Committee Additional Directors: Yash Mehrotra, Aarav Bedi, Dhruv Gopal Kamath 

Committee Type: United Nations Security Council 

Agenda: Israel Hamas War 

Freeze Date: 8th October, 2023

Committee email: unscsmun24@gmail.com

​

“There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower 

 

On 7th October, 2023, the day of the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, Hamas, an Iranian sponsored military organisation which is the de facto ruler of the Gaza strip, launched an extremely coordinated and well planned attack on Israeli soil in the early hours, with over 1000 fighters breaching and entering Southern Israel from nearly 30 points in Israel’s border wall with Gaza and numerous fighters flying on fan powered paragliders across the border fence, along with a barrage of rockets being launched from the Gaza strip into Israel. With many IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers on leave and the Israeli security apparatus more occupied with tackling internal security threats, not only was there an intelligence failure in intercepting the attack in its early planning stages, but the response to it was also delayed. It was only a few hours after the attack did the IDF announce a state of alert of war, began mobilising active and reserve troops and defence machinery and began to respond to the attack through air strikes in the Gaza Strip. The initial assault led to about 1,200 casualties and more than 240 people being taken hostage into the Gaza Strip. 

 

Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to deliver a fit response, one which would not be forgotten by Hamas, a worrying sign pointing to an increase in the disproportionate violence in the future. Given the already volatile situation in Israel and the growing tensions between it and Hamas leading up to the October 7th attack and the history of violence and instability that has gripped the region since the creation of Israel and the displacement of Palestinians and Arabs in 1948, the recent events are a troubling sign of the true conditions on the ground. In light of this, the United Nations Security Council has been convened, to ensure that this breach of peace and security is resolved immediately, a provisional ceasefire is established and aid can be delivered to all affected individuals. At the same time, following a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict, the Council aims to initiate third party brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas, in order to resolve the long standing rivalry between the two, establish peace and security for all present in the region and ensure that future such incidents do not occur and open a pandora’s box of violence in the region.