Terrorist attacks bring war to Israel and Gaza [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

Early on 7 October 2023, Hamas – the Palestinian terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip – launched an unprecedented and brutal assault on Israel, killing more than 1 400, mostly civilians, and taking more than 222 Israelis and dual-nationals hostage.

Israel has responded by shelling and conducting airstrikes on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal strip of 2.3 million people, leading to a significant number of casualties, including civilians. Israel has also amassed troops along the border with Gaza, in anticipation of a ground invasion of the Hamas-controlled enclave. Israel’s goal is to destroy Hamas infrastructure and eliminate the group’s military capabilities.

Many countries, and the international community, are calling for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, to allow sufficient aid into Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is developing due to lack of water, food and electricity.

The EU has condemned Hamas’s brutal and indiscriminate attacks, and reiterated Israel’s right to self-defence, in full respect of international humanitarian law. The European Parliament’s President, Roberta Metsola, condemned the attacks as ‘terrorism in its worst form’, and an ‘elimination of life in the most brutal and atrocious manner’.

The conflict, which many fear could escalate into a regional war, has added to global insecurity fostered by Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine.

This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports from international think tanks on the Israel-Hamas conflict and its international repercussions.

The global consequences of the Israel-Hamas war are just beginning
Atlantic Council, October 2023

The world is on fire: The United States must lead
Atlantic Council, October 2023

The legal challenges in holding Iran accountable for supporting Hamas
Atlantic Council, October 2023

Israel misread Iran’s way of war: A proper understanding could help predict Hezbollah’s next moves
Atlantic Council, October 2023

The instigation of apartheid roads era: Israel blocks Palestinian movement inside West Bank governorates
Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, October 2023

Swords of Iron: There is no ‘political hourglass’, but clear decisions are required
Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, October 2023

Background briefing: Operation Swords of Iron
British-Israel Communication and Research Centre, October 2023

The Israel and Gaza war: Economic repercussions
Brookings Institution, October 2023

The Biden administration and the Gaza war: The view from Tel Aviv
Brookings Institution, October 2023

The Israel-Gaza crisis
Brookings Institution, October 2023

Israel-Hamas war: Implications for gas markets
Bruegel, October 2023

Israel-Hamas war: Implications for the global oil market
Bruegel, October 2023

Does anyone benefit from the Israel-Hamas war?
Carnegie Europe, October 2023

Europe’s moment of powerlessness in the Middle East
Carnegie Europe, October 2023

Germany’s reaction to Hamas’s attack on Israel
Centre for Eastern Studies, October 2023

It’s Groundhog Day in the Middle East: Can the EU help to get peace back on track?
Centre for European Policy Studies, October 2023

Europe and the Gaza conflict
Centre for European Reform, October 2023

Hamas and Israel: The current situation and looking ahead
Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 2023

President Biden’s Middle East visit reveals the challenges for US diplomacy and the cost of American withdrawal from the region
Chatham House, October 2023

Israel has the capacity to significantly damage Hamas with a ground offensive: But politics will restrain it throughout
Chatham House, October 2023

Expert insights: Israel-Hamas war
Clingendael, October 2023

Israel’s ground war against Hamas: What to know
Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Iran’s support against Israel bolsters Hamas
Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Will Egypt play a role in easing the Gaza war?
Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

What is Hamas?
Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Germany’s support of Israel needs to lead to strategic action
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, October 2023

Israel-Hamas war through a global lens
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, October 2023

Behind the Hamas attack on Israel, hard geopolitics lurk
Egmont, October 2023

How Europeans should respond to the Hamas offensive against Israel
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Bracing for a broader conflict: How the Israel-Hamas war could escalate
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Torn apart: How the Israel-Hamas war is dividing French society
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2023

Hezbollah threatens U.S., Israel 40 Years after deadly Beirut blast
Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, October 2023

Israel’s 9/11, but how to avoid the mistakes of the preceding one?
Friends of Europe, October 2023

Analysing how Western support for Ukraine would slip post-Gaza War
Future Center for Advanced Research and Studies, October 2023

Assessing Israel’s potential scenarios in the Gaza Strip
Future Center for Advanced Research and Studies, October 2023

Terror in Israel, war in Gaza: Three transatlantic consequences
German Marshall Fund, October 2023

Real names of stolen villages, illegal settlements of the Gaza perimeter
Institute for Palestine Studies, October 2023

Israel–Hamas war 
Institute for the Study of War, October 2023

Israël-Palestine, trente ans après Oslo
Institut français des relations internationales, October 2023

Biden’s visit and the Gaza War: United States interests and ramifications for Israel
Institute for National Security Studies, Israel, October 2023

The legal aspects of Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel
Institute for National Security Studies, Israel, October 2023

L’UE et le conflit israélo-arabe: Une histoire inspirante
Institut Jacques Delors, October 2023

Israel-Hamas: What room for international mediation?
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, October 2023

Two wars set a triple test for Western unity
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, October 2023

The Hamas abductions and international law
Israel Democracy Institute, October 2023

The war with Hamas: Legal basics
Institute for National Security Studies, Israel, October 2023

Les pays arabes et musulmans dans la guerre de Soukkot: Cartographier une rupture
Le Grand Continent, October 2023

Israël, Hamas: Un nouveau conflit israélo-arabe? Une conversation avec Henry Laurens
Le Grand Continent, October 2023

Israel can damage Hamas but a ground invasion of Gaza will be challenging
Middle East Institute, October 2023

Israel’s failures and response to the Hamas attack: A preliminary assessment
Middle East Institute, October 2023

The war in Gaza as a major test of China’s Middle East peace diplomacy
Middle East Institute, October 2023

EU’s multifaceted reaction to the Israel-Hamas war
Polish Institute of International Affairs, October 2023

Sparing civilian lives in Gaza
Rand Corporation, October 2023

The inevitable, ongoing failure of Israel’s Gaza strategy
Rand Corporation, October 2023

Latin America and the Gaza crisis
Real Institut Elcano, October 2023

Israel has its rights, but it cannot disregard its responsibilities
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, October 2023

Israel’s war aims and the principles of a post-Hamas administration in Gaza
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, October 2023

Russian policy and Hamas’ assault: Putin benefits from chaos
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, October 2023

How the Palestinian Authority failed its people
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, October 2023

Armed groups in Northern West Bank: The beginning of an armed intifada or the seeds of an internal Palestinian conflict?
Palestinian Center for Social Policy and Research, August 2023

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Read this briefing on ‘Terrorist attacks bring war to Israel and Gaza‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.