Hamas Attacks
On October 7th Hamas launched a brutal and unexpected attack on Israel. Hamas fighters were not very successful in taking large amounts of land from Israel. Soon after the attack, Israel reclaimed all territory lost. However, this came at a huge cost: more than 1,400 Israeli citizens have been killed and around 240 were taken hostage. This attack caused Israel to begin an invasion of Gaza, and it began with a brutal aerial bombardment of the mostly urban territory of Gaza. Many Palestinians were killed, and far more were killed in Israel’s bombardment. Subsequently, Israel has been highly criticized by the international community; even their Western allies have criticized Israel and have supported Palestine. Over 20,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the initial bombardment, but this number has since risen. After the initial bombardment, Israel began its ground invasion, which primarily focused on the northern part of Gaza. It has also been revealed that Israel knew of Hamas’s attack before it occurred, but did nothing about it. Furthermore, Israel plans to annex Gaza, which will have major effects throughout the world.
Auto Worker and Writer Strikes
The United Auto Workers (UAW) launched a historical strike that lasted 46 days. However, it had little effect on car prices. The UAW eventually reached an agreement and returned to work . The Writers Guild of America (WGA) also went on strike. The strike lasted 148 days before the workers agreed to a deal. This strike also had very minimal consequences .
Wildfires
In August, a series of devastating fires broke out across Hawaii, mainly affecting the island of Maui. This fire caused widespread death and destruction, and over one hundred people were killed, and many more lost their homes and belongings. The fire was largely caused by climate change, which has increased the amount of fires in recent years, as it causes a drier climate. Canada also experienced devastating wildfires. In March the worst wildfire in the history of Canada spread across the entire country. These fires caused many deaths and destroyed large amounts of forest and residential land, in addition to causing air quality concerns all over the U.S and Canada.
Titanic Submarine
A group of five individuals were killed by an “implosion” after going missing on June 18 while attempting to visit the century-old wreck “Titanic” in the North Atlantic Ocean. The passengers on the OceanGate Titan submarine were four billionaires that were simply curious to explore the underwater Titanic ship while the other passenger was OceanGate’s founder. Presumed remains were ultimately found on October 4, almost four months after the tragedy.
Pandemic is Declared Over
On May 11, the Global and U.S. Agencies officially declared the end of the COVID-19 emergency. Despite this announcement, the World Health Organization reminded every individual that COVID-19 is still a public threat; however, the organization also stated that it can be very much prevented; cases have been improving and they also encouraged everyone to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if they still have not yet.