Many people who aren’t Jewish are responding as if what’s been taking place is just another episode of Israeli-Palestinian violence. But it’s different for many Jews.
Both Palestinian children in Gaza, as shown on left, and Israeli children, as seen on the right, have been hurt, killed and kidnapped in the Israel-Hamas war.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images/Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
For Jewish people, Hamas’ violence against children was reminiscent of the Holocaust. For Palestinians, The Israel Defense Force’s killing their children reminds them of a painful past, too.
Friendly relations: Vladimir Putin with the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas in 2021.
Yevgeny Biyatov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File
Russia has strong ties with Israel as well as many Arab states, so it is well placed as a mediator. But does war in the Middle East suit Moscow’s priorities?
Liberal democracies need to work with the countries in the Middle East to build a long-term solution to the ongoing Israel-Gaza crisis.
Israelis whose relatives are being held hostage demonstrate on October 26, 2023 in front of the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv, demanding the government to bring back their loved ones.
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images
No government wants to have to deal with a hostage crisis. A former US national security official explains that there is no winning without losing in such situations.
Left: People gather around the coffins of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, on Oct. 25. They were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. Right: Palestinians look for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in Rafah on Oct. 23.
(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit and AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
A historian whose family was taken hostage by Hamas, and a geographer with family in the West Bank, get together to discuss a way forward in the Middle East.
A Palestinian boy sits in a World Health Organization truck near a hospital in the southern area of the Gaza Strip.
Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Government sanctions against Hamas, which the US and the European Union consider a terrorist group, mean that aid groups are not able to directly work with Hamas.
An Oct. 19, 2023, rally in New York City’s Times Square demanding the freeing of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Antisemitism in the US is growing – and that growth appears to be related to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It also reflects a different political ideology than in the past.
Armored Israeli military vehicles maneuver near Israel’s border with Gaza.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Hamas and the international community expect Israel to invade the Gaza Strip. The battle will probably be more like recent Middle Eastern combat than Israel’s past fights with Palestinians.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict tracked in five charts.
The Conversation
Iran’s long-term strategy includes eradicating Israel and driving a wedge between Israel and its regional neighbors. So far, the war seems to be accomplishing that goal.
Supporters of Hezbollah have been rallying in Beirut in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
AP Photo/Bilal Hussein
Hezbollah dominates Lebanon’s sectarian political system, giving the paralyzed government little choice if the militant group chooses to join Hamas’ war against Israel.
Rishi Sunak arrives in Israel for a two-day visit.
Alamy/Ohad Zwigenberg
The UN secretary-general said neither side is justified in its actions against civilians. But holding them accountable for war crimes is extremely difficult.
Strong ties: despite a recent coolness between the US and Israel, the ‘special relationship’ remains strong.
EPA-EFE/GPO/Avi Ohion
The EU now appears too divided to play a significant role in any resolution of the conflict.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Riyadh on Oct. 15, 2023.
Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/Anadolu via Getty Images
A decade of de-escalation among Gulf states could be at risk if Israel-Hamas violence spills across region. And that could threaten Saudi plans to transform the kingdom.
Senior Associate Fellow on the Middle East at RUSI; Associate Professor in Politics & International Relations; Deputy Director of the Centre on US Politics, UCL