On October 7th 2023, in response to a prison break from Gaza headed by Hamas, Israel dramatically escalated their genocide of the Palestinian people. While Israel has engaged in massacres of Palestinians before, the current attacks have been of an incredible magnitude.
The Gaza strip is a 139 square mile piece of land on the coast. It’s surrounded by Israel to the north and east, and Egypt to the south.
According to the U.N. Satellite Center, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has damaged 63% of buildings in the strip. The Intercept says 85% of schools have been destroyed, and, per Al Jazeera, so has every single Gazan university. Citizens face a looming threat of mass starvation because of an Israeli aid blockade, as well as targeted attacks on humanitarian organizations, like food aid group World Central Kitchen.
The most startling tragedy has been the human toll: the BBC reports that the Gaza Health Ministry death count stands at 42,344, the majority of whom are women and children. This number, however, has not been updated in several weeks. The true death toll has been estimated by Lancet Medical Journal to be as high as 186,000, or “even more,” 8-9% of the population of Gaza, a statistic that underlines the sheer destruction the IDF has wrought on the strip. Saadi Hassan Sulieman Baraka, a 64 year old undertaker, interviewed by Al Jazeera, reported that he had personally buried 17,000 people since the beginning of the war.
The Netanyahu government, spurred on by Hezbollah border attacks in northern Israel, has opened a new front in the conflict, bombarding and invading Lebanon. The invasion has been accompanied by daily attacks on the crowded city of Beirut with the IDF using bunker buster munitions on densely populated areas, leading to mass civilian casualties. The Lebanon Health Ministry, per Al Jazeera, reports that more than 2,377 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in the country since October 7th, 2023.
These atrocities have not gone unnoticed. Protests have broken out in cities around the world in demand of a ceasefire and arms embargo against Israel. The Yemeni Houthis have seized ships in the Red Sea, with the aim of undermining Israel’s economy. Hezbollah, formerly headed by Hassan Nasrallah, immediately began attacks on Israel when the campaign against Gaza began, per the AP.
Western governments, who have historically granted Israel impunity at the expense of Palestinians, have called for a two-state solution. Despite these efforts, Israel has continued its genocide and has expanded its military objectives into Lebanon, as well as threatened retaliation against Iran. Its primary supporter, the United States of America, has given Israel a blank check, with Joe Biden’s administration vehemently opposing any public dissent towards the state.
However, in the states, the temperature among the populace seems to be different. Recently, protests against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the UN have rocked New York City and made headlines. In the spring of 2024, students across the country set up encampments on university campus’ demanding divestment from the apartheid state.
A recent New York Times article has revealed the IDF’s practice of using Palestinians as human shields, a war crime that will hopefully be accounted for in future tribunals. Investigations into other facets of the genocide have already been underway, with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) condemning the occupation of Palestine as illegal, as well as declaring the war plausibly a genocide. In response, Israel has issued condemnations back, banning key U.N. members, such as Secretary General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, from entering Israel and its occupied territories.
Right now, Israel is preparing to respond to Iran and the world is watching with bated breath. The US has committed troops to defend Israel, while leaked communications reveal breakdowns in negotiations between the two countries. In just one year, the Israelis have massacred thousands in Gaza, continued settlements in the West Bank, committed horrific war crimes in Lebanon, and have escalated their war into a regional conflict.
The world has slowly turned their back on Israel, and public support for the country is at rock bottom. Despite this, the U.S. has refused to do anything to challenge them, vetoing UN resolutions, sending billions of dollars in arms, and providing military support for the genocide. American citizens, aid workers, and journalists have been murdered with barely a breath from the Biden administration, and little following accountability.
As Americans, we have few opportunities to resist. Both candidates in the coming election have pledged support to Israel, leaving voting largely ineffective. The best route we have is to protest and disrupt in every way we can, even if that means escalating beyond the realms of legality. In the face of a government complicit in genocide, there is no moral boundary to resistance. No matter what form this resistance takes, it is the responsibility of the American people to unequivocally support it. Blood is on the hands of the United States, and to stand by and watch is to dirty one’s own.
