In the early hours of October 7, Palestinian militants with Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, mounted a stunning and highly coordinated invasion of Israel.

They rampaged through Israeli towns, killing people in their homes, attacking young rave-goers, and taking some 200 hostages.

The attacks by Hamas were horrific and gruesome, some of them live-streamed on social media for maximum impact.

These were soon followed by Israel declaring war on Gaza, announcing a complete siege and starting a relentless campaign of bombardments that has killed thousands of civilians, flattened entire neighbourhoods and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.

Western leaders were quick to respond to the attacks by Hamas with France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States issuing a joint statement, expressing their "steadfast and united support to Israel” and vowing to “support the country in its efforts to defend itself.”

But beyond the unified front, a number of Western countries are voicing concerns about giving Israel carte blanche in Gaza, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls for a ceasefire.

PRIO Senior Researcher Jørgen Jensehaugen, a specialist on the Arab-Israeli conflict and Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council who has teams on the ground in Gaza, discuss the West’s response to the conflict, and what the situation is like for the millions of Palestinians there.

PRIO's Peace in a Pod is hosted by Emmy-award winning journalist Arnaud Siad.

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