Israeli Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said this on November 4. It is clear from this that by the completion of 30 days of the war, the Israeli army has divided Gaza into two parts. Not only this, this month-long war has not only changed the map of Palestine but the strength of Hamas and the politics of Muslim countries.
The story of changing the Palestinian map started in 1917
There was one year left for the First World War to end. The British Empire’s forces were rapidly driving out the Ottoman Empire, which was in power in the Middle East. Britain was confident that it would be successful in capturing Palestine. Then in November 1917, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter to the major Jewish leaders of Europe. A promise was made in this – We will establish a country for the Jews in Palestine. However, fed up with the atrocities taking place in Europe, Jews started settling in Palestine in the 1880s.
In 1917 their population in Palestine had become 6%. The Arab Muslims of Palestine protested against Balfour’s promise, but it changed nothing. According to Al Jazeera, Balfour’s promise made in 1917 is considered the first step towards changing the map of Palestine.
Israel was formed in 1948 and then the map changed.
Between 1922 and 1935, the Jewish population in Palestine increased from 7% to 22%. In 1936, a major movement against Jews began in Palestine. Britain crushed it brutally. Destroyed the houses of 2 thousand Palestinians, arrested 9 thousand people and put them in torture camps. The rebellion that started against the British continued till 1939.
At this time, war broke out once again in Europe. Record numbers of Jews began arriving in Palestine to escape Hitler’s atrocities in Europe. In 1944, armed Jewish fighters launched a war against the British government of Palestine to create Israel. The result was that by 1947, Britain handed over the Palestine-Israel issue to the United Nations.
UN suggested dividing Palestine into two parts. One for the Jews and one for the Arab Muslims. In 1948, a Jewish leader named David Bengurian announced the creation of Israel in Palestine. This was the second incident when a major change was recorded in the map of Palestine.
Israel occupied entire Palestine in 1967 war
In 1967, Egypt, Jordan and Syria attack Israel. Arab countries and Israel fight a war for 6 days. It is also called Six Day War. Arab countries have to face big defeat in the war. Arab countries lose important Palestinian territories like the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Israel starts settling its people everywhere except Gaza. This was the incident when the whole of Palestine was occupied by Israel. 3 lakh Palestinians had to leave their homes.
The Oslo Accords of 1993 changed Palestine again
Agreements are made between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) after 6 months of secret negotiations led by US President Bill Clinton. This is called Oslo Agreement. Under this, Israel again gives the rule of the West Bank to the PLO, but with some conditions.
Did Hamas weaken or increase in strength in the 30-day war?
1) How prepared are you for a long war?
When Hamas attacked on October 7, its planning surprised everyone. Qatar University expert Adeeb Ziadeh says that Hamas will not kneel before Israel so easily. The planning of the attack on October 7 shows that Hamas is preparing to fight a long-term war.
Before the war started, Hamas was said to have 40 thousand fighters. More than 9 thousand people have died in Israel’s bombing. Israel does not yet have an answer to the question as to how many of these are Hamas fighters and how many are common people.
According to the Israeli Army, it has eliminated more than 50 top commanders of Hamas.
Before the war, Hamas had a stockpile of 15 thousand rockets. In this, more than 8100 rockets have been fired on Israel. There are still 7 thousand rockets left. At the time of the 2008 war, the maximum range of Hamas rockets was 40 km (25 mi), but as of 2021 this has increased to 230 km.
The tunnels built at a depth of 80 feet in Gaza are no less than a weapon for Hamas. Hamas’ plan was to surround and kill Israeli soldiers through tunnels, so that Israel would get upset and declare a ceasefire soon. Although Israel has claimed that it has destroyed 100 such tunnels.
Gaza blockade
Weapons are supplied to Gaza from Iran and Libya. To transport weapons from Iran to Gaza, they are first brought to Yemen. From there the weapons are then transported to Egypt via the Suez Canal. From here they reach Gaza Strip via Sinai.
There is also a route from Sudan. First the weapons are transported to Sudan, from there through the desert to Egypt’s Suez Canal and then to the Gaza Strip. Because of the war, Israel has surveillance on all roads. In such a situation, it is almost impossible for new weapons to reach Gaza. In such a situation, it is expected that Hamas will not be able to face Israel for long.
Israel’s surveillance on Hamas’s money
The unemployment rate in Gaza may be 47% and poverty may be 80%, but the Hamas army has no shortage of budget. Hamas spends 100 to 350 million dollars annually on its army. This is one reason why Israel and America are keeping an eye on the funding of Hamas. Hamas gets funds in Gaza from countless sources. Every year he earns about 400 million dollars from taxes, extortion and custom fees. He gets three times more than this from the network spread in Iran and other countries.
To help Israel, America has decided that it will destroy the financial network. For this, the International Financial System and other revenue systems are being closely scrutinized. Many steps have been taken since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Assets of Hamas members and leaders have been confiscated. He has invested the money in real estate and some sectors. It is believed that this investment is more than 500 million dollars. Apart from this, Hamas leaders also have companies in Sudan, Algeria, Turkey and UAE. Action has been taken against them also.
Question 1: What did Israel get from the war against Hamas in one month?
Answer: After the attack on October 7, Israel had two objectives in the war against Hamas-
Liberating more than 250 Israeli hostages from Hamas.
To root out the terrorist organization Hamas.
In the war that has been going on for a month, Israel has completely failed in both these objectives. Neither the hostages have been freed nor the top leaders of Hamas have been killed. Due to the large number of civilians being killed in Gaza due to the war, there is a demand for ceasefire all over the world including America.
America may not be openly opposing Israel’s attack, but the reality is that it also wants a ceasefire. In such a situation, till now Israel has not achieved much except killing some Hamas commanders and destroying bunkers.
Question 2: What has Hamas achieved from this attack?
Answer: The way Hamas attacked Israel, its image has been created as a terrorist organization. Till now many countries did not consider it a terrorist organization, but after this incident the pressure on those countries to accept it will increase.
Hamas, which was running a movement till now regarding Palestine, has tarnished the image of that entire movement after this incident. By doing this Hamas invited Israel to attack Gaza. Because of this, more than 10 thousand people have died there.
Question 3: What was the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on Arab and world politics?
Answer: Iran has an indirect role behind this attack. He did not want the Abraham Accords to succeed. In fact, this is the first peace agreement between Israel and Arab countries in the last 26 years. In this, many Arab countries including UAE, Morocco, Sudan, Jordan started building better relations with Israel.
Iran wanted to make itself the leader of these countries. For this reason, Iran instigated and prepared the ground for this attack. Iran is trying to increase its influence in the world and Arabia. In such a situation, he did not want to let the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel succeed due to American efforts. He felt that if this happened, the influence of Sunni country Saudi on the surrounding countries including Palestine would increase. He was not able to tolerate this in his neighborhood in any way.
It is true that there were changes in global politics after the Russia-Ukraine war. Due to China’s efforts, an agreement was reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Despite this, every country takes a decision on any issue considering its own interest. In the Hamas-Israel war, Iran adopted a path different from Saudi’s for its own interests and it is believed that it instigated Hamas for the war.
