Question 3: Why is the Israel-Hamas conflict attracting so much global attention?

These days, every other headline is about Israel, Hamas, or the people in Gaza. It took momentum since October 7, 2023. All it took was roughly 1,200 lives in one night so the world would pay attention to a 7-decade conflict. 1,200 lives in one night, 50,000 lives in no more than a year, women and children without food or shelter, many injured and sick with no medicine. It just became too big to ignore. Even if it was seventy years too late.

Cellphone is mightier than the pen

Since smartphones became ubiquitous around 2008, everyone became a journalist. Simply having a cellphone, an Instagram account, and a working signal was enough. No more red tapes. No more editorial approvals. We have entered an age of information Fordism. Consequently, with information mass production, so comes misinformation and disinformation mass production. Videos from Gaza or southern Israel can reach the world within moments. Flooding the world with information, true or false, the most shocking images hold stronger momentum. 

Numbers too big for comfort

Filtering out the unsubstantiated sources, the casualties of the conflict since October 7 are too high to ignore. The conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken the lives of over 50,000 people. Many were civilians. A significant number of victims were women and children. Moreover, the conflict is no longer limited to the Gaza Strip. It has reached Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. Thousands have lost their homes, loved ones, and livelihood. This “local conflict” has created a mass grave. So big that has grabbed global attention.

The spotloght economy

The situation in Middle East is no longer limited to expert circles. Public figures who rarely discussed the region are now taking explicit stances against one side or the other. Some like Pierce Morgan give platforms to both sides to make their statements. Others like Mehdi Hasan, use the moment to grill officials with forensic precision. There are even those who seek their fifteen minutes of fame by simply riding the tides of this new trend. Consequently, the Israel-Hamas conflict is gaining more and more global attention.

Despite growing attention and awareness, the Israel-Hamas conflict seems intent on keeping its course. Still, posts, tweets, stories, videos, and images keep piling on. Hopefully, there will soon come a time when they are much too many to be ignored. A time when media does in fact affect global politics.