The deadly war between Israel and Hamas, the political party that controls the Gaza Strip and which the U.S. State Department has designated a terrorist organization since 1997, has stretched into its seventh month. Over 1,000 Israelis and 10,000–35,000 Palestinians have lost their lives (though the death toll in Gaza has been a point of contention).
Ever since Hamas' October 7 surprise attack on Israel, in which raiders killed over 1,000 people and took another 240 hostage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated goal has been to "destroy Hamas." But Netanyahu's government has taken steps that contradict the principles of a free society and undercut its reputation as the Middle East's only true democracy.
