One year after October 7th: tens of thousands dead and fear of a “forever war”

Israel gets most of its weapons from the United States, which provides it with more than $3 billion in military aid annually. After October 7, that amount was increased dramatically, and Congress agreed in April to send an additional $14 billion in military aid to Israel. (They also signed $9.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza and conflict zones Ukraine and Sudan.)

However, amid outrage over the extent of Palestinian suffering, President Joe Biden has become increasingly critical.

“The Palestinian people have been through hell,” he said in a speech in May. The White House said last month that it was “reasonable to judge” that Israel had violated international law with Washington’s weapons in Gaza.

Yet Palestinians remain frustrated that these criticisms have not led to significant restraints on these weapons or condemnation of Israel at the United Nations

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have not spelled out exactly how they would address this most intractable foreign policy problem. Harris has broadly indicated that she would toe Biden’s line, while Trump has been more supportive of Netanyahu.

However, this has not prevented the increase in international Palestinian support.

The United Nations International Court of Justice ruled in January that a trial on genocide charges was pending against Israel. Four months later, the International Criminal Court prosecutor requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders, for alleged war crimes. Israel has heavily criticized both and vowed to challenge them.

Meanwhile, support for Israel has declined in 42 of the 43 countries surveyed daily by Morning Consult, a California-based business intelligence firm. The US is the only wealthy nation surveyed where Israel still scores positively, it said.

“Israel has lost large parts of the younger generation in America and around the world,” said senior Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti. “It gives me hope that things will be different in the future, but we know it’s a long road.”

Now there is a new, intensifying front.

Shortly after the Oct. 7 attack, Israel also came under fire from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a powerful militant and political group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and others.

Israel responded and neighbors have since carried out strikes, sparking a new humanitarian crisis in Lebanon with more than a million people forced from their homes. Meanwhile, 70,000 Israelis have been displaced.