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Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
Israeli military operation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Israel–Hamas war. Starting on October 7, 2023, immediately after the Hamas-led attacks, Israel began the bombing of Gaza Strip; on October 13, Israel began ground operations in Gaza and on October 27, a full-scale invasion was launched. Israel's campaign, called Operation Swords of Iron, has two stated goals: to destroy Hamas and to free the hostages.[50][51] More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began,[52] including more than 7,800 children and 4,900 women, with another 10,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[53] There are allegations that Israel has committed war crimes and genocide during the invasion.
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip | |||||||
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Part of the Israel–Hamas war | |||||||
![]() Gaza Strip under Israeli control
Furthest Israeli advance in Gaza Strip
Evacuated areas inside Israel
Area of Gaza subject to Israeli evacuation orders See here for a more detailed map. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
~40,000[31] | Al-Qassam Brigades: 20,000–40,000[32] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Per Israel: Per Al-Qassam Brigades: |
Per Euro-Med Monitor: Per the US: Per Israel: | ||||||
32,331 Palestinian civilians killed, 60,128 Palestinians injured (Per Euro-Med Monitor)[37][44] ~16,000 Palestinian civilians killed (Per Israel)[45] 35,303 Palestinians killed, 60,294 injured (Per the Gaza Health Ministry)[46][47] 48 Israeli hostages killed (per Israel)[48] 70+ Israeli hostages killed (per Hamas)[49] |
By mid-December, Israel had dropped 29,000 munitions on Gaza, destroying or damaging 70 percent of homes, destroying hundreds of cultural landmarks, and damaging dozens of cemeteries.[54][55][56][57] Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the severest in recent history.[58][59] A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare in a state of collapse,[60] shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade,[61][62][63] electricity and communications blackouts,[64] and the UN warning of potential famine.[65] It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza", as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to.[66][67][68] Nearly all 2.3 million Gazans have been internally displaced[69] and 250,000 to 500,000 Israelis were internally displaced,[70][71][72] while, Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians[73][74][75] and said it lost 327 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 20 July 2024.[76]
The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas.[77][78] As a result of the invasion, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging that Israel was committing genocide[79] and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection. Other accusations include deliberately targeting civilians, using human shields, holding Israeli hostages, and starving the population of Gaza.