AJA looks into recent Israeli-Palestinian conflicts
Disclaimer: The following article was written prior to the recent ceasefire deal.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has had a resurgence, with recent uptick in Israeli activity inside the Gaza Strip, following Israel’s major call up of reservists. Earlier this year, there were ceasefire talks orchestrated by President Trump and his cabinet. Specifically, President Trump was directly involved with the discussions regarding a potential ceasefire this past September. Many students at AJA, a Zionist school, are not only aware of the current conflict but are highly opinionated on it.
Recently, the IDF called up 60,000 reservists and extended 20,000 tours per The Hill, Aug. 20, 2025. Netanyahu is pushing to capture Gaza City, Hamas’s last major stronghold. With this recent plan of attack comes new military promises of a “gradual, precise” operation while simultaneously rolling out large-scale humanitarian aid plans. AJA Junior Noah Kutner believes that “taking military control over Gaza is a good idea… if we don’t, then there’s no way to actually ensure that we can beat Hamas.”
President Trump’s support for Israel has remained steady throughout recent events, originating with his reentry into the Oval Office. Earlier this year, President Trump brokered a short-lived cease-fire, which collapsed by March. In September 2025, Reuters published a new ultimatum from President Trump stating that Hamas must release all hostages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Recently, groups in Israel have been protesting in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, urging President Trump to force Netanyahu into a ceasefire. AJA Senior Tuvia Hirsch feels differently than these protestors. “We have a right to this war, because they started it… This war ends with a peace deal the second they return the hostages,” he said.
Additionally, with recent U.S. encouragement, Israel launched strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and targeted Iran’s head nuclear scientists. These attacks were followed by a barrage of bombings by the United States. President Trump framed the attacks as a major success; however, The Hill stated that later reports showed it only set Iran’s nuclear program back by months, rather than years. The total value of the attacks is still being debated, but AJA’s students have their own viewpoints. Noah admitted that although “it’s not the data we wanted to hear, it’s still good… we saved ourselves some time.” Tuvia agreed, praising The Trump administration’s support, “Iran was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off… One thing the Biden administration wouldn’t let us do was get it over with,” he said.
There is a debate over whether the Iran attacks were just a distraction from Gaza or a necessity. The facts remain that there are still around 48 hostages remaining there.
Some hostages’ families fear that an attack on Gaza City will jeopardize the hostages rather than save them.
The BBC explained that “The hostages’ families fear the new offensive will endanger them and are demanding the prime minister negotiate an agreement that would secure their release.” Coupled with the fear for the hostages are fears that the uptick in war violence will only make it worse for Gaza civilians facing mass displacement and famine warnings. However, Tuvia believes that “they [Hamas] are doing this to themselves… If they cared about their citizens, they wouldn’t have started this war.” On the flip side, Hila Ben-Yaacov, AJA Senior and Israeli citizen, takes a more cautious approach. She worries whether President Trump is taking too much credit while lives are at stake. This only exacerbates the issues with attacking Gaza that were brought forth.
Netanyahu is facing pressure from the right wing to keep fighting and pushback from allies in Europe, urging restraint. In America, President Trump deals with his campaign promise to end the war quickly, as eight months into his term, the war is still dragging on. Hila remains wary of President Trump’s possible overreach; while aware of his support, she believes that “in the end, America’s supposed to be an ally to help Israel.”
The war remains a collision point of security diplomacy and humanitarian urgency. President Trump currently plays a polarizing role: some Israelis feel he is the only leader who can restrain Netanyahu; to others, he is empowering escalation. Among AJA students, views range from military caution and strategic pragmatism to hardline nationalism, which mirror the larger debate within Israel and the Jewish diaspora.
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