AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Israel’s military continues to battle the militant group Hamas today after a surprise attack took the country off guard Saturday. At least 900 civilians and soldiers, Israelis and Palestinians, children and adults have been killed according to counts from both sides. To understand more about how we got here, we turn to Yousef Munayyer. He’s a senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, which researches Arab-U.S. relations. Thank you for being with us.
YOUSEF MUNAYYER: Good morning. Good to be with you.
RASCOE: The top military commander for Hamas said his forces attacked Israel in part because of recent Israeli raids happening in the old city of Jerusalem around the Al-Aqsa mosque. How did this area become such a flashpoint?
MUNAYYER: You know, there’s an immediate context in the months and years before but, of course, a…
