How Should America React to the Hamas vs Israel Conflict?
By SUNGHYUN BAE and EVAN DIERBERG
On Oct. 7, Hamas launched several attacks into Israel striking cities with rockets and capturing a multitude of border towns. What followed was a string of social media posts showing footage detailing the gruesome war crimes committed by Hamas. Israel responded with a declaration of war, several air strikes, and a mobilization of reserve troops. This event resulted in a global uproar, with reactions from various governments and influential figures condemning or supporting Hamas.
The recent attack is a continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stretching by decades, marred by atrocities committed on each side. This article does not aim to solve the issue of who is the correct party in this dispute. A single article cannot summarize, much less give an answer to the complicated question that is the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. It is important to remember that neither side is correct or justified in its actions, and to discuss only the radical of both viewpoints will not result in progress. This article is to discuss what is the appropriate course of action for the US to minimize the loss of human life and move towards a peaceful resolution.
Although Hamas engages in acts of resistance, such as targeting civilians, launching rockets, and taking hostages, it lacks the military strength to directly confront Israel on the battlefield. The conflict remains localized in Gaza, leaving Israeli territory largely unaffected. The U.S. must prevent the prolonging of the conflict by stopping other countries, such as Iran, from interfering. Iran has a history of supporting Palestinian militants. While the presence of carrier strike groups might deter direct action from Iran, the U.S. must stop Iran from sending military aid by blockading the Gaza Strip and allowing only humanitarian aid to pass. Similarly, The U.S. should halt its delivery of ammunition to Israel as it is not necessary for the peaceful resolution of this conflict.
In the meantime, Biden and the U.S. need to push for restraint in Israel’s counter-offensive. As it is, the death toll in Gaza is upwards of 4,000 (ohchr.org), and Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned that their current bombing campaign–which includes the use of controversial white phosphorus ammunition (hrw.org) – is “only the beginning.” While civilian collateral is inevitable with a counter-offensive against Hamas, the least Israel could do is grant a longer grace period for innocent civilians to evacuate instead of the unreasonably lofty evacuation request posed last Friday, a request which the UN described “impossible. (press.un.org)” Further, it must be weighed that, in light of the catastrophic Palestinian expulsion in 1948 by Zionist militants, Palestinians may fear the evacuation to be permanent. To ensure that Israel doesn’t turn the counter-offensive of Hamas into an indefinite eviction of Palestinian civilians, the U.S. should maintain its condemnation of humanitarian crime and stress the reinstatement of Palestinian authority in Gaza after the war. So long as Israel indiscriminately bombards Gaza, taking the lives of innocents along with terrorists, Israeli-Palestinian hatred will cyclically continue to intensify.
The conflicts between Israel and Palestine span decades and can be traced back to 1948’s Palestine War. There is a much larger issue at hand that involves years of oppression, apartheid, and religious discord that cannot be resolved so easily with the removal of Hamas. Yet, one’s oppression will not be remedied with the oppression of another. For the time being, the U.S. must minimize losses of life by containing the conflict within Israel through military deterrents and sending humanitarian aid to Gaza while cautioning Israel to exercise restraint in its counteroffensive.
