Editor’s Note: The Red & Black follows the Associated Press guidelines for reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The guidelines can be found here. We are open to receiving feedback, which can be sent to [email protected]. This article was originally published on Oct. 27 and has since been republished with more updated and accurate information along with additional supporting context, including more precise language defining Hamas, the history of conflict between Israel and Palestine and the labeling of the map used as visual for this article.
Hamas, a Palestinian militant group and political party, launched a multi-pronged attack on 22 southern Israeli towns by land, air and sea on Saturday, Oct. 7. The attack was launched on Simchat Torah — a Jewish holiday celebrating the end of the annual reading cycle of the Torah and the beginning of a new one — and left more than 1,000 Israeli civilians dead and around 155 as hostages.
On that same day, in response to the deadly attack, Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Gaza and assembled troops to invade the region, according to The New York Times. Israel declared war the following day. U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed support for Israel.
“We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
University of Georgia president Jere W. Morehead also emailed a statement to the UGA community on Oct. 12 condemning Hamas’ attacks.
“As the world continues to watch and despair over the unfolding events, I — like so many of you — am outraged and deeply saddened by the terrorist acts perpetrated against innocent civilians in Israel,” Morehead wrote.
Human rights groups and international organizations have also commented…
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