The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
US ally Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while internally displacing nearly Gaza’s entire population and causing a hunger crisis.
The assault has also triggered accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
EYE ON IRAN
The escalation is taking place as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip watch the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday.
Residents of the Gaza Strip have circulated images of wrecked buildings and charred vehicles hit by Iranian missiles in Israeli cities, and some were hopeful the wider conflict could eventually bring peace to their ruined homeland.
“We live these scenes and pain daily. We are very happy that we saw the day when we saw rubble in Tel Aviv, and they are trying to get out from under the rubble and the houses that were destroyed on top of their residents,” said Gaza man Saad Saad.
Others said Iran’s response was greater than many, including Israel, had expected.
“We saw how Iran, despite (showing) a lot of patience on the harm of the Israeli occupation and its frequent attacks and the assassinations carried out on Iranian soil, … it lost patience and the time has come for Iran to teach the Israeli occupation state a lesson,” said another Gaza man, Taysseir Mohaissan.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, fears have grown of a regional war dragging in outside powers.
Despite efforts by the US, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Hamas leaders have repeatedly thanked Iran for its military and financial support to the group in its fight against Israel, including during the current war.
