Since 2022, the world has been riddled with several armed conflicts that first included the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is also the Israel-Hamas war that started when Hamas launched a sneak attack on Israel in October. And the one closest to home, and what is being referred to as a gang rebellion, has struck the country of Haiti.
The first of these wars, the Russia-Ukraine war, was started in 2022 and has caused the death of roughly 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers and about 315,000 Russian soldiers and 30,457 civilians that includes men women and children. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been trying to muster support from the U.S., and the United States to date has given $47 billion to Ukraine following Russia’s seizure of the region Crimea in 2014 and then $44.2 billion since February of 2022 the start of the war. Currently the decision on whether or not to send aid to Ukraine has appeared to be greenlit in congress. Meanwhile the war for Ukraine continues to carry on.
“It’s horrible to think about the fact that all of this is happening when I’m about to become an adult,” FHS junior Almon Thompson said.
The Israel-Hamas war started in October of 2023 when Hamas, a terrorist organization, launched attacks on Israel from the Gaza strip. Since the beginning of the war, 33,207 Palestinian civilians have been killed, including children and at least 1,139 Israeli soldiers. The death toll for Hamas soldiers killed is currently unknown. This war in particular has caught the eyes of several different terrorist groups that support Hamas, including the Houthi movement that have been attacking trade ships on the Red Sea disrupting global supply chains and Hezbollah who have been engaging Israeli troops along Israel’s northern border to the neighboring country of Lebanon. The country of Iran has also recently launched a drone strike against Israel who, as of writing, has launched a retaliatory strike against Iran. Hamas and Israel are negotiating an agreement that would see the release of Hamas held hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and then the second part is to establish a state of calm.
“ I honestly doubt the negotiations will go anywhere, both sides are just so unyielding,” junior Josh Beck said.
Of the three wars, what’s going on in Haiti right now might prove to be one of the more difficult to understand. It’s not a war, per say, it’s being described as a gang rebellion. The goal of the rebellion is to force the resignation of the current Prime Minister and acting president. The gang war has caused roughly 8,400 people to be killed, injured or kidnapped, and has also displaced thousands of Haitians. Recently, the U.S. government has restarted the deportation of Haitians back into the country despite the ongoing surge in chaotic gang violence.
