Skip to content
Apply
Stories

Hamas terror tactics test Israel’s war strategy

People in this story

Civilians take refuge in a bomb shelter during a missile attack in Ashkelon, Israel.

The Washington Post, October 2023

As new evidence emerges of atrocities committed by Palestinian militants against Israeli civilians, and as Israel’s military begins its offensive into Gaza, a debate is unfolding about Hamas’s long-term strategic aims and what impact Saturday’s dramatic incursion will have on the politics of the Middle East.

While the roots of the conflict are decades old, even seasoned foreign policy watchers and scholars of international relations have been surprised by the extraordinary outburst of violence. In the wake of Hamas’s killing of more than 1,000 Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government declared war on Hamas. The United Nations also framed the newly reignited conflict as war. At the same time, both Israeli and U.S. politicians, as well as other leaders around the world, characterized the Hamas assault as terrorism — an attack by non-state actors against civilians to inspire fear.

The semantic distinction is not just academic: With the carnage piquing emotions in the Middle East and beyond, new questions about century-old arguments are focusing attention on what assaults on civilians achieve for militant groups.

Continue reading at The Washington Post.

More Stories

Policeman stops woman driver to give her a traffic ticket for speeding. He takes her driver's license.

Massachusetts police pull over more minorities than whites, new data shows

11.30.2023
Political cartoon of politicians paying to People of Color in 2020 during election season, then ignoring their commitments in 2023.

Large Massachusetts companies need to do better

11.29.2023
Taylor Swift singing at one of her

Another Taylor Swift course is coming to Boston, this time at Northeastern University

11.30.23
In the News