In the early hours of October 7th, 2023 – as Jews prepared to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah – thousands of Hamas militants and civilians stormed into southern Israel where they overtook towns and kibbutzim massacring at least 1,200 Israelis and taking nearly 250 into Gaza as captives. Accompanied by thousands of missile launches, the siege — which included instances of rape of horrific mutilations — prompted a subsequent invasion by the Israeli military into Gaza to secure the nation’s borders and eradicate the Hamas threat.
A year on, Israel remains in Gaza where it has mostly routed out Hamas as well as destroyed or dismantled the hundreds of miles of elaborate tunnels used by its leadership. Israel’s military response has resulted in an estimated and unconfirmed 40,000 Gazan dead, both civilians and militants. And hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been displaced from their homes, a consequence of Hamas’ deadly strategy of embedding its militants in homes, schools, mosques and hospitals. As its leaders cowered in luxury hotels in Qatar, Hamas has spent billions of dollars of international aid to fund its terror campaigns and tunnel infrastructure.
The Gaza war is now Israel’s longest-ever, with nearly 700 soldiers killed and thousands more wounded. The war has also stretched far beyond Israel and Gaza. Houthi rebels from Yemen joined in to attack both Red Sea oil tankers as well as Israel itself. Iran, patron of Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, launched a comprehensive missile barrage on Israel in April. And now Hezbollah, which began firing upon Israel’s north almost immediately after Hamas’ October 7th massacre, is engaged in what is likely to be a full-scale war.
The impact of the war both in Israel and abroad has been unprecedented. While the Israeli public remains mostly committed to eradicating Hamas, its economy has shrunk, its tourism sector has ground to a standstill while foreign investment has plummeted. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains embattled as Israelis blame their leadership for failing to end the conflict.
Across the globe, the Gaza war has resulted in a surge of antisemitism and massive pro-Palestinian protests in cities on every continent – along with Israel being censured by global judiciary bodies such as the International Court Of Justice and UN. In New York, protests last fall saw major sites ranging from Grand Central Station to the Brooklyn Bridge shut down by anti-Israel mobs. And college campuses such as Columbia University became overrun by massive encampments.
The Gaza War has also extended into the US presidential election cycle. As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump vie for the White House, the Gaza war, Israel’s battles with Hezbollah, and the larger Iran threat have seen the right call for the US to continue Israel’s war effort, while the far-left pressures Vice President Harris to implement the ceasefire she has repeatedly called for and reduce arm shipments to Israel.
A year into the longest war in Israel’s history, an end point remains elusive. Israel’s spectacular attack on thousands of Hezbollah pagers across Lebanon and Syria, for instance, continues to confirm – like its August air attack on Hezbollah missile sites – that the nation will take every possible measure to deter its foes and keep its citizens safe. Meanwhile, even as its battalions have been destroyed, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, has yet to be eliminated and dozens of hostages remain trapped in terror tunnels.
A year into the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the only certainty remains uncertainty — and this is intended to offer clarity amid the chaos. Featured are a trio of New York Post reporters and editors who have been at the front lines of the war — along with the impact and response across the globe.
Opinion Editor Mark Cunningham, whose inimitable ability to parse through politics and policy, speaks to the ways Israel’s war effort has been impacted by Washington and a Biden-Harris White House that has often refused to provide Israel with the free hand — and necessary arms — to truly eradicate Hamas and achieve Netanyahu’s vision of “complete victory.”
Sunday Reporter Jon Levine looks at the response to the Gaza war here in New York, where an explosion of antisemitism has infiltrated nearly every element of the city – from college campuses to corporate offices to the city’s vaulted cultural institutions. And explains how years of progressive City Hall policies have allowed this to happen unchecked — and unaccounted for.
Columnist Douglas Murray was on the ground in Israel within days of the Hamas attack and has reported from the front-lines ever since. He is a keen observer of both the current geopolitical implications of the battles now raging — and the historical antecedents which have brought us to this fractious moment.
Reporter Isabel Vincent, a veteran investigative ace, has spent months digging into the financial backstory of Hamas, the global protestors and their myriad sources of funding. She explains how this complex economic web has both built Hamas’ terror infrastructure and kept the war from ending.
Moderating it all is Editor David Christopher Kaufman, who’s written and edited dozens of pieces about the war in Gaza — as well as spent weeks in Israel since October 7th witnessing its impacts first-hand.
