Gaza Under Fire: Israel’s Massive Year-Long Assault on Hamas
On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. This attack started a war that has now lasted a whole year.
Israel Strikes Back: A Year of Heavy Bombing
Since that day, Israel has struck Gaza. The Israeli military says they’ve bombed more than 40,000 targets in Gaza. That’s a lot of bombs! They’ve also found 4,700 tunnel entrances and destroyed 1,000 places where Hamas shot rockets.
Rockets and More Rockets
Hamas and other groups have fired lots of rockets at Israel, too. The Israeli military counted:
- 13,200 rockets from Gaza
- 12,400 rockets from Lebanon
- 60 rockets from Syria
- 180 rockets from Yemen
- 400 rockets from Iran
That’s over 26,000 rockets in total! Imagine how scary it must be to hear those rockets coming.
The Human Cost: Lives Lost on Both Sides
Israeli Losses
The war has been very deadly. Israel says:
- 726 Israeli soldiers have died
- 380 died on October 7
- 346 died fighting in Gaza later
- 4,576 soldiers got hurt
Palestinian Losses
The Gaza health ministry says about 42,000 Palestinians have died. That’s a vast number of people. Many were not fighters but regular people caught in the war.
Israel’s Big Army Operation
To fight this war, Israel called up a lot of extra soldiers:
- 300,000 reserve soldiers joined the army
- 82% were men, 18% were women
- Almost half were young people aged 20 to 29
Fighting Underground: The Tunnel War
Hamas built many tunnels under Gaza. Israel has been trying to find and destroy these tunnels. They say they’ve discovered 4,700 tunnel entrances so far.
The Hostage Problem
Over 100 people taken by Hamas on October 7 are still being held in Gaza. Their families are distraught and want them to come home.
What’s Happening in Other Places?
The fighting isn’t just in Gaza. Israel says they’ve:
- Killed more than 800 “terrorists” in Lebanon
- Hit 4,900 targets from the air in Lebanon
- Hit about 6,000 targets on the ground in Lebanon
- Arrested more than 5,000 people in the West Bank and Jordan Valley
Looking Back and Looking Forward
As we mark one year since this war started, many people are sad and tired. Both Israelis and Palestinians have lost a lot. Homes have been destroyed, and families have been broken apart.
The big question now is: When will the fighting stop? And what will happen after it does? These are hard questions, and no one knows the answers yet.
One thing is clear: This has been a very tough year for everyone involved. As we remember what happened on October 7, 2023, we can hope that someday, people will find a way to live together without fighting.
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