaria has expressed its support for Israel, that hasn’t stopped the media from seeming to side with Palestine. Dani mentioned that the media in Bulgaria mostly stresses on the matter that Palestine should be freed when the topic of the conflict is being addressed. The Bulgarian media has quietly shown their support for the Palestinian people. Although full interviews were not able to be taken, many other people from other European countries stressed the fact that although their government publicly addressed their support for Israel, their media seems to have different opinions on the matter. This also causes the public to lean more in support of Palestine in these countries. The person interviewed from the United States stands with Israel. When they were interviewed, the information that they presented was, although about the same situation, very different from the way the Palestine supporters presented them. Anna was asked whether she believes that the media has a major influence on what the people think. She mentioned that she believes that the media is the deciding factor on where the majority of the people will stand, seeing as to how they are our only source for the whole situation.

These numbers are accurate as of October 26, 2023. These numbers are constantly rising throughout the weeks.