Year Ender 2023- Top 5 Most Impactful Events of the Year

Telegram posts by Gazan photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah indicate that he not only likely knew of the planned massacre before it began, but supported the deaths of the innocent Israelis he saw being killed - via @Jerusalem_Post. Claims HonestReport on its X account. (Photo: @HonestReporting)

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By Aakansha Malia

January 2, 2024
4:37 pm
Los Angeles, CA

As the New Year approaches, themiddleland.com looks at some of the most important and impactful events of 2023 Israel-Hamas War Starting with the event that happened much later in the but still made the most important headline of 2023: The Israel-Hamas conflict, which snowballed into a full-blown war. Day 85 and the fighting is still going on, with casualties reaching a grim milestone of 20,000 as a result of heavy Israeli bombing following Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on October 7. Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has moved military assets to the Middle East for deterrence. On December 27, Biden ordered “necessary and proportionate” strikes at Kataib Hezbollah, Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in response to a drone attack that injured soldiers in a U.S. military base in Irbil, northern

As the New Year approaches, themiddleland.com looks at some of the most important and impactful events of 2023

Israel-Hamas War

Starting with the event that happened much later in the but still made the most important headline of 2023: The Israel-Hamas conflict, which snowballed into a full-blown war. Day 85 and the fighting is still going on, with casualties reaching a grim milestone of 20,000 as a result of heavy Israeli bombing following Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on October 7.

Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has moved military assets to the Middle East for deterrence. On December 27, Biden ordered “necessary and proportionate” strikes at Kataib Hezbollah, Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in response to a drone attack that injured soldiers in a U.S. military base in Irbil, northern Iraq. At a time when the geo-political situation is already vulnerable due to the long-drawn Russia-Ukraine conflict, one can’t help wondering about the prospects of the Israel-Hamas war in 2024 and its political and economic implications.

Three consecutive Bank Failures

SPD Silicon Valley Bank (Photo: © Andreistanescu | Dreamstime.com)

2023 went down in history as the year when most Americans lost trust in banking systems. Financial uncertainty increased and the banking industry pummeled as three banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, collapsed consecutively. According to experts, rising interest rates and a sluggish economy brought failures. One hundred surviving banks with more than $5 billion of assets were affected. Those larger banks will have to pay special assessments of 13.4 basis points annually to make up for a $16.3 billion hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The collapse sparked a seismic shift in banking organizations’ regulatory and supervisory landscape, and the consequences continue to be felt.

Earthquake Wreaks Havoc in Turkey

Image shows total devastation at the epicenter of the recent earthquake in Turkey, Kahramanmaras. Dozens of buildings have collapsed and those left standing are severely damaged (Photo: youtube/RTVE screenshot)

More than 40,000 people lost their lives and scores were injured in the devasting earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, which shook Turkey on February 6. The epicenter, which was in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaras province, had not seen a major earthquake in 200 years, so the level of preparedness was less. The second quake— triggered by the first—had a magnitude of 7.5, and its epicenter was in the Elbistan district. With the energy infrastructure entirely damaged, the country is still witnessing the aftereffects of the earthquake.

King Charles Coronation

Moment of the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. (Photo: Youtube screenshot copy)

Ancient tradition met modernity when King Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey in a two-hour ceremony watched by millions of people around the globe. The constitutional monarch was crowned at the age of 74 after he traveled with the Queen Consort, Camilla, in a stagecoach to the venue.

Twitter is now ‘X’

As a part of the company’s overhaul, Elon Musk rebranded Twitter as ‘X,’ which is now visible on its mobile apps for iPhone and Android. The company’s iconic bird symbol named after pro-basketball player Larry Bird was replaced by the X logo and announced on July 23 in a flurry of tweets. The rebranding comes from Musk’s fondness with the letter X and his attempt to turn the news-led social network into an all-rounder app that offers everything from payments to TikTok-style videos.

Sound of Freedom Becomes a Surprise Summer Box-office Hit

The indie thriller about a man rescuing children from trafficking rackets did unexpectedly well at the box office this year, even as it was released amid the double whammy of the Barbieheimer season. Directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, the movie outperformed big-budget features like Mission Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, making it the highest-grossing indie film since 2019’s Parasite.