The 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel have sparked an escalation of violence across the Middle East. The response to these attacks has resulted in a series of destructive campaigns and retaliatory strikes.
Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks led to devastating campaigns in Gaza, while the Houthi in Yemen targeted ships in the Red Sea in response. This chain of events also prompted the US and UK to target Houthi locations in Yemen, with Israel and the US conducting bombings in Syria. The US also carried out strikes in Iran and Iraq, and Pakistan and Iran initiated reciprocal strikes against each other.
For an in-depth understanding of the escalation of violence and the parties involved, you can refer to The Guardian’s interactive map “How Gaza war led to violence spreading around the Middle East”. The map chronicles the events following the 7 October Hamas attack, providing a detailed overview of the crisis in the region.
A significant portion of the violence in the Middle East is funded by American taxpayers. According to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, the U.S. government provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually. The Campaign’s “U.S. Military Funding to Israel Map” allows individuals to see the potential domestic impact of this funding, based on their state or city.
Users can input their location into the interactive map to learn how much of their local tax dollars are sent to Israel each year, and how that money could be utilized for public services such as housing, healthcare, education, or essential supplies.
It’s important to note that the map only considers the $3.8 billion allocated to Israel and does not account for additional military spending in the Middle East, including escalating costs of US military strikes in various countries in the region.