Hamas launched a surprise attack reaching Tel Aviv, and the outskirts of Jerusalem which killed hundreds on an Israeli religious day, and then blames Israel for the confrontation. Civilians have been abducted and are being held hostage.
Approximately 3,000 rockets have got through the Israeli missile defense system killing an untargeted population. Fighters crossing the line went into villages wiping out anyone who got in their way, and according to early reports, 54 Israelis have been seized and are now in Gaza. Those figures are on the rise!
Benjamin Netanyahu has promised mighty vengeance against Hamas on Saturday night. Actually, he served in the army against the Arabs when Israel was unprepared for the Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli war which struck on a holyday, as well.
Strategic locations of Hamas were bombed by airstrikes in Gaza during the day which is being called Operation Iron Swords. A retaliatory war will follow on a scale that the Palestinians have never seen, Netanyahu promised. In other words, as seen in the past, for every Israeli that dies, is injured, or taken hostage, an eye for an eye will be doubled, if not tripled, or quadrupled.
Today’s attack by Hamas was probably with the help of Iran and Hezbollah although it hasn’t been fully confirmed. A Hezbollah representative said they had been planning the invasion for some time. Experts are saying, judging by the precision, on the scale of assault, and by its organization it is clear to see that the terrorists had been planning this intense forced entry for ages.
The Palestinian conflict has been going on for over a century now and hasn’t been resolved (see previous school blog by clicking the above link).
What led up to the war? After the Six Day War in 1967, Israel gained new territories and therefore faced new challenges. The IDF had to guard the Sinai border along the Suez Canal, where it installed numerous posts on what was called the Bar-Lev line. The Golan Heights was also new territory for the IDF to defend.
The name Yom Kippur War of 6th October, 1973, refers to a surprise attack, which occurred on the holiest day of the year in Judaism. The Arab forces were hoping to regain territory lost during the Six Day War of 1967. Then the Arabs, as now, defied Israel in an out of the blue move which repeated itself this Saturday 9th October, 2023.
There are over two million Palestinians in the Gaza strip which is 139 square miles. They feel there are too many people in such a small area, and that they are being oppressed. If we try to substantiate the Palestinian and Arab sympathizing countries support for constant aggression it becomes clear that they are their own worst enemy.
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
P.S. Another descriptive video on, 'Israel is at war' below.
Vocabulary builder:
Hamas is an acronym of the Arabic phrase حركة المقاومة الإسلامية or Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah, meaning "Islamic Resistance Movement".
An eye for an eye (idiom) = You say 'an eye for an eye' or 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' to refer to the idea that people should be punished according to the way in which they offended, for example if they hurt someone, they should be hurt equally badly in return. ... a very simple punishment code based on an-eye-for-an-eye.
Hezbollah = 'Party of Allah' or 'Party of God') is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led since 1992 by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
IDF (abbreviation) Israel Defense Forces
Out of the blue (idiom) = without warning; unexpectedly. "She phoned me out of the blue."
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