Photographs of hostages taken by Hamas are seen on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Gov. Jeff Landry ordered flags flown over the Louisiana Capitol to be lowered Monday on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas’ attack on Israel that killed children, civilians and Americans.
“It is fitting and proper for the State of Louisiana to join with others across the world in solidarity and remembrance of the atrocities Israel suffered on October 7, 2023,” reads an executive order signed by Landry.
Approximately 1,200 people died in the Hamas-led assault last year on Oct. 7, which was the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, according to the Associated Press. Around 250 hostages were also seized during the strike, 100 of which have not been freed yet.
The assault sparked the wider war in Gaza, during which the Israeli military has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, including children and civilians, the Associated Press reported.
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Recently, the Israeli military has also expanded its attacks inside Lebanon in response to the Iran-backed Hezbollah organization firing rockets on Israel. The Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed approximately 1,400 people and displaced over a million more in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.
In the United States, the political divide over Israel and Palestine has also hardened. America is considered Israel’s most important ally and has spent $17.9 billion on Israeli military assistance since the war in Gaza started, according to the Associated Press.
Republicans like Landry are positioning themselves as unabashedly pro-Israel. Meanwhile, Democrats are feeling pressure from the left wing of their party and younger members to scrutinize Israel’s actions, particularly the high Palestinian death toll in the war.
American college students, especially, are demanding a more critical view of Israel in campus protests across the country.
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