A restless year: Conflict beween Israel and Iran continue
Photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
Trinity Adams, News and Feature Editor
Sunday, November 24, marks day 415 of conflict in Israel. Israel is currently fighting on two different fronts against the the armed terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on the West Bank and also fighting the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are being funded and supported by the Iranian government.
According to an Israeli news source, The Times of Israel, about 100 rockets were launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah. These rockets were aimed at Western Galilee and the Haifa Bay. The Israeli Defense Force has also issued an evacuation order for four buildings in a southern suburb in preparation for an air strike against Hezbollah.
On Friday, November 15, the United Nations helped evacuate around 100,000 people from the Gaza Strip. Many residents of the Gaza Strip have suffered from displacement and a lack of resources due to this ongoing conflict.
Paul Thompson, NGU Dean of the College of Humanities and Science, explained that the conflict taking place between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is a result of land division after World War II. After the war, there was a vote taken that allowed Jews to take back a portion of the land that was theirs during the rule of Kings David and Solomon.
Thompson explained that during the time the vote was taken, there were still Palestinian Arabs living in that area, and they disagreed with the vote. On the day that Israel’s government was supposed to come into power, the surrounding Arab governments attacked Israel.
“Arabs left the Israeli territory and ended up on what we now call the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on either side of Isreal,” Thompson said.
As years passed, there were more wars between Israel and neighboring countries for territory, but each time Israel was able to fight them off to a standstill. Fast forward to 2023, an armed militant group going by the name of Hamas arose and declared war on the country of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since the war began between Hamas and Israel, there have been no clear moves towards a resolution or solution.
“There still doesn’t seem to be a clear end in sight [or] any clear prospects for peace. There have been casualties on both sides [for] Israel and Hamas. The battle still continues and neither side appears to be making progress in achieving a peaceful solution,” explained Jong Eun Lee, political science professor.
Tensions between Hamas and Israel have continued to escalate over the past year with over 100,000 deaths of citizens alone. Recently, another factor has been added, and that was the introduction of an Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah out of Lebanon.
“[Hezbollah] is a large political faction in Lebanon who resent the fact that Lebanon seems to be under military pressure from Isreal. They respond to that regularly with retaliation back at Israel,” Lee said.
The world has seen retaliation from Hezbollah through the recent air strikes that have been targeting new areas of Israel like Western Galilee and surrounding areas. Hezbollah has solidified its agreement with Hamas and its agenda and is fighting against Israel as a semi-united front.
“[These are] two separate groups but sharing a common motive of hostility against Israel. Both receive their aid and military assistance from Iran, which makes the issue complicated,” Lee said.
According to The Guardian, Iran has not outright declared war against Israel, but this is part of the silent war that has been going on between the two countries for years. As this war escalates, nations worldwide have become divided on the correct course of action.
