In the early hours of October 7, members of the terrorist group, Hamas, streamed across the border from Gaza into Israel.
In the following hours, Hamas killed hundreds of civilians and kidnapped dozens. Thousands of rockets were also indiscriminately fired at Israeli population centers.
During the opening wave of this massive attack, Hamas killed 260 civilians who attended a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border.
According to the United States Institute of Peace, over 1,300 Israeli civilians are dead, including Americans.
In areas recaptured from Hamas, there have been reports of rape and torture of civilians.
Members of Hamas also have released videos of them raping, killing and torturing civilians.
The corpses of civilians have been paraded through the streets of Gaza to the apparent cheers of crowds.
According to Reuters, Hamas has also announced that they will begin the execution of captured civilians, a crime against humanity.
What has happened in a little more than two weeks is almost unbelievable were it not to be true.
For context of how severe this is, understand that 200 Israeli civilians died during the entire five years of the Second Intifada. This massive attack has been the worst and most deadly since the Israeli War of Independence 75 years ago.
On the surface, Hamas seems like a lone group committing massacres against civilians. However, new evidence points to the Iranian coordination of these attacks as an attempt to cause a proxy war against Israel.
If it turns out these claims are correct, it is possible that the world could see a large-scale Middle East-spanning war.
So what is happening right now?
According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is planning a massive, imminent invasion of the Gaza Strip as of the date of this writing.
There are also allegations that Hamas is blocking evacuation routes from the north of Gaza after Israel told the 1.1 million people who live in that region to evacuate immediately.
According to Reuters, the government of Egypt has also refused to open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza that would allow Palestinians to evacuate. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has also said, “We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now,” citing the need to bring life-saving supplies into Gaza.
The situation in the Gaza Strip is escalating fast. Israel shut off power to Gaza, and thousands of bombs have been dropped on Gaza by Israel. While humanitarian aid is arriving, it is possible that it is too little too late.
Escalation is likely.This war between Israel and Hamas could swiftly devolve into a regional war, with Lebanese militants clashing with Israel on its northern border.
And for Americans, the war has, and will, impact many families who have loved ones living in Israel and Palestine.
With the death toll rising, the world can only expect things to get worse before they get better.
