By Max Drucker, Foreign Affairs
On October 7, 2023, an Israeli music festival was interrupted by a terrorist attack perpetrated by the political group Hamas. Hamas is the internationally unrecognized and non-democratic administrative party of the Gaza Strip, one of the two disjointed territories that constitute contemporary Palestine. Since this attack on Israeli territory, open hostilities were reignited between the state of Israel and Palestinian insurgents in the Gaza Strip for the first time since 2014. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, dates back to 1948 with the independence of the Israeli state, which prompted the mass displacement of Palestinians — an event known colloquially as ‘the Nakba,’ meaning ‘catastrophe’ in English. Since the creation of the Israeli state, Israel has found itself at war with its Arab neighbors on numerous occasions, through both defensive and preemptive action. However, the current conflict between Israel and Palestine is drastically different from the previous wars following 1948. Today’s Israel boasts one of the most well-equipped militaries in the world and staves off international condemnation with a favorable American relationship.
Portraying the Conflict
It is important to emphasize the relationship between Gaza’s Palestinians and Hamas, and how the October 7 attack led to a swift and indiscriminate reaction by Israel to all inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. Hamas attained political power in Gaza in a 2006 election and has since remained in power by intentionally neglecting to hold free elections. Since its rise to power, Hamas has been regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, and other regional states. Its precarious status stands in contrast to the Palestinian Authority, the recognized institution that governs the West Bank. Israel and Hamas have had three conflicts prior to that sparked by October 7; however, this is the longest-lasting, and arguably the most destructive. In the October attack, Hamas members murdered more than 1,200 people, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust (U.S. Embassy in Panama 2024), causing a swift retaliation by the state of Israel.
According to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which governs international threats and breaches of peace, the notion of self-defense is an inherent right of all members of the United Nations. Israel regarded the attack on October 7 as an attack on the state, which provided a precedent for the Israeli army to systematically engage Palestinian operatives based in the Gaza Strip. However, one of the most contentious questions that has been raised throughout the conflict is the issue of proportionality. The definition of proportionality, through international humanitarian law, is the concerted effort to minimize civilian casualties during military attacks (ICRC). As Israel is an official member of the international community, it is legally compelled to be held accountable by international law. Palestine, on the other hand, lacks official international recognition with regard to statehood. Thus, the international community found it difficult to expect the same conformity with international law by the unrecognized collective — Hamas — that represents the Palestinian people. Proportionality became an important factor in the destruction and dismantling of Palestinian civilian infrastructure, creating a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. “While there is no confirmed evidence that the Israeli army, unlike Hamas, is deliberately targeting civilians, its use of force inside the Gaza Strip may be seen as disproportionate and causing excessive collateral damage – that is to say, war crimes” (2023 Fache). According to World Bank figures, more than half of the population in Gaza was on the brink of famine, and the entire population was experiencing acute food shortages and malnutrition. 75% of the population had become displaced due to the destruction of the urban environment; 84% of all health facilities had been damaged or destroyed, and more often than not, there was insufficient electricity and running water to maintain the remaining operating facilities (World Bank Group 2024). The narrative of the conflict has begun to shift from its legitimacy as a defensive war to the destruction of the Gaza Strip and its people.
Objectives of a Ceasefire
The notion of a ceasefire was particularly difficult for many far-right Israeli politicians to come to terms with. Throughout the conflict, the idea of expanding Israeli sovereignty over parts of Gaza was made apparent by certain members of the Otzma Yehudit, a notoriously conservative party in the Israeli Knesset. “Netanyahu and many of his extremist cabinet members had said they want Israel to remain in control of Gaza after the war ends, vowing to dismantle Hamas and refuse any Palestinian authority in the territory” (The New Arab Staff 2024). The lack of territorial gains for Israel appalled many of the far-right Israeli politicians who wished to revive settlements in the Gaza Strip to legitimize Israeli claims to the land. As the ceasefire has been agreed upon, no territory has been awarded to Israel.
One of Israel’s primary objectives throughout the conflict was to see the return of all hostages taken. 251 hostages were taken by Hamas insurgents on October 7, with only a small minority of them being non-Israeli citizens. Hamas’s objectives for a ceasefire were similar to the Israelis’: the release of all Palestinians taken captive during the conflict and the evacuation of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was not easily achieved; months of negotiations drew out before an agreement was reached. Israel has begun to engage Hamas in a hostage-for-hostage swap, sparking the beginning of a long-awaited Israeli hostage release. However, Israel has remained reluctant to comply with Hamas due to their treatment of Israeli captives, as has been seen in the ongoing release. As of January 31, 2025, 15 captives being held in Gaza were released to Israel and 400 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons (Al-Jazeera 2025). As stipulated by the ceasefire, Israel is to release hundreds of Palestinians abducted throughout the conflict and Hamas is to emancipate 33 hostages by the end of the six weeks following the agreement. More Israeli hostages have been released in the days after the ceasefire; however, the grounds of the truce have been shaky, given Israel’s wavering commitment to sending aid through to Gaza. The United Nations condemned Israel for banning the movements of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, as the initiative has exacerbated the ongoing famine (United Nations 2025). Although the peace created by the ceasefire has been unstable, with some noting it to be only temporary- it has put a pause on the hostilities that have enveloped millions of people for the last 15 months. As the new year begins, the world must remain hopeful that a lasting peace can be achieved through multilateralism and faith in our international institutions.
Max Drucker is a senior-year student from Brooklyn, NY. He’s majoring in Political Science with a double minor in Religious Studies and Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (GMAP). He mostly concentrates on the global affairs facet of Political Science. He was fortunate enough to spend a semester in Vienna, Austria studying International Relations. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, hanging out with his cats, and playing the guitar and bass.
References
Blinken, Antony. October 7th, 2024. “Anniversary of October 7th Attack” U.S. Mission to Panama.
International Committee of the Red Cross. August 12th, 1949. “Proportionality” The Geneva Convention.
https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/proportionality
Fache, Wilson. October 27th, 2023. “Israel’s War on Proportionality” Brussels International Center.
https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/israels-war-proportionality
The New Arab Staff. September 10th, 2024. “Netanyahu planning to annex, settle north Gaza as part of next phase of war: Israeli media” The New Arab.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-planning-annex-north-gaza-build-settlements-report
United Nations. January 31st, 2025. “The Question of Palestine” United Nations Palestinian Rights Committee.
United Nations. October 24th, 1945. “Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression” The UN Charter.
World Bank Group. April 2nd, 2024. “Joint World Bank, UN Report Assesses Damage to Gaza’s Infrastructure” The World Bank.
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