![]() What has been the international reaction to the Hamas offensive? Support for Hamas has not been tested since the last elections in Gaza in 2006. They see militant action as the only way of asserting themselves and fighting for a better future. However, others are driven to take up arms by the lack of hope and the misery that is characteristic of life in Gaza. People in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike early on Sunday. They resent the restrictions imposed on them and the fear instilled in them by Hamas rulers. Many people in Gaza just want to get on with their lives, free from the blockade and repeated wars and conflicts. Does Hamas have the support of ordinary people in Gaza? If Iran is involved, it will hope the violence will scupper any deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza by Hamas for five years, was finally released in 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The hostage-taking will also complicate Israel’s response and gives Hamas a significant bargaining chip. In the process, a huge number of Palestinian civilians are likely to be killed, and homes and infrastructure destroyed. Israel is likely to use the full force of its military might to crush militant activity, not just in Gaza but also the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The militant organisation that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 has shown the world that it is a force to be reckoned with, but it is hard to see how there can be a positive outcome for Hamas or Gaza from the events this weekend. “It’s a colossal failure the establishments have simply failed, with vast consequences.” What does Hamas hope to gain? “All of Israel is asking itself: where is the IDF, where are the police, where is the security?” said Eli Maron, a former head of the Israeli navy, on Channel 12. The intelligence failure is monumental, and will shake the Israeli public’s faith in their government and army’s ability to protect civilians. Israel launches military response as war with Hamas escalates – video The longer backdrop is a 16-year blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt that has almost destroyed the strip’s internal economy and has caused hardship for the people living there. ![]() Hamas has called its current offensive Operation al-Aqsa Deluge. Jews are not permitted to pray inside al-Aqsa compound to do so is highly provocative. To Jews, it is known as Temple Mount, and is venerated as the site of the biblical Jewish temple. The area around the mosque is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and is the third holiest place for Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Armed settlers have attacked Palestinian villages militants in the West Bank have attacked soldiers and settlers, and there have been repeated IDF raids on Palestinian cities.ĭuring the past week, some Jews have prayed inside the compound of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. The exact reasons for the attack are not clear, but there has been growing violence for months between Israeli soldiers and settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank. Why did Hamas and Islamic Jihad launch the attack? ![]() Hamas has reportedly taken as many as 100 Israelis hostage – both soldiers and civilians, alive and dead. Seven people were also killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, including a child, it said. The Palestinian health ministry said that at least 400 Palestinians had been killed, including 20 children, and nearly 2,000 wounded as a result of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Saturday. ![]() The IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said more than 400 Palestinian militants had been killed in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, and dozens more had been captured. How many people have been killed and injured? And how many Israelis have been taken hostage?Īt least 700 Israelis were killed and about 2,000 people were being treated in hospitals – 19 of them in critical condition – according to reports on Sunday. Palestinians in Gaza shared images of text messages sent by the Israeli military to people in the Beit Hanoun area in the north of the strip that ordered them to leave their homes before the airstrikes. Video recorded in Gaza showed a mosque destroyed in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, and several large buildings in Gaza City in ruins.
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