AlainaKroll

More than 70,000 dead in just over two years. As of Oct. 22, at least 68,000 Palestinians and about 2,000 Israelis have died as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, according to NPR on Oct. 28 and ABC News on Oct. 7.

On Sept. 16, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry found Israel guilty of committing four out of the five genocidal acts defined by international law. These actions have been carried out against Palestinians during Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.

According to the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is defined by:

1. Killing members of the group
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

The United Nations found Israel responsible for the first four acts (according to BBC News on Sept. 16). 

However, the hostility started long before Oct. 7, 2023.

On Nov. 29, 1947, the U.N. ordered Palestine to be split into two states in response to the historic persecution of Jewish people in Europe. This created one state that Palestinians had to abide by and one for the new Jewish settlers to live in, which they named “Israel.” When Palestinians rejected this order, the Nakba — Arabic for “catastrophe” — began. It involved the mass expulsion of at least 700,000 Palestinians from their homeland to make room for Israeli settlers (according to the U.N. on May 21, 2025).

Although the Nakba is said to have lasted from 1947 to 1949, many Palestinians believe that it never ended due to the unrest in the region ever since, according to Al Jazeera on May 23, 2017. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These were territories previously designated for Palestinians, leaving 430,000 Palestinians displaced. These areas are still occupied by Israelis today, meaning Israel controls more than 85% of historic Palestine, when the U.N. originally allotted it 55% in 1947 (according to Al Jazeera on May 23, 2017). 

Israel and Hamas have a history of disharmony, with four major conflicts since the formation of Hamas in 1987. Each round of fighting has seen people killed on both sides, with the vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza, as reported by BBC News on Oct. 14.

After more than 75 years of violence and unprecedented attacks on Gaza (according to Independent Jewish Voices Canada on Oct. 8, 2023), Hamas launched a surprise attack. The group has significant political power and influence in the Palestinian territories, although it often acts without support from the Palestinian people.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The Israeli Defense Forces responded by unleashing an offensive front in the name of finding the Hamas leaders who arranged the attack.

The two major leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, were both killed in 2024  (according to BBC News on Jan. 21, 2025). However, the conflict in Gaza continues. 

Sophomore Mary Markus, a Christian who grew up with many Jewish family members, offers her perspective. Markus said, “I was always taught to be pro-Israel and that Jews support Jews. But then I saw how Israel retaliated and the way they treated Palestinians, especially Gazans. Over time, I stopped supporting them.”

Over the past two years, Israel’s acts have resulted in more than 90% of Gaza’s population being forcibly displaced. According to a BBC News report on Oct. 15, at least 92% of the Gaza Strip is in ruin, shown through the destruction of homes, medical facilities, schools and places of worship. There has been physical and mental abuse of hostages, attacks on civilians and the illegal targeting of journalists and healthcare workers. Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war has been made evident through their blockades of humanitarian aid (according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Dec. 30, 2024). 

Of the official death toll of 68,000 Palestinians, more than 20,000 are children, according to Save the Children on Sept. 6. An additional 170,000 people have been wounded. Sophomore Aiman Alam said, “They’re saying they’re going after Hamas, but they’re starving people and killing children.”

These numbers don’t take into account the thousands of people buried under rubble as a result of the countless air strikes Israel has launched on Gaza. These people are not counted in the official death toll, but rather as “missing” or “unaccounted for.” According to the Anadolu Agency, Israel has dropped 100,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip as of Aug. 5. For reference, that is 2.8 times the tonnage of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings of World War II. 

On Oct. 7, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed the first phase of a ceasefire deal, resulting in the release of 20 Israeli hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners (according to BBC News on Oct. 14). Israel also pulled its troops back to an agreed-upon position and allowed some humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. However, as of Oct. 17, Al Jazeera reported that Israel has cut the amount of aid that was agreed upon in the deal in half.

Humanitarian aid is crucial to Palestinians, as the World Health Organization confirmed on Aug. 22 that Gaza is experiencing a famine due to Israel’s blockades. More than 640,000 people are in Phase 5 (Famine), the most severe level of food insecurity in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. An additional 1.14 million are in Phase 4 (Emergency), and 396,000 are in Phase 3 (Crisis).

Today, tens of thousands of lives have been lost, culture is buried under rubble, entire family trees are erased and history has been destroyed beyond repair. Junior Malas Ahmed said, “They share this rich, cultural land. Instead of wanting to be united with that fact, they are going against each other because of religious differences.” Ahmed is a strong advocate for peace in the region, as her mother survived genocide in Sudan years ago.

Theology teacher Mr. Mark Koesters offers the Church’s perspective on the issue. As followers of Christ, Catholics are called to make a stand when they see their brothers and sisters being killed. “We have a duty to speak out for all human life,” Koesters said. “If there’s injustice being done, the Church has an obligation to speak about it.”

Catholic Social Teaching says that every life is valuable and each person deserves to live in a way that upholds their dignity. The conditions imposed in Gaza go against these teachings. Many people from different faith backgrounds pray that both sides find a solution and a permanent ceasefire is reached. Koesters said, “My personal dream right now is that at some point in the future, we have two states living in peace: one Palestinian, and one Israeli.”