All articles tagged with #israel hamas war
Benjamin Kerstein argues that defending Israel amid widespread demonization is emotionally draining and often entangled in a Kafkaesque media climate. He contends Israel is not flawless, but many criticisms are inflated, distorted, or aimed at demonizing the state rather than fairly assessing policy, framing the discourse as a perpetual trial of its supporters.
Hamas’s Gaza military chief Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, who had largely operated underground under strict rules, began venturing above ground to project control during a US-brokered ceasefire. Security officials say these breaches allowed Israeli intelligence to track him and kill him in a Gaza City hideout, as Haddad’s efforts to sustain Hamas’s military and financial networks amid mounting pressure contributed to his downfall.
Israel carried out an airstrike in Gaza targeting Hamas’ senior military leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad amid a fragile US-brokered ceasefire; a residential building in Gaza City’s al-Rimal area was hit, killing at least one woman and injuring several others, including a person in critical condition. Haddad, known as the “Ghost of al-Qassam,” is Hamas’ top military figure, but CNN has not independently confirmed his death and Hamas had not commented at publication. The strike follows ongoing Israeli actions against Hamas despite the ceasefire, with casualty totals rising in Gaza.
An Israeli Civil Commission report describes the Oct 7, 2023 attacks as the ‘weaponization of sexual violence,’ detailing systematic rape, assault and torture by Hamas and allied groups against civilians and hostages to maximize suffering. Based on 430 interviews, 10,000+ photos, and other records, the 300-page finding says these acts constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts, and it aims to preserve history and aid prosecutions; about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken.
Surveillance footage shows Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff reversing his SUV as students surrounded his car after an Israel-Palestine debate; a group claims two students were injured, while Kotlikoff says he was accosted and used the vehicle’s safety features to disengage, with one student shown being hit in the clip. The incident underscores ongoing campus speech tensions amid broader debates about funding and governance at the Ivy League school.
Video shows protesters from the group Within Our Lifetime shouting anti-Israel slurs and yelling 'Bomb Israel' at diners outside Motek, a kosher restaurant in Manhattan's Flatiron District, as police kept protesters and diners apart during a pro-Palestine march.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin details the harrowing 11-month captivity of her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin after he was abducted at the Nova festival during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, his death in tunnels beneath Gaza, and how her grief became the driving force behind her memoir, When We See You Again, a testament to hope amid loss.
Residents in Gaza allege Hamas members target desperate widows and young mothers, offering food and relief in exchange for sex; five women claim coercive encounters, with some reporting coverups and calls for scrutiny of aid groups amid the Gaza humanitarian crisis.
Palestinian Eatedal Rayyan reunites with her husband in war-damaged Gaza after nearly two years away, having fled to Egypt for medical care; the Rafah crossing reopened for limited returns, with about 21 Palestinians crossing back on Thursday, and Rayyan says life in Gaza is still beautiful despite widespread destruction as her family plans to live in a tent.
Guy Gilboa-Dalal, abducted from the Nova festival in 2023 and held in Gaza for more than two years, says he was sexually abused by a Hamas captor in tunnels and threatened with death if he spoke; the account underscores the brutal dangers hostages faced even during cease-fires.
The IDF says roughly 70,000 Gazans have died in the Israel-Hamas War, disputes UN civilian casualty figures, and asserts that no healthy Gazans died from starvation. It also notes massive humanitarian aid movements (112,000 trucks, 1.7 million tons of food, 1.8 million tents) and estimates about 25,000 of the dead were Hamas militants, while indicating ongoing efforts to differentiate civilians from combatants.
Holocaust survivor Theodor Meron, a veteran international lawyer who helped found the ICC, accepted an ICC panel's arrest warrants for Hamas leaders and Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that sparked controversy in Israel while underscoring his lifelong commitment to international justice as he remains active at 95.
On Jan. 21, 2026, Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 11 Palestinians on one of the war’s deadliest days since the October ceasefire, including three journalists and two 13-year-old boys; a strike also hit a vehicle carrying journalists near a displacement camp. Gaza’s health ministry says casualties have surpassed 470 since the ceasefire began. Separately, Israeli strikes hit sites in southern Lebanon near the border, wounding journalists and others, as the United States pushes to advance the ceasefire’s second phase.
Over 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict, with ongoing exchanges of remains as part of a fragile ceasefire initiated after the October 7 attack. The conflict has also seen increased settler violence in the West Bank, with numerous attacks on Palestinians and their property. The ceasefire involves the return of hostage remains and continues to be a complex and tragic situation.
Palestinian militants have released 13 bodies of hostages held in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the return of the remaining 15 bodies has stalled due to difficulties in accessing buried remains under rubble, with Israel threatening to resume military action if all remains are not returned. The article provides details about the lives and deaths of several hostages, including Israeli soldiers, civilians, and foreign nationals, highlighting the ongoing human toll of the conflict.