A sense of shock, grief, and uncertainty is the situation in Israel since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its biggest attack on the country in many years.
Currently, over 1400 Israelis and over 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in one week, with a huge number of Israelis taken hostage—men, women, and children, inclusive.
Many residents in the Southern parts of Israel woke up to traumatising sounds of airstrikes and the horrifying screams of people being hit, on October 7.
Israel has since the strike been retaliating, putting its citizens as well as Ghanaians, in a state of fear.
Businesses have slowed, and residents would rather stay home than go to work.
While some countries are making efforts to evacuate their citizens from Israel, sources at the Foreign Ministry here in Ghana say they have not yet reached the stage that requires an evacuation of Ghanaian citizens.
We touched base with 33-year-old Abigail Adjei, a Ghanaian who lives in Tel Aviv, several kilometres from the border towns where the strikes are being felt directly.
Even so, she says, they still feel the impact.
“I’ve encountered like 3 or 4 times before but it wasn’t like this. This is really really serious. During this afternoon it happened there were alot of bombs in tel Aviv and we had to run to the shelter”
Abigail works two jobs, in both the hospitality industry and the medical field.
And while the situation in the Tel Aviv suburb is relatively calmer, she says, there’s a growing shortage of supplies.
“As at now if you go to the supermarket there are a lot of shortages in some of the shops. Especially if you want water or rice.”
Abigail is among many other Ghanaians living in Israel, and although the strikes are intensifying. She is unwilling to return to Ghana, should the opportunity present itself.
“ there’s no way of coming to Ghana any moment. I really want to stay here, it’s better I stay here to work and support whoever I want to support, but for Ghana, no! I heard it’s a bit tough there.”
For now, the Foreign Ministry says it remains in constant touch with officials in Israel to ensure the safety of citizens.
Press Release. #ghanamfa pic.twitter.com/3QyhTg9gGo
— Ghana MFA (@GhanaMFA) October 11, 2023
Background
The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel on Saturday, with hundreds of gunmen infiltrating communities near the Gaza Strip.
At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed, while dozens of soldiers and civilians, including women and children, are being held in Gaza as hostages.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have also been killed in numerous air strikes on Gaza that Israel’s military is carrying out in response, and Israel has imposed a total blockade on the territory, denying it food, fuel and other essentials.
It is also massing its forces along the Gaza border and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a ground operation which could cost many more deaths.
Britain took control of the area known as Palestine after the ruler of that part of the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in World War One.
The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority, as well as other, smaller ethnic groups.
Tensions between the two peoples grew when the international community gave the UK the task of establishing a “national home” in Palestine for Jewish people.
This stemmed from the Balfour Declaration of 1917, a pledge made by then Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Britain’s Jewish community.
The declaration was enshrined in the British mandate over Palestine and endorsed by the newly-created League of Nations – forerunner of the United Nations – in 1922.
To Jews Palestine was their ancestral home, but Palestinian Arabs also claimed the land and opposed the move.
Between the 1920s and 1940s, the number of Jews arriving there grew, with many fleeing from persecution in Europe, especially the Nazi Holocaust in World War Two.
Violence between Jews and Arabs, and against British rule, also increased.
In 1947, the UN voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem becoming an international city.
That plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never implemented.
In 1948, unable to solve the problem, Britain withdrew and Jewish leaders declared the creation of the State of Israel.
It was intended to serve as a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, as well as a national homeland for Jews.
Fighting between Jewish and Arab militias had been intensifying for months, and the day after Israel declared statehood, five Arab countries attacked.