Middle East Conflict
Without political will to address the underlying causes of these conflicts, they will remain protracted; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict being one of the longest unresolved conflicts in the region, and possibly the world - Paul Spiegel MD
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How to think morally about the Israel-Hamas war
In southern Israel, Hamas terrorists broke into a room where a family of five was hiding and slaughtered every one of them. In Gaza, a father wrapped in gauze held his child, butchered in an Israeli strike, for the last time. These scenes pose a very simple moral test: Do you believe that it is wrong for innocent people to suffer in this way? That mass death should be deplored, not defended, regardless of who its victims are? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then you are a morally broken person.
Depressingly, the Israel-Palestine discourse has exposed many of them.
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How to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza
Social media is awash with misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict, so it's especially important to verify that your money is going to organizations that are legitimate as well as effective.
Four students on why they’re protesting against war in Gaza: ‘Injustice should not be accepted’
Students demonstrating and hunger-striking face arrests and hospitalization – but they think they can make a difference.
Gaza conflict: rising death toll from hunger a stark reminder of starvation as a weapon of war
The deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who had been waiting for an aid convoy on February 29 were a grim reminder of the catastrophe unfolding daily in Gaza. While an independent investigation has yet to establish clear responsibilities for the tragedy, the toll from Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip grows ever higher. Five months into the conflict, deaths from hunger and thirst are beginning to mount. A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs quoted claims by the Ministry of Health in Gaza on March 3 that 15 children had died of malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan hospital.
The lost humanity of the crisis in Gaza
Those of us out of harm’s way in Europe, the Americas, or Asia, on college campuses and in the privacy of our own homes, have enthusiastically participated in sorting ourselves into algorithmically fueled binary bins on social media. Doing so allows us to avoid being confronted with hard truths that dissent from our preconceived notions, but also prevents us from seeing the humanity in the other side, and in each other.
War on Gaza: This is what starvation feels like. I cannot feed my children
It is difficult for most people to even begin to fathom the situation facing Palestinians in northern Gaza. Even my brother, who has been displaced in the south, was stunned to learn of the severity of our living conditions, and the inconceivable reality to which we awaken every day. Israel has declared total war not just on Hamas, but on the entire Palestinian population. Decades of wars against us have enabled Israel to deploy increasingly more sophisticated and horrific weapons. Each day, I hear of monstrous options being proposed by Israeli officials for my future: that I should be deported from my homeland, or killed in an atomic explosion.
“Catastrophic” Hunger Crisis Declared in Gaza by International Food Security and Nutrition Experts
Gaza is one of the world’s most densely populated areas, with 2.2 million people, half of whom are children. Food insecurity is so extreme that virtually every household in Gaza lacks enough food to meet daily needs. 80% of families in the north and half in the south go days and nights without eating anything at all.
Articles of Interest
Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained
Britain took control of the area known as Palestine following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled that part of the Middle East, in World War One. The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority, as well as other, smaller ethnic groups.
The Doctors of Gaza
Doctors working inside the Gaza Strip tell their stories of survival.
‘The bombs are still falling. My heart breaks every day’: novelists Sally Rooney and Isabella Hammad on the Israel-Palestine conflict
For several weeks, the authors have been in conversation about their response to the current crisis and the role of art in political resistance.
At the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, anthropology matters as much as history
Who is indigenous to Israel and Palestine: Jews or Arabs? The answer depends on how we interpret history. Radically diverse starting points invoked by both parties have led to the terrible conflict we are witnessing.
Biden wants a two-state solution for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Is it still possible?
The two-state solution calls for establishing an independent state for Palestinians alongside that of Israel. And U.S. support for it is nothing new: For decades, it has been the primary proposed framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Can Saudi Arabia Forge an Israel-Palestine Peace?
Riyadh is trying to keep the door open for normalization with Israel by promoting a balanced dialogue about Gaza.
Doctors in Gaza describe the war's devastating impact on health care — and civilians
"We received many casualties, many injured people, attacked while trying to evacuate from Gaza, as we have been told," says Dr. Mattar. "Many of them are children, kids without identity, without family." "We don't have options," says Dr. Aldabbour. "We just do what we have to do. We survive day to day."
Domicide: the destruction of homes in Gaza reminds me of what happened to my city, Homs
The scale of destruction, the level of mass displacement is just so heartbreaking. Gaza has been described as an open prison and people in that open prison have been pushed away from their homes.
If you can’t see the moral gulf between Israel and Hamas, you are morally blind
Opinion: An enemy attacked while Israel slept. That alarm going off is our own. The U.S. needs to wake up.
Israel-Hamas war: Al Shifa Hospital becomes focus of conflicting narratives
“Hamas is operating in a way that is outside the bounds of any civilized concept of how you would think about using a hospital,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. “Without getting into intelligence information, we can just look at the open-source reporting that Hamas is using hospitals… for command-and-control, for weapons storage, to house its fighters, and this is a violation of the laws of war.”
Israelis and Palestinians are both trapped by the dangerous fantasies of history
The illusions, projections and selective histories of both sides have brought us to the current moment. These narratives compete with one another, but in another way are complementary versions of the same story
Israelis and Palestinians are steeped in a history of trauma. It reproduces and continues
The only alternative is reconciliation that sees Jews and Arabs truly share the land. At the turn of the 20th century, these two communities coexisted in Palestine, before the project to advantage one group over another started to become a reality. A future where Palestinians and Israelis live side-by-side in relative peace is no easy road, but this only starts with the acknowledgement of an unbearable history...
Israel–Palestine conflict once more the overriding issue of regional security
The Palestinian cause remained, but for the region had become a second or third- order issue among diplomatic normalisation and other pressing challenges.
Israel–Palestine: A chance to end the cycle of conflict
Conflict management’ and a complicit international community led to October 7. Only true compromise can lay the ground for a lasting peace...
Israel’s 9/11? How Hamas Terrorist Attacks Will Change the Middle East
Perhaps the most surprising part of Hamas’ devastating cross-border attack was its complexity. Rarely in history has a terrorist organization been able to fight from the air, sea, and land. Both al-Qaeda and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka had similar capabilities but even they were incapable of launching simultaneous, coordinated assaults utilizing all three.
Israel’s War on Hamas: What to Know
Israel will seek to eliminate the threat posed by the Palestinian militant group for good, but its campaign in Gaza could draw in other adversaries, including Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.
I’m an oncologist. Gaza’s heroic doctors leave me in awe.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has rendered most of Gaza’s hospitals inoperable. But many doctors have stuck by their gravely injured patients, many of whom are small children.
Presenting Two Probing Documentaries on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
When Hamas attacked Israel and Israel began its retaliation in Gaza this fall, we re-released Shattered Dreams of Peace: The Road From Oslo, a seminal 2002 FRONTLINE documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process set in motion by the 1993 Oslo Accord — and how it had all fallen apart. At the same time, we quickly began working on new reporting and new documentaries examining the conflict and its ramifications.
The Humanitarian Health Effects of the Israel-Hamas War Among Civilians in Gaza
Frayed health care and an overwhelmed global humanitarian system imperil the health of civilians.
The tragedy of the Israel-Palestine conflict is this: underneath all the horror is a clash of two just causes
This isn’t a contest of heroes and villains – but two peoples in deep pain, fated to share the same land.
The War Hamas Always Wanted
In reality, it was the prospect of Israel’s normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, more than anything else, that drove Hamas to launch its attack. Such an escalation, the group’s leaders calculated, would obstruct this new diplomatic effort that in their eyes would permanently undermine the standing of the Palestinian cause among Arab and Muslim countries.
The War on Hospitals
The onslaught in Gaza has a distinct feature: the systematic destruction of the very institutions that sustain life.
Understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 5 charts
Understanding the current war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza requires context and history. These charts aim to show changes in the region that have occurred over time to put some of the events in perspective.
War Has Smashed Assumptions About Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Some paradigms taken for granted about Israel and the Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, have been broken...
What are the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict?
As with almost everything to do with this conflict, it depends on whom you ask. Some will begin with the Romans. Others will start with the late 19th-century Jewish migration to what was then the Ottoman Empire – to escape the pogroms and other persecutions in eastern Europe – and the rise of Zionism. Or the Balfour declaration by the British government in 1917 in support of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine and the ensuing conflicts with Arab communities there. But the starting point for many people is the United Nations’ vote in 1947...
What do we know about hospitals in north Gaza? – explainer
The hospitals in the Gaza Strip have become a main point of contention on the international stage as Israel's invasion of the Hamas-run enclave continues. Here's what we know about them.
What is Hamas and why is it fighting with Israel in Gaza?
Hamas is a Palestinian group which has run Gaza since 2007. The name is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, which means Islamic Resistance Movement.

