From Hamas’ brutal attacks in Israel and the fierce retribution it provoked to the kiss that caused a revolt in Spanish football, here are 10 events that marked a tumultuous 2023:
Israel-Gaza war
On October 7, hundreds of Hamas gunmen poured across the border from Gaza, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 people hostage in the worst attack in Israel’s history, traumatizing the country and stunning the world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “destroy” Hamas, and Israel launched air bombardments followed by a ground offensive that reduced entire neighborhoods in the densely packed Palestinian territory to rubble.
As Gaza’s destruction and death toll mounted, international pressure grew on Israel to pause its offensive.
Seven weeks into the war, the two sides agreed to a four-day truce. Gaza’s Hamas-run government estimated around 13,000 Palestinians had been killed, mostly civilians, including thousands of children.
Hamas released 50 women and child hostages in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors, leading to emotional reunions.
On November 27, the two sides agreed to extend the ceasefire by two days.
Ukraine’s labored fightback
Sixteen months after Russia invaded its neighbor, Kyiv launched a highly anticipated counteroffensive after amassing billions in powerful Western-made weapons and training new recruits.
But the pushback failed to make much of a dent in Russia’s deep defensive lines.
In late November, Ukraine announced that it had made inroads along the Russian-held left bank of the Dnipro River, its first major success in months.
But as winter set in, both sides still appeared largely dug in.
Devastating quakes
In the early hours of February 6, one of the deadliest earthquakes in a century flattened entire cities in southeast Turkey, killing at least 56,000 people, with nearly 6,000 others killed across the border in Syria.
Two images came to define the devastating 7.8-magnitude tremor: that of a father holding the hand of his dead 15-year-old daughter, protruding from under a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter, and that of a newborn baby rescued from the rubble while still umbilically attached to her dead mother.
Seven months later, on September 8, Morocco suffered the deadliest quake in its history, centered on the Atlas Mountains. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Hollywood on strike
The existential dread caused by generative AI in the creative economy spread to Hollywood in 2023, where writers went on strike in May to demand curbs on the use of the technology in films as well as a pay rise.
Hollywood actors joined the biggest work stoppage in Tinseltown since the 1960s in July, saying that it had become almost impossible to earn a decent living for non-A-listers and fear that AI could be used to clone their voices and likenesses.
The strike crippled the entertainment industry and delayed hundreds of popular shows and films before the studios and actors agreed to a deal in November, two months after the writers went back to work.
Deadly fires
The year went out with a sizzle, with the European Union’s climate monitor predicting that 2023 would be the hottest on record.
Drought made worse by climate change was cited as one of several factors behind the deadliest wildfire in the US in a century that claimed at least 115 lives on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August.
Tourists and residents also fled huge fires on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu, but the worst-affected country, in terms of area consumed by fire, was Canada, with over 18 million hectares of forest going up in smoke.
Moon, the new frontier
The space race heated up in 2023, with rising star India becoming the first nation to successfully launch a manned mission to the moon.
India’s achievement marked a significant milestone in space exploration and opened up new possibilities for scientific research and commercial ventures.
As other nations scramble to catch up, the moon has become the new frontier in the quest for knowledge and technological advancement.
These events shaped a tumultuous 2023, leaving lasting impacts on politics, society, and the environment. From conflicts and natural disasters to labor disputes and space exploration, the year was marked by both tragedy and triumph.
Source: The Manila Times
