On October 7, Israelis awoke to news of an attack by Gaza-based jihadist militia group Hamas on the Israeli towns and settlements surrounding the strip. Since, Hamas militants and Israeli armed forces have exchanged fire and missiles, with Hamas rockets striking cities throughout Israel whilst Israeli air forces bomb Gaza targets as on-the-ground fighting rages on.
In a dawn attack involving secret infiltration by land and air, Hamas militants swiftly moved to occupy nearby towns, thwarting oblivious Israeli intelligence in the process. Israel promptly deployed its military forces to reclaim settlements while Hamas sympathetics took up the cause throughout Israel’s south and the West Bank.
As of writing, the Israeli death toll stands at over 900 while Palestine has lost 710, the highest casualties in years. Many of these casualties on each side of the conflict are civilians either purposely or inadvertently caught up in attacks. Soon after the first signs of the conflict’s scale, Israel declared a state of war for the first time in 50 years and called up over 300,000 reservists to fight against the militants.
An important distinction made by this article is between Hamas and the state of Palestine. Alsann recognises the sovereignty of Palestine as a governing authority over the West Bank and Gaza, although in reality the Palestinian government only controls the west bank whereas Hamas, a jihadist military organisation, has its political wing ruling Gaza. Though there is conflict in the West Bank, the primary aggressor is Hamas in Gaza.
Though Alsann itself has not yet directly commented on the situation, the Officer-General offered a personal statement in a post on the AlsannGov website the night of the attacks starting. In the message, the Officer-General stated that although he supported Palestinian independence, he condemned the wanton attacks on civilians which Hamas was engaging in. He also made several calls, including Israel taking only necessary defence, Hamas’ disengagement and disbandment and the excommunication of Hamas by the state of Palestine.
In his statement, the Officer-General expressed deep concern for civilian wellbeing, something that is being continually violated by both sides of the conflict. He added he would attempt to assemble the Federal Council for a special meeting, a proposal that was met largely with silence by the members such that a quota could not be established.
The ongoing conflict in Israel is likely to continue for some time to come and will be a very bloody conflict, with many civilian casualties to come.
Alsane News Service.
Alsane News Service 
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