"What's happening to Gaza?"
On October 7, Hamas militants conducted an attack on Israel resulting in the death of ~1300 Israelis, including women and children and other civilians. The militants broke out of Gaza at the Erez crossing (north Gaza Strip).
In response, the Israeli government has authorized and carried out an extensive campaign of airstrikes against Gaza using the justification that Hamas militants purposely use Palestinian civilians as human shields. The Israeli government contends that Hamas chooses headquarters locations in residential buildings as a way to discourage the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) from targeting them. Israel also contends that Hamas militants have an extensive tunnel system under Gaza in the north, which protects the militants from perishing in airstrikes.
While Hamas' political wing was elected to power in the election held in 2007, there has not been another vote since. Fully half of the 2.2 million people in Gaza are children. Israeli forces left Gaza in 2005 but has blockaded it since then. Israel has full control over everything and everyone that enters and leaves the Strip.
Currently, the Erez crossing is inoperable. The only other crossing is Rafah, in the south, sharing a border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula. This border is closed. It has been open 3 times since October 7: once to let in 30 trucks of humanitarian aid, once to let in 17 trucks, and once on 1 November to allow three critically injured patients and 400 Palestinians with foreign passports to evacuate. The Rafah crossing has been bombed by IDF multiple times since October 7.
The Israeli government has cut off communication with Gaza twice since October 7. It could do so again at any time.
From UNRWA (United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees):
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 8,525 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. That is 3,542 children and 2,197 women. A further 21,543 have been injured.
Many in the West do not know any Palestinians at all, let alone a Gazan. They can feel sad when they see bombed out buildings and men digging through rubble with their bare hands, but not knowing a person there allows them to easily move on to the next thing.
On my personal account, @yessoupy, I have posted often about my Palestinian students from Gaza. What is happening in Gaza is not an abstraction for me. I have anywhere from 15 (confirmed) to 30 former students currently in Gaza.
What can you do to learn more?
Instagram is widely used in Gaza and is the best place to follow Gazan journalists reporting on their homeland.
byplestia - Plestia Al Aqad, my former student
motaz_azaiza - Motaz Azaiza, Plestia's former schoolmate
hindkhoudary - Hind Khoudary, cousin of another former student of mine
You can add to your list by following these four and following who they tag. By following these accounts, you're able to see what is happening. Please, if you do not know a single Palestinian, please learn. All of these journalists post most of their work in English.
If you have questions that you're afraid to ask because you're worried about whether your wording is offensive or you're worried that you'll look stupid, please send me a DM or an ask off anon (I will not publish publicly unless you EXPLICITLY tell me that you DO want it published). No question is stupid, and I will gently (and without judgment) correct any wording as necessary. In my real life I am a teacher, and having taught world history in the past I know that at least in America students don't learn very much at all about Palestine. I am happy to teach you.
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