Smoke rises from an Israeli air strike inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from inside southern Israel on Tuesday. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Hamas's "Operation Al Aqsa Flood" two years ago and Israel's war on the Gaza Strip have not only transformed the Middle East, but also reverberated across the world.
They have again drawn attention to the 75-year unresolved Palestinian issue, gradually shifting global opinion against Israel as accusations of genocide mounted, and reopening the path toward a Palestinian state, though at a tremendous cost.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants fanned out from Gaza, breached the border fence with Israel and launched a multi-pronged assault -- an attack never seen before in the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
They used gliders and motorcycles to reach a desert music festival and storm Israeli communities in southern Israel, where they opened fire, killing around 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals and taking 251 others hostage inside Gaza.
