War in the Middle East
Open Editor’s Digest for free
FT editor Rula Khalaf picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
(noun) armed conflict between countries or groups
In the Middle East, 2024 will go down as one of the most devastating years in modern history. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions forced from their homes.
The carnage began in late 2023 after a Hamas attack on Israel in which Palestinian militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.The guns have rarely been silent since.
Israel retaliated with a thunderous attack on Hamas-controlled Gaza that killed more than 44,000 people and turned the besieged strip into a desert.
After October 7, the militant movement Hezbollah then began firing at Israel in solidarity with Hamas, as another front opened up on the Israeli-Lebanese border militias in Iraq and Syria have also fired missiles, rockets and drones at Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli forces and Jewish settlers have stepped up their attacks and incursions into the occupied West Bank. on the shore
As the conflict continued to spiral, Iran and Israel exchanged live fire for the first time in April, and repeated it with greater ferocity in October.
A month ago, Israel stepped up its offensive against Hezbollah, killing leader Hassan Nasrallah, launching airstrikes across Lebanon and invading the country’s south, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted was changing the “balance of power in the region for years.”
A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on November 27 to end the Israel-Hezbollah war, but it did not silence the weapons, with each side accusing the other of violating the ceasefire. Israel continued to bomb southern Lebanon.
Hours after the cease-fire took effect, another war broke out in Syria as a rebel offensive broke a years-long stalemate.Within two weeks, dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, bringing hope and happiness but also more uncertainty.
English