My ‘Live’ notes, basically just writing shit down as news breaks
Always look at a map!
October 7th - Hamas launches surprise attack on Israel
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
Started on the Simchat Torah, big yearly event for the jews, kind of a dick move
It’s sorta like when Egypt/Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur
Launched 3000 rockets from Gaza
Simultaneously, 2500 militants breached the Gaza-Israel barrier
People keep talking about the music festival, but there was an IDF military base too
1400 Israelis killed, 120 abducted, 3000 injured
All abductees were civilians
How many killed were civilians vs soldiers? Everyone keeps saying “Many were civilians”
“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass army mobilization… The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.” (Time)
Biden said “this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza.” He spoke with Netanyahu and said Israel “has a right to defend itself and its people”
Feels like people are interpreting this as pro-Zionist
Hezbollah congratulated them as a response to “Israeli crimes”
Lebanese militant group
Apparently Netanyahu’s going full fascist (my words), proposed overhauling the judiciary
He wants to make it so that the government could overturn Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority (61 lawmakers)
“Legal experts warn that could spark a constitutional crisis, where citizens and the country’s security forces are left to decide whose orders to follow — the parliament’s or the court’s.” (Associated Press)
Apparently this guy’s currently on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges. Big big yikes
“Israel OK’s plans for thousands of new settlement homes, defying White House calls for restraint” (Associated Press)
Approved plans to build 5,700 homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. That’s 13,000 this year in total
700,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem
Apparently Trump was pro-settlement, that doesn’t sound good. But Biden’s not funding Israel’s science and tech projects in the West Bank anymore
TL;DR on the settlements
Israel grabbed a ton of land during the 6 day war in 1967 and ultimately expanded their borders a whole bunch, according to them
The international community doesn’t really accept that Israel owns that land, but they are building settlements there to kinda cement it as theirs
TODO: Apparently Netanyahu got ousted last year but now he’s back?? When/Why did he leave?
King Abdullah II of Jordan warned that he’d “respond” if Israel crosses red lines in Jerusalem
Jordan’s been a safe haven for Middle Eastern Christians for a couple decades now
When people talk about Palestinians being “displaced” by Israeli settlements, what they mean is that Israelis are attacking them from their outposts, forcing them to leave
