One Year Since 10/07

A Year of Tragedy and Chaos in Israel and the Middle East

Just over one year ago, Hamas launched an attack on Israel that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 human beings. Over 200 more people were taken hostage, ripped from their lives and their families. Among the victims were 46 American citizens. For the Israelis, 10/7 was a national trauma reminiscent of the Holocaust. To put the scale of this tragedy in perspective relative to Israel’s total population, it would be the equivalent of 40,000 Americans killed; 13 times the number of lives lost on 9/11.

The opening stages of Hamas’ offensive were focused almost entirely on soft civilian targets around the Gaza Strip and included large gatherings like the Nova Music Festival. Women, children, and grandparents were butchered in front of their closest relatives, while hundreds more were kidnapped. The harrowing testimonies of the survivors of 10/7 should serve as a reminder of the barbarism and cruelty of Hamas to anyone who still naïvely views the terror group as freedom fighters or a liberation front.

As a result of the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Israel began systematically dismantling Hamas’ capabilities to repeat such a massacre. Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza has led to the decimation of Hamas and most of its leadership. However, this military success has involved extensive collateral damage against the Gazan people. The Israel-Hamas war has led to an untold number of civilian casualties and the displacement of virtually the entirety of the Gazan population. 

A year has passed and peace remains elusive. Israeli hostages remain in captivity. Gaza is flattened. The war has spread to Lebanon and the possibility of direct conflict between Iran and Israel looms over the region. The possibility for peace and normalization between Israel and Palestine feels further away today than it ever has before. The Middle East remains trapped in a perpetual cycle of chaos and violence. 

While there’s no easy solution to the issues plaguing the Middle East, we should consider how the events in that region, Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific are all connected. The authoritarian axis that enables Putin’s war machine to strike Ukrainian cities also enables groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israeli civilians. The blueprints for future military action against Taiwan are undoubtedly being drafted with the lessons of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine in mind. These conflicts are significantly worsened by American inaction and will require an administration committed to standing up for our allies if we are to see any resolution in 2025. I know that a Kamala Harris administration will have the strategic vision and competence necessary to support our allies abroad. On the other hand, a second Donald Trump administration would embolden authoritarians and increase the devastation we have seen around the world. Today I remember the victims of 10/7 and its aftermath and contemplate how the U.S. can play a role in preventing other future tragedies.