Tag: October 7 attack by Hamas

Extreme Right Has Seized Control of Israel

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This was the lead article in the Israeli daily Haaretz on August 7, 2025. In an expansive interview reported in this essay, Assaf David provides a glimpse of the destructive impact on Israeli society from Israel’s ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. Through the accounts of many Gazans he is in direct contact with, David describes the Israeli-caused starvation epidemic in Gaza and calls for an immediate end to Israel’s onslaught. His account is more compelling given David’s biography. He grew up in a religious Zionist home in the urban settlement of Kiryat Arba, abutting Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, later served in the Israeli army for 11 years, was seriously wounded in one of Hamas’ first suicide attacks, and for years was an adviser for the Israeli prime minister’s office.

Gaza Ceasefire: Israel Emerges Stronger; War Not Over

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After 15 months of a genocidal war Israel launched on Palestinians in response to the grotesque October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, the first phase of a ceasefire went into effect in Gaza on January 19. It is now clear that Israel has made strategic gains, emerging from this war in a stronger position than when it began. It has substantially weakened its main adversaries in the region, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the regime in Iran. With ceasefires in place in both Lebanon and Gaza, Israel is now refocusing its military might in dealing new blows to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian people, meanwhile, face the bleakest prospects in decades in their quest for national self-determination.

Rashid Khalidi: ‘Israel’s Nightmare Scenario’ (II)

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This is the second of two parts of a wide-ranging interview with renowned Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi. He returns to important themes he has previously discussed in the 14 months since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. “One of the problems we have today,” he explains, referring to the Palestinian struggle, “is disunity and the absence of a unified national movement and of a clear, unified strategy. Without that, you’re not going to liberate anything.” He also addresses the role of violence in the anti-colonial struggle. And he discusses the possibility of Jewish-Palestinian alliances.

Rashid Khalidi: ‘Israel’s Nightmare Scenario’ (I)

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In this wide-ranging interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, renowned Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi returns to important themes he has discussed at other times in the 14 months since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. “One of the problems we have today,” he explains, referring to the Palestinian struggle, “is disunity and the absence of a unified national movement and of a clear, unified strategy. Without that, you’re not going to liberate anything.” He also addresses the role of violence in the anti-colonial struggle. And he discusses the possibility of Jewish-Palestinian alliances.

Israel’s Revenge: An Interview with Rashid Khalidi (II)

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This is the second of two parts of an interview with Rashid Khalidi, a renowned Palestinian American scholar and author of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.” Khalidi discusses the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and the ferocity of the war the Israeli government launched in response. He touches on Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah and against other Iranian allies in the Middle East. He also details Washington’s indispensable support for Israel’s wars and the popular opposition in the United States and around the world to U.S. and Israeli war aims.

Israel’s Revenge: An Interview with Rashid Khalidi (I)

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This is the first part of an interview with Rashid Khalidi, a renowned Palestinian American scholar and author of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.” Khalidi discusses the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and the ferocity of the war the Israeli government launched in response. He touches on Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah and against other Iranian allies in the Middle East. He also details Washington’s indispensable support for Israel’s wars and the popular opposition in the United States and around the world to U.S. and Israeli war aims.

‘Israel Kills Us, and Hamas Exploits Our Deaths’

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Just over a year since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, the war launched on Gaza by Israel in response is unrelenting: more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed, over 100,000 injured, nearly all of Gaza’s entire prewar population of 2.3 million has been displaced, and much of the territory reduced to rubble. Most Gazans blame Israel for this devastation. But a growing number also blame the leadership of Hamas for giving Israeli authorities the opening to unleash this onslaught. In addition, some Gazans point to the often-brutal punishment Hamas metes out to Palestinians who voice any criticism of the organization. Such opinions are expressed in this column written by a Palestinian in northern Gaza, and corroborated by other similar reports.

Rashid Khalidi on U.S. Support to Israel, Palestinian National Movement (II)

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This is the second part of an interview with Rashid Khalidi, the Palestinian American author of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.” In the interview, Khalidi discusses two key points — among other important ideas. The first concerns the U.S. role in enabling Israel’s brutal war in the region that has now spread far beyond the Gaza Strip. The second is about the state of the Palestinian national movement.

Rashid Khalidi on U.S. Support to Israel, Palestinian National Movement (I)

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In this interview, Rashid Khalidi, the Palestinian American author of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine,” discusses two key points — among other important ideas. The first concerns the U.S. role in enabling Israel’s brutal war in the region that has now spread far beyond the Gaza Strip. The second is about the state of the Palestinian national movement.

Gazan Anger at Hamas Grows as War Drags On

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This article was first published on August 6, 2024, by +972 Magazine, “an independent, online, nonprofit magazine run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists,” as its website says. The author, Mahmoud Mushtaha, is a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who was forced to flee his home and now resides in Cairo, Egypt. Mushtaha is also affiliated with We Are Not Numbers (WANN), “a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project in the Gaza Strip,” per the organization’s website, which also says that WANN “tells the stories behind the numbers of Palestinians in the news and advocates for their human rights.”

Israel’s War on Gaza Grinds On

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After months of U.S. opposition to a ceasefire in the war on Gaza, the United Nations (UN) Security Council adopted a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire plan in a near-unanimous vote on June 10. Yet no end to the war is in sight. Israel’s relentless assault grinds on. The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 37,000 with over 85,000 wounded. On June 12, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, warned, “A significant proportion of Gaza’s population is now facing catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions.”

Rashid Khalidi on the War in Gaza, Perspectives for Palestinian Liberation

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Palestinian American Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is also the author of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine” and other books. In this interview, he explains the causes of the current war in Gaza and outlines his views on how the conflict in Israel and Palestine can be resolved. He also answers the smears of “antisemitism” leveled against the student protests demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Iran-Israel Shadow War: Its Role in Mideast Conflict (I)

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Iran and Israel traded direct airstrikes on each other’s territory, for the first time, in a confrontation in April that raised the danger of a full-blown regional war. Both governments, however, stepped back from the brink after Israel chose to launch a limited strike in response to Iran’s large but ineffective rocket barrage aimed at Israel. Having avoided further direct military conflict, both countries returned to their long-running shadow war, in which Iran’s strategy is to arm and direct allied militias such as Hezbollah. These developments also shed light on Tehran’s pretentious “support” for the Palestinian liberation struggle. The clerical regime uses such posturing to prop up its dictatorial hold on power in Iran and its reactionary reach through proxy armies across the Mideast. Many Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as working people and others in Iran, are beginning to see through such grandstanding and now openly oppose it.

‘For a Just Peace Enabling Israelis and Palestinians to Co-Exist with Mutual Respect’

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Graça Machel published this appeal on April 4, 2024, in Project Syndicate (PS), a magazine in South Africa. Machel is a member of the Elders, “the group of independent global leaders that I co-founded with my late husband, Nelson Mandela,” as she explains. She is also the founder of the Graça Machel Trust, a women’s rights organization based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Machel was born in Mozambique. She is the widow of Mozambique’s former President Samora Machel (1975–1986) and South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela (1998–2013).

UN: Full Investigation Needed on Oct. 7 Sexual Violence Charges

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In early March, Pramila Patten, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC), issued a report on the Official visit of the Office of the SRSG-SVC to Israel and the occupied West Bank. The report concluded that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred at several locations across the Gaza periphery, including in the form of rape and gang rape, during the 7 October 2023 attacks.” It also stated: “The mission team was unable to establish the prevalence of sexual violence and concludes that the overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution of these violations would require a fully-fledged investigation.”

Frantz Fanon and the Paradox of Anticolonial Violence (II)

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The March/April issue of Against the Current features the essay by Alan Wald “Frantz Fanon and the Paradox of Anticolonial Violence.” World-Outlook is reposting Wald’s essay with the author’s permission. Our views are not identical to all of those expressed in it. But we believe the main issues Wald raises deserve further discussion in light of the gruesome October 7 attack led by Hamas that targeted civilians in Israel and the genocidal war Israel unleashed in retaliation on the entire population of Gaza. This is the second of two parts.

Frantz Fanon and the Paradox of Anticolonial Violence (I)

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The March/April issue of Against the Current features the essay by Alan Wald “Frantz Fanon and the Paradox of Anticolonial Violence.” World-Outlook is reposting Wald’s essay with the author’s permission. Our views are not identical to all of those expressed in it. But we believe the main issues Wald raises deserve further discussion in light of the gruesome October 7 attack led by Hamas that targeted civilians in Israel and the genocidal war Israel unleashed in retaliation on the entire population of Gaza. This is the first of two parts.

Rape as a War Crime and the Need for Accurate Reporting

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On February 28, The Intercept published the article we are sharing in this post, “‘Between the Hammer and the Anvil’ – The Story Behind the New York Times October 7 Exposé.” In detailed reporting, The Intercept revealed that the December 28, 2023, Times story,  “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7,” was based on faulty reporting and intended to support the political viewpoint of the Times’ editors.