Julia Griffin ’28
Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas, a militant Palestinian group, launched a terrorist attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people, a bitter war has developed around the region. In recent weeks, the ongoing war has grown even more severe and has reached regions past where the initial fighting took place, like inner Lebanon and Iran.
After the initial attacks by Hamas, Israel announced an invasion of the Gaza Strip with the goals of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages taken during the attack. The invasion so far has been devastating, with an estimated 40,000 Palestinians having died from the conflict (most of whom are believed to be civilians) as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry. However, officially counting the number of deaths in the region has become incredibly difficult recently due to significant infrastructure collapse, and many believe this report to be an underestimate, with The Lancet reporting that the death toll could plausibly exceed 186,000. The nature of the invasion, with the high death toll and complete internal displacement of Palestinians, has sparked anger among surrounding countries. In addition to the Gaza strip, fighting has also broken out in Southern Lebanon due to tensions with Hezbollah, another militant group. Hezbollah had launched rockets into Israel following the October 7th attacks in solidarity with Hamas, leading to the displacement of many Israelis. As a result, the crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel has grown into another front in the ongoing war.
Recently, the war in Lebanon escalated even further. On September 17 and 18 this year, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkers exploded around Lebanon, many of which were used by Hezbollah leaders. This attack has been widely attributed to a coordinated Israeli effort, killing over 20 and wounding over 4,000 people. While many of those who died were Hezbollah members, many were also civilians as many of the devices exploded in public places such as shops. Following the pager explosions, Israel struck a residential building in a Beirut suburb, which led to a reported 37 deaths, 15 of which were Hezbollah members, including Ibrahim Akil, Hezbollah’s military commander. After more crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel, Israel launched thousands of airstrikes over multiple days, killing an estimated 700 people, and Hezbollah fired more rockets at Israel, most of which were intercepted. In addition, another Israel strike into Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, a Hezbollah leader, and Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander for operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian military. While these strikes were successful in taking out key Hezbollah leaders, the consequential civilian death toll was extremely high, with a total death toll close to 3,000 people, many of whom were children, to largely take out a few Hezbollah leaders.
Photo courtesy of NPR
More broadly, Israeli attacks over the past year have affected Palestinian and Lebanese people as a whole, stretching beyond military and political groups. The 40,000-person death toll is believed to be mostly civilians, with the majority being women and children. These attacks have forced close to 1.9 million Palestinians to flee Gaza. To make matters worse, Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip has prevented many of the civilians from fleeing, leaving the majority internally displaced with lessening resources and room for refuge as the conflict continues to escalate.
In response to the Beirut strike and an earlier strike in Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Iran launched a barrage of weapons against Israel, which included ballistic missiles. While most were intercepted, two Israelis were wounded minorly from shrapnel, many had to evacuate to shelters, several air force bases were damaged, and one Palestinian man was reported to be killed by a missile. While Iran launched a similar attack in April, the more recent one was on a much larger scale. In response, on October 25, Israel launched several strikes against Iran, targeting military bases and killing four Iranian soldiers. With fighting now reaching new regions in the Middle East, concerns over a wider all-out Middle Eastern conflict are looming.
Upper School History teacher Damon Kuzemka comments on the situation, “It’s a very, very complex issue…with real ethical and moral standing.” He emphasizes the need to address conditions on the ground in Gaza, saying that “stopping any further escalation… need[s] to be the focus of any short-term solution.” Regarding U.S. involvement in the issue, perspectives among EA community members differ. Kuzemka observes that “for better or worse, the US has taken…an active role as an advocate for…world peace.” Jack Signor, one of the presidents of the Young Republicans club, shares his concerns over the recent U.S. involvement in the conflict: “I think that the U.S. should limit their involvement in Israel to supplying weapons.” Signor is referring to the U.S. decision to deploy about 100 troops to operate advanced anti-missile systems in Israel, which has been a controversial decision with regard to how it will affect the war and what it means for the U.S. military. While opinions on the war and U.S. involvement differ, the vast majority of people want to see a quick and peaceful solution to the conflict. Yousuf Gilani ’28 emphasizes his desire for a diplomatic solution, saying that “both sides should just come to a conclusion to [create] peace.”
As with any complex issue, educational initiatives and dialogue are essential to help students better understand the conflict. Regarding how EA is fostering dialogue, Kuzemka notes that “the history department here does an extraordinary job making those connections [to the conflict],” emphasizing the role of EA in fostering awareness of global conflicts. In contrast, Classics Department Chair Melanie Subacus, who is one of the faculty supervisors for the Young Democrats, adds that “we [the Young Democrats club] haven’t had a chance to drill down into specific issues yet, and so we haven’t had any discussion about the conflict in the Middle East.” However, she further explains that “I don’t think a lack of discussion in Young Democrats equates to a lack of interest, just that we have only had a few meetings and they have been to figure out our bulletin board, meet with the other young politician groups, and plan a service event for Veterans Day.” Overall, while discussion at EA about the conflict may have been limited up until now, Kuzemka and Subacus explain that EA is seeking various ways to encourage dialogue on the issue both in class and outside of class.
The conflict in the Middle East continues to evolve and escalate, with situations and country involvement changing rapidly. Amid such a rapidly evolving situation, EA is offering space to encourage more dialogue about the topic to keep students updated and to help them understand the intricacies of the issue. Beyond just EA, however, Signior advises students to seek diverse perspectives when trying to understand such a deeply rooted and volatile conflict: “Look at different news sources. Don’t rely on one source…do your own research and look through history.”