One hundred days ago, something very surprising happened in Israel. A state that was created 75 years ago from hard times and war recently faced a threat to its survival.
Many people in Tel Aviv remembered the events of 7 October on Saturday night. Everyone was really worried about the 130 hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza. Some of them might not be alive anymore.
A hundred days ago, early in the morning, many Hamas fighters with guns broke through the Gaza border fence in different places.
They attacked the kibbutzim, military bases, and border towns. These places are used to getting rocket attacks from Gaza, but this time they were surprised by the large number of attacks from Hamas.
At least 1,200 people were killed on the border because Israeli defenses were taken by surprise.
Hundreds of young music fans running away to save themselves at the Nova festival really scared Israel. Over 360 people died at the festival and many others were taken to Gaza.
Many people were killed in the Israeli bombing after Hamas attacked. Over 23,000 people have been killed, with many of them being women and children, according to the health ministry run by Hamas. It is thought that thousands more people are dead under collapsed buildings.
In Israel on Saturday, families of the missing people went to a big event in Tel Aviv. They carried posters and wore T-shirts with the faces of their loved ones on them.
I talked to Yossi Schneider, who is Shiri Bibas’ cousin. She and her family were taken by force.
Yossi is upset because 130 people, mostly not soldiers, are being kept without medicine. The Red Cross isn’t allowed to see them and Yossi’s family doesn’t know how they are doing.
My family has three generations that are missing. My family has three generations, and everyone is telling us to stay calm and be quiet. “I am tired and frustrated, I can’t handle this anymore,” he says.
Many people here believe that on 7 October, Israel faced its biggest threat ever and Israelis have never felt so unprotected. The government’s main focus is to bring the hostages back safely, and most people support their goals in the war in Gaza. There are only a few people asking for tolerance and living together peacefully.
As Israel’s defense forces reacted to the events in the south on Saturday, October 7, they began a big bombing campaign in Gaza. They want to completely destroy Hamas and its supporters.
A lot of the land from Gaza city to Khan Younis has been completely ruined.
Israel is saying that Hamas in northern Gaza has become very weak and almost unable to operate as a group.
However, a lot of innocent people have been killed in the Israeli bombing.
Officials from Palestine say that 85% of the people in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes. More help is going to Gaza, but the head of the UN’s aid efforts says the situation there is really bad.
Faten Abu Shahada has to get kidney treatment often, so she and her family had to move to the south. Faten and the children now live in a plastic tent in Khan Younis. They can always hear an Israeli drone flying above them.
“Gaza is in ruins. ” Faten says there is nothing left in Gaza – no hospitals, no schools. “Our kids missed school, Gaza is not thriving anymore. ”
Many countries want Israel to stop fighting in Gaza because many civilians are suffering a lot.
Even the US, which is a close friend of Israel and supports its right to defend itself, has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that too many innocent civilians are being killed.
President Biden said that Israel’s widespread bombing is causing the country to lose support from other countries.
Gideon Levy writes for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and often disagrees with Mr. I asked him if this war, which is Israel’s longest since 1948, will end soon.
Levy said the war will continue as long as Americans let Israel keep fighting.
He said, “I don’t think it will be much longer, maybe just a few more weeks. ” However, this doesn’t mean that the war has ended because nobody has considered what will happen next.
“If Israel doesn’t leave Gaza, there will be a fight. ” If someone fights back, they will be fought against.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is still going on, and it doesn’t seem like Mr Netanyahu wants to end it anytime soon.
Israel says the fighting will continue until Hamas is completely beaten. The near future for the region, and especially for many people living in bad conditions in Gaza, looks really bad.