As of April 2024, 34,000 innocent people have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war. Although we’ve been hearing news about this conflict only recently, the history of this war goes far back. This started with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This was a pledge made by the British government. It stated that the British government would set up a national home for Jewish individuals. The British government had wanted to establish this “home” in Palestine. Many Palestinians were angered by this because the British Raj had taken away some of their land.

With the rise of anti-Semitism, the number of Jewish immigrants rose drastically. This caused violence to increase between Jews and Arabs as well. The state of Israel was created in 1948, and this started the first Israeli-Arab war. It ended in a year with the victory of Israel. Around 750,000 Palestinians were displaced. The territory was divided into three separate parts. This includes the State of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. Then, in 1987, Palestinians who lived in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank fought against the Israeli government. There have been many fights between Israel and Palestine since then.

In May 2021, when a court ruled in favor of kicking out Palenstien families, protests and riots started. A few days after that, the group governing the Gaza Strip soon launched attacks on Israeli territories. In return, Israel retaliated by blowing up multiple buildings, including hospitals. Hamas is an Islamist militant group that many people consider a terrorist group. Hamas is by far the most powerful militant group in this territory. They have mainly been the ones in charge of the attacks. As we hear of more and more violence, we wish for a cease-fire. . In these areas, there is a very low food and water supply. If these innocent people are not killed by bombings, they will die of starvation. With so many innocent people dead, we must make a stand. We must pay attention to the horrific events occurring in Israel and Palestine.