Israel's ground invasion of Gaza

Monday, October 30, 2023

Hi, everyone, and welcome back for another week of Sentences.

This Monday we'll be focusing on the start of Israel's ground invasion of Gaza (which began over the weekend) and how the world sees President Biden's role in the war.

— Rachel DuRose, Future Perfect fellow

UP FIRST

Israel's ground assault of Gaza is happening. Here's what we know.

Israel accompanied its ground incursion of the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment, the result of which is seen here in an image taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot. Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images

Over the weekend, Israel began what will likely be a prolonged ground operation in northern Gaza. The ground assault was accompanied by aerial bombardments and the temporary loss of communications in the Palestinian territory.

The lowdown: Israel's incursion into Gaza appears to be less like the expected full-on invasion, and more like the first phase of a prolonged assault. Israeli troops entered Gaza in two areas in the north of the territory, and in central Gaza. Here's what we know thus far:

Israel won't call its new operation an "invasion." Instead, Israeli leaders describe this as a "new phase" of the war. Israel says its goals include the release of hostages, the creation of a new security regime in the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of Hamas's capacity to attack Israel.

A communications blackout, which many humanitarian groups have blamed on Israel, has made it difficult to get information out of Gaza. Mobile, landline, and internet services in Gaza were shut off Friday before the invasion began and have only sporadically been restored since. The Israeli government claims it can't guarantee the safety of journalists in Gaza, making reports from the territory even harder to come by, at the worst possible time.

This ground assault is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel's blockade on Gaza has strained living conditions in the territory for over a decade, and its siege and bombardment has made matters worse. Since October 7, the Gaza Health Ministry says more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in the region. While Hamas likely has fuel, food, medicine, and water, it is probably using these supplies sparingly, in the hopes that it can sustain three or four months of fighting — and leaving less for civilians.

The stakes: In the weeks following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Gaza has faced far greater retaliation than Hamas seems to have expected, given Netanyahu's previously hands-off approach to the territory and the militant group. It's unclear how long Hamas might be able to hold out against Israel's forces; the war could be prolonged if other groups, such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah, join the fighting, diverting Israeli military resources away from Gaza.

If Hamas is destroyed — as Israel aims to do — the question then becomes who would govern Gaza.

"[Israeli] Defense Minister Yoav Gallant outlined the 'third phase' of the war as installing a new security regime in Gaza that will somehow relieve Israel of the responsibility for day-to-day life in Gaza," world reporter Ellen Ioanes told me. "That could look like trying to have the Palestinian Authority nominally in charge of Gaza, but that raises more concerns than it solves in some ways — the PA is in charge in the West Bank, for example, but the Israeli military still occupies big parts of it."

Read Ellen's full story on the ground assault here.

CATCH UP

The world will see this as Biden's war

President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 19, 2023. Jonathan Ernst/AFP via Getty Images

Especially now that Israel's ground assault on Gaza has begun, mass protests and UN actions have made it clear that much of the world believes the US enabled this war. While US President Joe Biden urged Israel to delay a ground assault, among other diplomatic efforts, on the world stage America's decades-long financial and military backing of the Middle Eastern country tells a different story.

Israel is the single biggest beneficiary of US foreign aid. America funds a portion of Israel's expansive military and has used its United Nations veto power to shield Israel from incriminating resolutions. The image of President Biden embracing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a hug on October 18 represents how most of the world views the relationship between the two countries.

The perception of Biden's ownership of this war will only grow as Israel expands and extends its siege of Gaza. This will have ramifications in the US, where Biden will face an election next year, and may face criticism from those who previously voted for him but disapprove of Israel's actions.

America doesn't have boots on the ground in Israel, but that doesn't mean the country is entirely uninvolved. Biden has repeatedly warned those in the region to stay out of the war. Last week, the US's military bases in Iraq and Syria, and its aircraft carrier passing by Yemen, came under rocket fire from militants. In response, Biden authorized "narrowly tailored" strikes on Iran-backed militias in Syria.

Read Jonathan Guyer's full story on how the world views the role of the US in the war.

If you have questions about the ongoing war, let us know here. And here's where you can keep track of all our developing coverage.

VERBATIM

🗣️ "We are bearing the responsibility of your political, security, and military failure on October 7th. There was no army, no one arrived. No one protected us."

— A hostage being held in Gaza. Hamas released a video that they say shows three women it has been holding captive. Al Jazeera did not share the video but shared quotes from it, noting that they are unsure if the words were said under coercion. [Al Jazeera]

AROUND THE WEB

Since the start of the war, there have been a series of suspected hate crimes against Muslim and Jewish people. On October 14 in Illinois, a 71-year-old man fatally stabbed a 6-year-old and injured his mother due to their Muslim faith. Sunday, a mob stormed a Russian airport looking for Jewish people arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv.

Over the weekend before Halloween, multiple American cities experienced mass shootings. Between Friday and Sunday, 12 mass shootings killed at least 11 people and injured another 76. The shootings followed deadly mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people. [NPR]

General Motors reached a tentative deal with United Auto Workers. GM becomes the final automaker to reach an agreement with the union (which has been on strike for six weeks), joining Stellantis and Ford. [ABC News]