Hamas attack in Israel

Pro-Israel content – including disinformation – is being widely shared on social media by Indian nationals, more significantly by right-wing Hindu nationalists.

Video and weapons seized suggest that Hamas using Pyongyang's F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.

Seoul is urging the swift and peaceful resolution of the conflict, fearing regional and global spillovers. But the Yoon government is also careful not to take sides.

China's position on the current conflict, and the Israel-Palestine issue more broadly, is not unusual. So why is it attracting so much attention?

The eruption of war in Israel and Gaza is a dark reminder that buried conflicts – like India’s disputes with Pakistan and China – can erupt at any time. 

Social media posts reveal intense interest, as well as major information gaps. 

There is an important connection between China and Hamas’ attack last weekend.

Israeli diplomats may have assumed that years of providing China with advanced technology would change Beijing’s stance on Israel. This was a serious miscalculation.

For South Asia in particular – a region plagued with insurgency and cross-border tension for several decades – Hamas' devastating attack on Israel presents numerous lessons in warfare. 

China is going out of its way to avoid any criticism of Hamas for the brutal attacks over the weekend, while calling for “restraint.”

The war between Israel and Hamas is upending new diplomatic trajectories in the Middle East.

With New Zealand going to the polls later this week, determining the country’s response to the new war in the Middle East will be one of the new government’s first challenges.