More than a million people have been ordered to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war continues. As of Sunday (Oct. 15), multiple news outlets have reported that the death toll surpassed 2,300 people; among those victims were 29 American citizens and another 15 who remain unaccounted for. Thousands more have suffered varying degrees of injury amid the massacre. Those numbers will continue to rise as an end to the longstanding tensions is not yet foreseeable.
Hamas launched a surprise offensive against Israel in an ongoing fight to liberate Gaza and Palestinians from Israeli occupation on Oct. 7. In response, the Israeli army launched air raids on the Gaza strip. In the days since, horrific footage of children, men, and women being kidnapped, attacked, and viciously killed has surfaced on social media. Part of Israel’s response has included cutting off Gaza’s supply of food, water, electricity, fuel, and other goods in hopes of forcing the military group to surrender, AP News reports.
Al Jazeera’s “UpFront” host Marc Lamont Hill recently spoke with former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon about accusations of Gaza being collateral damage in a scheme deemed collective punishment. Ayalon insisted that Israel has every intention of helping the Gazan people with one caveat. “We demand immediate surrender, unconditional surrender of Hamas. If Hamas people come out with their hands up and clear their weapons, believe me, everything will be restored to Gaza,” he said.
Organizations such as the World Food Programme have provided food to 520,000 Gazans, but with borders blocked, their efforts to continue helping have been challenged. “We’re talking to all parties to be able to move in. Unfortunately, we have not received that okay yet. We need to be able to cross the border; we need to have safe supply corridors to go to the shelters to distribute the food,” WFP Regional Director Corinne Fleischer told CNN.
As previously reported by REVOLT, Israel and Hamas called a truce after 11 days of killings in 2021. At least 230 Palestinians were killed during the melee, which was preceded by clashes as recently as 2008-9, 2012, and 2014.