The Third Intifada is an ongoing uprising of the Palestinians against Israel's system of apartheid, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.[1] It began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Flood and began an unprecedented offensive into Israel's internationally recognized borders.[2] Hamas was joined by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),[3] factions of Fatah,[4] and several other groups. The offensive came as a surprise to Israel, exposing the weakness of Mossad.[5] By October 9, Israel had pushed all of the Palestinian resistance fighters back into Palestine's internationally recognized borders. Israel began launching massive airstrikes against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip as retaliation for the offensive, displacing a million Palestinians within Gaza.[6] The deadliest airstrike by Israel on the al-Ahli Arabi Hospital, an airstrike on October 17 that killed 500 civilians.[7]
The Third Intifada is inspired by the previous First Intifada and Second Intifada, both of which involved Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) rising up against Israel. The Third Intifada has proven a major wild card for Middle Eastern geopolitics, ruining attempts to form an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Israel.[8] It has served as another step in Saudi Arabian-Iranian reconciliation by giving Saudi Arabia and Iran a common enemy in Israel. Israel has threatened to spread the fighting into Lebanon and Syria by attacking Hezbollah forces in the former and blowing up airports in the latter.[9]
Casualties[edit | edit source]
Palestinian casualties[edit | edit source]
As of October 17, 2023:[6]
- 3,061 Palestinians killed
- 3,000 Gazans killed
- 61 West Bankers killed
- 13,750 Palestinians injured
- 12,500 Gazans injured
- 1,250 West Bankers injured
- 1,000,000 Gazans internally displaced
- 600,000 Gazans taking shelter in United Nations facilities
- 3 Gazan desalination plants out of operation
- 89,184 Gazan homes damaged
- 8,840 Gazan homes destroyed
- 164 Gazan schools damaged
- 1 Gazan school destroyed
- 19 Gazan mosques damaged
- 11 Gazan mosques destroyed
- 24 Gazan hospitals out of operation
- 23 Gazan ambulances destroyed
- 11 Gazan water sanitation facilities destroyed
Israeli casualties[edit | edit source]
As of October 17, 2023:[6]
- 1,400 Israelis killed
- 3,500 Israelis injured
Syrian casualties[edit | edit source]
As of October 15, 2023:[9]
- 2 Syrian airports out of operation
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Israel-Gaza war: what’s happening and why? | Start Here
- ↑ Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa
- ↑ Side by side: Palestinian Resistance factions announce mobilization
- ↑ Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade: We're fighting alongside Hamas
- ↑ How Could Israeli Intelligence Miss the Hamas Invasion Plans?
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live Tracker
- ↑ Israel-Hamas war updates: Israel kills 500 in Gaza hospital ‘massacre’
- ↑ Biden’s hopes for establishing Israel-Saudi relations could become a casualty of the new Mideast war
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Syria accuses Israel over Aleppo airport strike