Israel and Hamas Engage in Three-Week Conflict, with No End in Sight

The Gaza Strip has been the site of a three-week-long conflict between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group. On Friday, Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City. This comes as the U.S. military struck targets in eastern Syria that were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The attack by Hamas on Israel comes at a time when the country is facing historic domestic political division, growing violence in the West Bank, and high-stakes negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the United States. Former U.S. intelligence and military officers believe the timing of the Hamas attack was primarily aimed at disrupting these negotiations.

Since the start of the conflict, the Palestinian death toll has risen to over 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7. Hamas claimed it was taking revenge for a series of recent actions by Israel at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque and in the West Bank.

The conflict has been ongoing for three weeks, and there is no sign of a resolution in sight. The international community is watching closely as the situation continues to escalate, with both sides showing no signs of backing down.