Russia has launched major air assaults on Ukraine, multiple casualties and damage to infrastructure. Meanwhile, freed Israeli hostages have revealed harsh conditions under captivity in Gaza.
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We will unravel the violence in Ukraine and Gaza and outline some of the important aspects regarding both war trends.
Ukraine Conflict
Civilian Casualties: Russian invasion of Ukraine has been leading to huge civilian fatalities with the UN estimating between 14,000 to 40,000 deaths. Russian forces are indiscriminate in their attacks, resulting in extensive destruction such as use of explosive weapons with extensive effects in civilian centers.
Infrastructure attacks: Russian troops have attacked the Ukrainian energy infrastructure causing drastic effects to the civilian population especially in winter. Residential areas, schools and hospitals are not an exception and have been struck causing great damage and loss of life.
War Crimes: Russian and Ukrainian troops were both accused of going against the international law of human treatment. This has seen Russia accused of intentionally attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure, and Ukraine accused of putting military targets too close to civilian population.
There have been notable cases which include:
Mariupol Siege: Months of siege of Mariupol led to hundreds of civilian deaths and to colossal destruction.
Hroza Attack: A Russian missile attack on one of the memorial events in Hroza claimed the lives of 59 individuals including the widow and son of a local Ukrainian soldier.
Zaporizhzhia Attacks: Repeat Russian bombardments of residential neighborhoods in Zaporizhzhia have caused the deaths of a large number of civilians.
Gaza Conflict
Civilian Deaths: The war in Gaza has cost a lot of civilian deaths with an estimate of the number reported to be over 62,800 women, children, and old people.
Humanitarian Crisis: The war has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis, and destruction has been rampant, lack of basic supplies and there is also a high likelihood of disease outbreaks.
International Concern: The world has taken notice of the tussle where the UN threatened of the possible genocide and demanded an intervention in the situation to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
The major problems of Gaza are:
Disease Outbreaks: There has been a substantial growth in the reported cases of diseases like diarrhea, scabies and chickenpox due to the conflict.
Inaccessibility of Basic Services: Gaza civilians have little access to basic services such as health services, sanitation, and electricity.
Food and Water Shortages: The war has led to food and water crises only worsening the humanitarian crisis.
War is a multidimensional and complicated phenomenon with a number of reasons, such as:
Territorial Disputes: A dispute over land, borders or resources may result to armed conflicts between countries or groups. Cases in point are the conflict in Ukraine where, following the invasion of the country by Russia, there has been a large number of civilian deaths and a devastated infrastructure.
Ideological Differences: Ideological conflicts, clashes of beliefs, ideologies or political systems can be timbered into armed conflicts where peaceful solutions cannot be achieved or pursued. An example is the Crusades which were mainly wars of religion.
Economic Interests: Economic factors are some of the reasons that can lead to conflicts, such as the control of trade routes, resources, economic competition. Resources seek has been a distinguishing attribute of most war of aggression.
Nationalism: Countries may go to war out of their aspiration to have national pride, their security or independence. The element of nationalism contributed greatly to the World War I.
Revenge: A need to retaliate against the humiliations, injustices or defeats in the past can be a strong psychological force at war. The defeat of Germany following the World War I based on the harsh terms that they were forced to put in the country led to the emergence of Nazism and the eruption of World War II.
Civil War: intra-country warfare can be a result of internal conflicts based on factors such as identity, ideology or possession of resources.
Revolutionary War: Wars of ideological or political differences may be fought in order to overthrow the current governments or institutions.
Defensive War: Wars of this nature are defensive wars that are fought to protect against an external aggression or injustice that one feels.
Others that create war are also:
Ecological Pressures: Conflict may be triggered by a loss of resources, climate shocks, population pressure, and competition over finite resources.
Insecurity and Perceived Threats: The search to increase security with regard to the perceived threats, actual or not, may lead to the engagement of countries in a conflict.
Social and Psychological Factors: Attitudes towards war can be influenced by identity, propaganda and cognitive bias and are able to influence decisions.
Grievances: Grievances are caused by former threats or attacks or unachieved objectives which causes war.
Awareness of the causes of war is the key to the effective strategies to prevent or alleviate conflict. When we consider the interaction of political, economic, social and psychological factors in such a complicated way, we will be able to see the underlying causes of war better.
Gaza City is located in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and its population has about 590,481 people as of 2017 and estimated 1 million people as of 2025. The ongoing Gaza war that started on October 7, 2023, has affected the city heavily leaving it almost in ruins, displaced, and in humanitarian crisis.
Current Situation:
Humanitarian Crisis: Due to the war, there has been a serious humanitarian crisis, with devastating destruction, lack of necessary supplies, and a high risk of epidemics.
Civilian Casualties: More than 63,000 individuals have been reported to have been killed in Gaza war, including women, children and old people.
Dislocation: Palestinians have been displaced in thousands and many have taken shelter in shelters or fled to other regions.
Food and Water Shortages: The conflict has led to food and water shortages which have further worsened the humanitarian crisis. It has been reported to create famine-like situations in certain places, and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that Gaza City was in state of famine.
Impact on Infrastructure and Services:
Damage to Buildings: 70-80% of all buildings have been destroyed and damaged in the north of Gaza and most of the hospitals, schools and crucial infrastructure seriously affected.
Healthcare Collapse: of half the hospitals in Gaza are partially operating, denying women and girls access to essential services.
Water Crisis: This is due to the scarcity of clean water and the fact that there are inadequate sewage systems that have contributed to the spread of diseases.
International Response:
UN Concern: The United Nations has raised its eyebrows with regards to the conflict, threatening the possibility of genocide, and demanded that something should be done to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
Human Rights Reports: Human rights activists, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have reported on the intensity of the crisis with some accusing Israel of perpetrating war crimes and genocide.
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