A Year Since the Massacre
One year since that awful day: Exactly one year ago, Hamas rushed into Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people, abducting 250. About 100 hostages in Gaza are not accounted for—either imprisoned or dead, held by terrorists who won’t return either the living captives or their bodies to their families.
Following the attack, Israel invaded Gaza; so far, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, per (Hamas-controlled) health authority data. Israel claims it has killed 17,000 Hamas militants; how many deaths are civilians and how many are fighters is obviously important but is hard to reliably determine. Israel’s campaign has obliterated vast swaths of the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military says its goal is to fully wipe out Hamas and those responsible for the pogrom. Now Israeli is also attempting to eradicate Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon with whom they’ve been exchanging fire for much of the last year. In April, Israel and Iran directly exchanged strikes. Last week, Iran fired 181 ballistic missiles at Israel; it is still awaiting Israel’s response.
“We’re excelling at eliminating our enemies but failing to save our loved ones,” Carmit Palty Katzir, whose brother Elad was one of the killed hostages, told The New York Times at a memorial held at Kibbutz Nir Oz. This sentiment is not unique.
It’s not just that Israeli public opinion has at times soured on the war effort, with citizens split on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should just bring the hostages home versus trying to fully wipe out Hamas. It’s also that Israel’s north—the border it shares with Lebanon—has been evacuated to varying degrees for the better part of a year, essentially making a significant portion of the territory unlivable. Now it’s an active front. And in the wake of Israel’s recent groun
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