Almost a week into the Israel-Hamas war, sparked by Hamas’ massive Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel and seizure of over 150 hostages, the death toll continues to mount, reaching more than 2,700 Israelis and Palestinians. Israel is carrying out punishing airstrikes and preparing for a possible ground invasion, as its new unity government vows to “crush Hamas.” It has completely sealed off Gaza, with no deliveries of food, water, or fuel and no electricity, and the U.N. is warning of an impending humanitarian disaster. With the U.S. sending a carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean and Israel and Hezbollah exchanging fire over Israel's northern border, the region could be on the brink of a much wider conflict.
What is the current situation on the ground? How are Israelis dealing with the aftermath of the unprecedented terrorist strike on their homes and communities? Where do things stand on the humanitarian front, including efforts to provide Palestinians with basic needs and to secure the release of Israeli captives? What are the risks of escalation and potential scenarios for resolution? And what can the regional and international community do to help?
Please join us for a virtual panel discussion as MEI experts discuss these critical issues and more.
Speakers
Khaled Elgindy
Senior Fellow; Director, Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs, Middle East Institute
Nimrod Goren
Senior Fellow, Israeli Affairs, Middle East Institute
Brian Katulis
Vice President, Policy, Middle East Institute
Mirette Mabrouk
Senior Fellow; Founding Director, Egypt Program, Middle East Institute
Hajer Naili
Director of Communications, Center of Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
Paul Salem, moderator
President; CEO, Middle East Institute
Key Takeaways
- Criticism of Israeli Leadership: There is widespread dissatisfaction with the Israeli leadership, stated Nimrod Goren. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular is being held accountable for recent events, and there is a concern that national security was not prioritized in previous months.
- Unpredictable Palestinian Situation: The Palestinian political scene is in disarray, as highlighted by Khaled Elgindy. The situation in Gaza is dire, Hamas’s endgame remains uncertain, and the international response to events on the ground has been extremely muted.
- Egypt’s Delicate Position: Mirette F. Mabrouk discussed Egypt’s challenging position due to its population’s strong support for the Palestinian cause and concerns that the establishment of a “humanitarian corridor” could lead to a forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. While Egypt has prepared aid efforts for some time, the situation could worsen if the Gaza barrier is breached.
- Hezbollah’s Caution: For now, Hezbollah is likely to keep the Israeli-Lebanese front active on a limited level but prevent a full-scale escalation. If it seems as though Hamas could be eliminated, Hezbollah may reassess and consider opening a second front, possibly with mobilization from Syria.
- Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Hajer Naili highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with a quarter of the population displaced — a number that’s only likely to increase — and a lack of essential services and facilities. Humanitarian organizations are calling forIsrael to revoke its evacuation order.
U.S. Prioritization of the Middle East: Brian Katulis underlined the shift in Washington’s policy, indicating that the U.S. would engage more actively in the region, through diplomacy and by deploying military assets to deter actions by Iran. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region and diplomatic efforts are focused on dealing with the immediate crisis and preventing the conflict from spreading. He highlighted the need for long-term planning and greater U.S. engagement in the Middle East, while underscoring that the Palestinian issue cannot be sidelined.
Detailed Speaker Biographies
Khaled Elgindy
Khaled Elgindy is the author of the newly-released book, Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, published by Brookings Institution Press in April 2019. Elgindy previously served as a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution from 2010 through 2018. Prior to arriving at Brookings, he served as an adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, and was a key participant in the Annapolis negotiations of 2007-08. Elgindy is also an adjunct instructor in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. Khaled’s writings have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Times, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, and others. He is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Politico, and other print media, and is a regular commentator on TV and radio, including Aljazeera, BBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, PBS Newshour and others.
Nimrod Goren
Dr. Nimrod Goren is the President and Founder of Mitvim - The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, Co-Founder of Diplomeds - The Council for Mediterranean Diplomacy, and Co-Chair of a regional initiative at President Isaac Herzog's Israeli Climate Forum. Nimrod holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He was a Teaching Fellow on Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University, and has also worked at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies. Nimrod is a past recipient of the Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East and the Centennial Medal of the Institute of International Education, and was selected as a Vamik Volkan Scholar by the International Dialogue Initiative. He serves on the steering committees of the Geneva Initiative and the Turkish-Israeli Civil Society Forum, and is a member of the Global Diplomacy Lab. Nimrod's fields of expertise include Israel’s foreign policy and regional relations, as well as the Middle East peace process.
Brian Katulis
Brian Katulis is a senior fellow and vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute. He was formerly a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), where he built the Center’s Middle East program and also worked on broader issues related to U.S. national security. He has produced influential studies that have shaped important discussions around regional policy, often providing expert testimony to key congressional committees on his findings. Katulis has also conducted extensive research in countries such as Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories. His past experience includes work at the National Security Council and the U.S. Departments of State and Defense.
Mirette Mabrouk
Mirette F. Mabrouk is an MEI senior fellow and founding director of the Institute's Egypt Studies program. She was previously deputy director and director for research and programs at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. Formerly a fellow at the Project for U.S. Relations with the Middle East at the Brookings Institution, Mabrouk moved to D.C. from Cairo, where she was director of communications for the Economic Research Forum (ERF). Before being appointed associate director for publishing operations at The American University in Cairo Press, Ms. Mabrouk had over 20 years of experience in both print and television journalism. She is the founding publisher of The Daily Star Egypt, (now The Daily New Egypt), at the time, the country’s only independent English-language daily newspaper, and the former publishing director for IBA Media, which produces the region’s top English-language magazines. Her writing has appeared in publications like Foreign Policy, The Hill and HuffPost and she has been quoted and appeared on the BBC, VOA, Sky News, The Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor, among others. She recently authored "And Now for Something Completely Different: Arab Media’s Own Little Revolution," a chapter in a book on the Arab transitions; Reconstructing the Middle East and is the editor of a multi author report, Rethinking Egypt’s Economy.
Hajer Naili
Hajer Naili is the Director of Communications at Center of Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). She is a former journalist and a communications-media expert with over 17 years of experience working to elevate the voices of people affected by conflict, forced displacement, and humanitarian crises. Prior to joining CIVIC, she served as the Roving Regional Media and Communications Adviser at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Central and West Africa. She was also the Communications and Social Media Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Washington, D.C. Her field deployments include Yemen, Iraq, Haiti, Northeast Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon, Niger, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic. She started her career in France as a radio reporter and news anchor covering global affairs and social justice issues. Some of her work includes the role of Arab women in the Arab Spring, The threats and harm faced by Syrian refugee women and girls in Jordan, and the push factors behind French female teens joining ISIS.
Paul Salem
Paul Salem is president and CEO of the Middle East Institute. He focuses on issues of political change, transition, and conflict as well as the regional and international relations of the Middle East. Salem is the author and editor of a number of books and reports including Escaping the Conflict Trap: Toward Ending Civil Wars in the Middle East (ed. with Ross Harrison, MEI 2019); Winning the Battle, Losing the War: Addressing the Conditions that Fuel Armed Non State Actors (ed. with Charles Lister, MEI 2019); From Chaos to Cooperation: Toward Regional Order in the Middle East (ed. with Ross Harrison, MEI 2017), Broken Orders: The Causes and Consequences of the Arab Uprisings (In Arabic, 2013), "Thinking Arab Futures: Drivers, scenarios, and strategic choices for the Arab World", The Cairo Review Spring 2019; “The Recurring Rise and Fall of Political Islam” (CSIS, 2015), Bitter Legacy: Ideology and Politics in the Arab World (1994), and Conflict Resolution in the Arab World (ed., 1997). Prior to joining MEI, Salem was the founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon between 2006 and 2013. From 1999 to 2006, he was director of the Fares Foundation and in 1989-1999 founded and directed the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon's leading public policy think tank.
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