One side has sworn that it will act against 75 years of illegal occupation and avenge the horrific action of the occupiers, while the other has warned that attackers will have to pay an unprecedented price. It is clear from the warning and counter-warning exchanged between the Palestinian Hamas Movement and Israel that a bloody long-term conflict has just begun in West Asia. The conflict has already claimed thousands of lives.

The armed Hamas members entered Israel on October 7, 2023 to carry out surprise terror attacks in different parts of the country. The attacks shocked the Israeli Armed Forces, with defence experts claiming that it was a total failure of Mossad, one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security). As Israel immediately declared a war against the Hamas Movement, there has been a rapid increase in the death toll in Gaza and other areas of Israel and Palestine since then. Media reports suggest that both sides have captured a huge number of enemy soldiers and civilians in the past four days. In such a situation, various videos that have gone viral on social media are fuelling the conflict. These videos are enough to trigger a sense of radical nationalism in both Palestine and Israel. As expected, the US and Britain have stood by the side of Israel. Washington DC has announced that it will provide Israel with all sorts of military assistance, if necessary. Meanwhile, Air India has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv till October 14.

Fighting between the Hamas Movement and the Israeli Army has been going on at various places in the southern part of Israel. It is evident in Israeli military actions that the situation there is not fully under control of the Benjamin Netanyahu Government. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defence Forces Brigadier General who currently serves as the head of the Spokesperson’s Unit of Israeli Defence Force (IDF), told reporters on October 8 that residents were already being evacuated from towns along the Gaza border, including Or HaNer, Nir Am, Karmia and Zakim. He stressed that fighting was ongoing in Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Nirim and Alumim. According to Hagari, some of the Hamas members have been in Israel since the preliminary attack on Saturday, while others crossed the border on October 8-9. He claimed that some 70 terrorists infiltrated Be’eri. However, the Israeli Forces gunned down most of them. “The days ahead will be long and difficult. We have paid a heavy price, but we will restore security to the people of Israel. Let me repeat. We will restore security to the people of Israel,” the Brigadier General told the press.

The number of Israeli casualties in the conflict was much higher till October 9; as more than 700 Israelis, including 44 soldiers, lost their lives in the first three days. Hours after members of the Palestinian outfit fired 5,000 rockets at Israel and infiltrated into several towns on October 7, the West Asian country declared that it was at war. Addressing his nation, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “Citizens of Israel, we are at war. This is not an operation, not an escalation – this is war. Hamas will pay an unprecedented price. The enemy will receive a response they have never known before.” The Israeli Prime Minister has also discussed the current situation with Heads of State of Ukraine, Britain, Germany and Italy.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, is continuing with its activities. A media outlet controlled by the Palestinian outfit reported on October 9 that more weapons and troops were being sent to Israeli regions held by Hamas. The Hamas-linked media further reported that the son of Nizar Awadallah, a senior political official of the Hamas, had been killed. However, the Palestinian group has not reported any senior members being captured, killed or wounded. Hamas confirmed that the Israeli Forces killed at least 413 Palestinians, including 20 children and six women, in Gaza in the first three days of the ongoing conflict, and more than 2,000 people received serious injuries. Most of them, who lost their lives, were residents of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a UN agency has claimed that more than 20,000 people have taken refuge in schools run by the world body.

The global media have reported that a brief exchange of strikes between the Israeli Forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group raised fears of a broader conflict in West Asia. As per a report published on Shropshiresta website on October 8, the flare-up on Israel’s northern border threatened Hezbollah, a fierce enemy of Israel, to draw into the battle. The Lebanese outfit, backed by Iran, is estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal. On the second day of the conflict, Hezbollah reportedly fired dozens of rockets and shells at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border, and the Israeli Forces fired back using armed drones.

Diplomatic activities, too, have begun across the globe. Antony John Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has announced that Washington DC is fully on Israel’s side, saying that the Joe Biden Administration shall provide Tel Aviv with weapons, if necessary. He also announced that the US naval vessels left for Israel. As expected, Iran has stood by Palestine. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has talked to various leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement over the phone. They have reportedly discussed the progress of the conflict in detail. Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior Adviser (International Affairs) to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, has described the Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel as a major strategic victory. The Hamas leaders have also contacted the top political leadership of the UAE on the second day of the conflict.

The anti-Israel sentiment has taken a different form in the neighbouring Islamic nations. A Police officer opened fire on Israeli tourists in Egypt on October 8, killing at least two Israelis and one Egyptian. The Police personnel was arrested immediately after the incident. During interrogation, he said that he fired from his personal revolver.

The world leaders are yet to take any positive step in order to normalise the situation in West Asia. According to foreign policy experts, it is important to stop the conflict between Israel and the Hamas Movement soon, as another armed conflict has been going on in Europe (between Russia and Ukraine) for more than a year. Else, the situation shall go out of control and the two conflicts in two different continents shall rock the global economy hard.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das