The state of Israel was formed in 1948 in part due to centuries of widespread anti-semitism & the resultant diaspora, leaving many Jewish people feeling stateless, leading to the Zionist movement. There have been consistent skirmishes, breaks of cease-fire, & other acts of hostility from both the Israelis & the Palestinians under the banner of Hamas. Israeli settlers have been widely documented illegally taking Palestinian land in the name of Zionism. This happens in many places, including the illegally-occupied West Bank. The Gaza Strip is considered by many in the international community to be an open-air prison, although the Strip has been granted quasi-independence from the Israeli government since 2005. Hamas, the Palestinian democratically elected government, committed a devastating terror attack against Israeli civilians on October 7th 2023, killing 1400 people, including children, as well as taking over 200 hostages. In response, Israel has carried out a heavy bombardment & siege of the Gaza Strip, killing over 19,088 people, over 7,000 of these children. The emerging issues at hand are severe military disproportionality & Israel’s all-out refusal to let independent journalists enter the region. A combination that causes a great deal of concern to many.