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Ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups[t] has been taking place in the Gaza Strip and Israel since 7 October 2023. It is the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.[74] It commenced with the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, is the deadliest war for Palestinians in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,[75] and has sparked an ongoing Middle Eastern crisis.
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| Israel–Hamas war | |||||||
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| Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) | |||||||
 Gaza Strip under Israeli control
Furthest Israeli advance in Gaza Strip
Evacuated areas inside Israel
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Hamas
Allies in other theaters:
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 Israel[c] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| See Order of Battle | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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20,000–40,000+[f] |
 529,500[g] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Gaza Strip:
West Bank:[l] Militants inside Israel:[n] Lebanon and Syria: Total killed: 53,984+[q] |
Israel:
Total killed: 1,968+ | ||||||
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On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 815 civilians, and taking 251 captive.[76][77] After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched a destructive bombing campaign[78][79] and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages.[80][81] Israeli forces launched numerous campaigns during the invasion, including the Rafah offensive from May 2024, three battles fought around Khan Yunis, and the Siege of North Gaza from October 2024. Flashpoints attracting global attention included the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, the Flour massacre, the Tel al-Sultan attack, and the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab. A temporary ceasefire in November 2023 broke down, but both sides agreed to a new deal on 15 January 2025,[82] which took effect four days later.[83]
Since the start of the Israeli offensive, over 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been reported killed,[u] over half of them women and children.[25][84][85] The Lancet has estimated more than 70,000 direct deaths due to traumatic injuries.[29] More than 100,000 Palestinians have also been injured.[86] Israel's tightened blockade cut off basic necessities, causing a severe hunger crisis with a high risk of famine persisting as of November 2024[update].[87][88] By early 2025, Israel had caused unprecedented destruction in Gaza and made large parts of it uninhabitable,[89] leveling entire cities[90] and destroying the healthcare system, agricultural land,[91] religious and cultural landmarks,[92] educational facilities,[93][94] and cemeteries.[95] Nearly all of the strip's 2.3 million Palestinian population have been forcibly displaced.[96][97] Over 100,000 Israelis were internally displaced as of February 2024.[98] Throughout the war, Israel assassinated several Hamas leaders in and outside of Gaza. Torture and sexual violence were committed by Palestinian militant groups and Israeli forces.[99]
The war continues to have significant regional and international repercussions. Large, primarily pro-Palestinian, protests have taken place across the world calling for a ceasefire. Various experts and human rights organizations have accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes, with some characterizing the events in Gaza as genocide.[100] A case accusing Israel of committing genocide is being reviewed by the International Court of Justice, while the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.[101] Israel received extensive military and diplomatic support from the United States, which has vetoed multiple UN Security Council ceasefire resolutions.[102] The war has reverberated regionally, with Axis of Resistance groups across several Arab countries and Iran clashing with Israel and the United States. By late 2024, a year of strikes between Israel and Hezbollah led to a brief Israeli invasion of Lebanon, as well as the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and an ongoing Israeli invasion of Syria.
The war is referred to by different names. Israel calls it the 'War of Iron Swords' (Hebrew: מלחמת חרבות ברזל).[103][v] Palestinian militant groups refer to it as the 'Battle of al-Aqsa Flood' (Arabic: معركة طوفان الأقصى), in reference to Operation al-Aqsa Flood.[106][107] Western media outlets have variably described it as the 'Israel–Gaza War'[108] or the 'Israel–Hamas War',[109] while others use 'War on Gaza'.[110] The Institute for the Study of War and researcher Seth Frantzman have used the term 'October 7 War'.[111][112] Some have rejected 'war' as an appropriate framework and call it the 'Gaza genocide',[113][89] 'second Nakba'[114] or 'Nakba 2023.'[115][116]
The 1948 Palestine war saw the establishment of Israel over most of what had been Mandatory Palestine, with the exception of two separated territories that became known as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which were held by Jordan and Egypt respectively. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[74] The upcoming period witnessed two popular uprisings by Palestinians against the Israeli occupation; the First and Second Intifadas in 1987 and 2000 respectively,[119] with the latter's end seeing Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.[120][121]
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, an Islamist militant group, while the West Bank remained under the control of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. After Hamas' takeover, Israel imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip,[122][123] that significantly damaged its economy.[124] The blockade was justified by Israel citing security concerns,[125] but international rights groups have characterized the blockade as a form of collective punishment.[126][127][128] Due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, UNRWA reported that 81% of people were living below the poverty level in 2023, with 63% being food insecure and dependent on international assistance.[118][129]
Since 2007, Israel and Hamas, along with other Palestinian militant groups based in Gaza, have engaged in conflict,[125][123][130] including in four wars: in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021.[131][132] These conflicts killed approximately 6,400 Palestinians and 300 Israelis.[133][117][118] In 2018–2019, there were large weekly organized protests near the Gaza-Israel border, which were violently suppressed by Israel, whose forces killed hundreds and injured thousands of Palestinians by sniper fire.[134][135] Soon after the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis began, Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, started planning the 7 October 2023 operation against Israel.[136][137] According to diplomats, Hamas had repeatedly said in the months leading up to October 2023 that it did not want another military escalation in Gaza as it would worsen the humanitarian crisis that occurred after the 2021 conflict.[128]
Hamas officials stated that the attack was a response to the Israeli occupation, blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, whom Hamas sought to release by taking Israeli hostages.[138][139][140] Numerous commentators have identified the broader context of Israeli occupation as a cause of the war.[141][142][143] The Associated Press wrote that Palestinians are "in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza".[144] Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International,[145] B'Tselem[146] and Human Rights Watch[147] have likened the Israeli occupation to apartheid, although supporters of Israel dispute this characterization.[148][149] However, an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice published in July 2024 affirmed the occupation as being illegal and said it violated Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.[150]
In the morning of 7 October 2023,[151] during the Jewish holidays of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret on Shabbat,[152] Hamas announced the start of what it called "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", firing between 3,000 and 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes, killing at least five people.[153][154][155] In the evening, Hamas launched another barrage of 150 rockets towards Israel.[154] Simultaneously, around 3,000 Hamas militants[52] infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders.[144][151][156] They took over checkpoints at Kerem Shalom and Erez, and created openings in the border fence in five other places.[157]
Militants massacred civilians in several kibbutzim,[158][159][160][161] where they took hostages[162] and set fire to homes.[163] In one massacre at an outdoor music festival near Re'im, at least 325 people were killed, with more injured or taken hostage.[164][165][166][167] In total, 251 people, mostly civilians, were taken hostage, including[168][169] children, elderly people, and soldiers.[170] Hamas militants also reportedly engaged in mutilation, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence.[171][172][173]
The 7 October attack was described as "an intelligence failure for the ages"[174] and a "failure of imagination" on the part of the Israeli government.[175] A BBC report commented on Hamas's "extraordinary levels of operational security".[176] It later emerged that abnormal Hamas movements had been detected the previous day by Israeli intelligence, but the military's alert level was not raised and political leaders were not informed.[177]
A briefing in The Economist noted that "the assault dwarf[ed] all other mass murders of Israeli civilians", and that "the last time before October 7th that this many Jews were murdered on a single day was during the Holocaust."[160] Hamas stated that its attack was a response to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence and recent escalations at Al-Aqsa.[138][139][140] According to both Hamas officials and external observers, the attack was a calculated effort to create a "permanent" state of war and revive interest in the Palestinian cause.[178][179]
The IDF began Israel's counter-attack several hours after the Hamas-led invasion.[180] The first helicopters sent to support the military arrived at the Gaza Strip an hour after fighting began.[165] They encountered difficulties in determining which places were occupied, and distinguishing between civilians, IDF soldiers, and Palestinian militants on the ground.[165] A June 2024 UN report[181][182] and a July 2024 Haaretz investigation revealed that the IDF ordered the Hannibal Directive to be used, killing many Israeli civilians and soldiers.[183][184] An ABC News (Australia) investigation reported that at least 13 civilians were killed in a 'Hannibal' incident in Beeri. At 6:40 p.m., anticipating that militants would flee back to Gaza, the Israeli army launched artillery strikes targeting the border fence area. The IDF said it was not aware of any civilians being hurt in these bombardments,[183] but eyewitness accounts and testimony contradicted the IDF's official review, which exonerated itself.[183][185]
The attack was a complete surprise to the Israelis.[186] In a televised broadcast, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, announced that the country was at war.[156] He threatened to "turn all the places where Hamas is organized and hiding into cities of ruins", called Gaza "the city of evil", and urged its residents to leave.[187][138] Overnight, Israel's Security Cabinet voted to act to bring about the "destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad".[188] The Israel Electric Corporation, which supplies 80% of the Gaza Strip's electricity, cut off power to the area.[189] This reduced Gaza's power supply from 120 MW to 20 MW, provided by power plants paid for by the Palestinian Authority.[190]
The IDF declared a "state of readiness for war",[154] mobilized tens of thousands of army reservists,[151][189] and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of Gaza.[191] The Yamam counterterrorism unit was deployed,[192] along with four new divisions, augmenting 31 existing battalions.[144] Reservists were reported deployed in Gaza, in the West Bank, and along borders with Lebanon and Syria.[193] Residents near Gaza were asked to stay inside, while civilians in southern and central Israel were "required to stay next to shelters".[189] The southern region of Israel was closed to civilian movement,[192] and roads were closed around Gaza[144] and Tel Aviv.[189] While Ben Gurion Airport and Ramon Airport remained operational, multiple airlines cancelled flights to and from Israel.[194] On 9 or 10 October, Hamas offered to release all civilian hostages held in Gaza if Israel would call off its planned invasion of the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli government rejected the offer.[195]
Following the surprise attack, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes that they said targeted Hamas targets,[154][191][196] employing its artificial intelligence Habsora ("The Gospel") software.[197][198] Israel also rescued two hostages before declaring a state of war for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.[199][200] On 9 October, Defense Minister Gallant announced a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip, cutting off electricity and blocking the entry of food and fuel.[201] This order drew criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW) who described it as "abhorrent" and as a "call to commit a war crime".[202][203] Gallant backed down under pressure from US President Joe Biden, and a deal was struck ten days later to allow aid into Gaza.[204] The first such aid convoy entered Gaza on 21 October,[205] while fuel did not arrive until November.[206]
On 13 October, the IDF ordered all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate to areas south of the Wadi Gaza[207] within 24 hours. The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs responded by telling residents in northern Gaza to defy those orders.[208] The Israeli order was widely condemned as "outrageous" and "impossible", and calls were made for it to be reversed.[209] As a part of the order, the IDF outlined a six-hour window on 13 October for refugees to flee south along specified routes.[210] An explosion along one of the safe routes killed 70 Palestinians. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the attack.[211] The IDF said Hamas set up roadblocks to keep Gaza residents from evacuating.[212] Israeli officials and international observers condemned Hamas's use of civilians as human shields, which it denied doing.[213][214]
On 17 October, Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza.[215] Late in the evening, an explosion occurred in the parking lot of the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in the center of Gaza City, killing hundreds. The ongoing conflict prevented independent on-site analysis.[216] Palestinian statements that it was an Israeli airstrike were denied by the IDF, which stated that the explosion resulted from a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad,[217] who denied any involvement.[218][219]
The cause of the Al-Ahli explosion is not certain. In the days after the blast, US, Canadian, French and UK defense and intelligence services concluded it was caused by an errant Palestinian rocket.[220] Human Rights Watch,[221] Associated Press,[222] CNN,[223] The Economist, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal[224] also concluded a Palestinian missile was the most likely explanation. Channel 4 News,[225] Al Jazeera,[226] and research group Earshot[227] contested Israeli claims of a misfired Hamas rocket being responsible for the blast, and multiple Forensic Architecture investigations, as reported by The New York Times, Bloomberg News, BBC News, El País, and The New Yorker, also disputed the misfired rocket claim, concluding instead that the blast was the result of a munition fired from the direction of Israel.[228][229][230][231]
On 27 October, after building up an invasion force of over 100,000 soldiers, the IDF launched a large-scale ground incursion into parts of northern Gaza.[232][233] Israeli airstrikes targeted the area around al-Quds hospital,[234] where around 14,000 civilians were believed to be sheltering.[234] The following day, the IDF struck Jabalia refugee camp, killing 50 and wounding 150 Palestinians. Israel said the attack killed a senior Hamas commander, whose presence Hamas denied, and dozens of militants.[235][236][237] The attack resulted in several ambassador recalls.[238][239][240]
On 31 October, Israel bombed a six-story apartment building in central Gaza, killing at least 106 civilians including 54 children in what Human Rights Watch called an "apparent war crime."[241] On 1 November, the first group of evacuees left Gaza for Egypt. 500 evacuees, comprising critically wounded and foreign nationals, were evacuated over several days.[242] On 18 November Israel struck a marked Médecins Sans Frontières convoy, killing two aid workers.[243] On 22 November, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, providing for a four-day pause[244] in hostilities to allow for the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza.[244][245] The deal also provided for the release of approximately 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated by Israel.[245]
Following the introduction of a Qatari-brokered truce on 24 November, active fighting in the Gaza Strip ceased. Hamas exchanged some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners for the release of some of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.[246] This occurred until 28 November, when both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce.[247][248] On 30 November, in a "last-minute agreement", Hamas released eight hostages in exchange for the release of 30 imprisoned Palestinians and a one-day truce extension.[249]
The truce expired on 1 December, as Israel and Hamas blamed each other for failing to agree on an extension.[250] Israel adopted a grid system to order precise evacuations within Gaza. It was criticized as inaccessible, due to the lack of electricity and internet connectivity in Gaza, and confusing. Some evacuation instructions were vague or contradictory,[251][252] and Israel sometimes struck areas it had told people to evacuate to.[253][254][255] Law experts called these warnings ineffective.[256] Amnesty International found no evidence of Hamas targets at the sites of some strikes, and requested that they be investigated as possible war crimes.[257] On 6 December Refaat Alareer, a prominent professor and writer in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli airstrike.[258] His poem, "If I Must Die" was widely circulated after his death.[259]
In December, the IDF reported its troops had reached the centers of Khan Yunis, Jabalia, and Shuja'iyya.[260] Intensified bombing pushed Palestinian civilians south to Rafah.[261] Between 7 December and 10 December, Israel detained more than 150 men; according to Israel, they surrendered en masse,[262][263] but this account was disputed by several publications.[264][265][266] On 15 December, the IDF killed three Israeli hostages in a friendly fire incident, after mistakenly identifying them as enemies.[267][268][269] The same day, Pope Francis condemned the killing of two women sheltering at a convent as "terrorism."[243] On 7 January, the IDF targeted and killed two Al Jazeera journalists.[270]
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On 1 January 2024, Israel withdrew from neighborhoods in North Gaza.[271] On 15 January, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the most intense fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip had ended, and a new phase of low-intensity fighting was about to begin.[272] By 18 January, the IDF, who had previously stated that Hamas control over North Gaza was "dismantled", reported that Hamas had significantly rebuilt its fighting strength in North Gaza.[273]
On 22 January, 24 IDF soldiers died in the deadliest day for the IDF since the invasion began. Of these, 21 died when Palestinian militants fired an RPG at a tank, causing adjacent buildings to collapse.[274][275][276] On 29 January, Israeli forces killed Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl, and six of her family members when the car they were driving was struck by an Israeli tank and machine gun fire; two rescue workers who attempted to retrieve Rajab were also killed.[277] The Red Crescent released the audio from Rajab's phone call with rescue workers, causing international outrage over her death.[278]
Between February and May 2024, preparations to invade Rafah became a dominant theme in Israeli officials' public rhetoric. On 12 February, Israel started a bombing campaign on Rafah.[279] Food supplies became an increasing issue. On 5 February, Israeli gunboats shelled a clearly marked UNRWA convoy, forcing UNRWA to suspend its operations for almost 3 weeks, affecting 200,000 people.[243] On 29 February, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food aid southwest of Gaza City, killing 100 and wounding 750. Some of the victims were run over by trucks as panic spread.[280] Survivors described it as an intentional ambush by Israeli forces.[281][282] On 1 March, the United States announced it would begin an operation to airdrop food aid into Gaza.[283] Some experts called the initiative performative, saying it would not alleviate the food situation.[284] During his State of the Union Address, Biden announced that a temporary port on Gaza's coast would be constructed to enable aid delivery.[285]
Al-Shifa Hospital, previously besieged in November 2023, was raided again between 18 March and 1 April.[286] Israeli forces killed Faiq al-Mabhouh, who they said was head of the operations directorate of Hamas' internal security service. Hamas said al-Mabhouh was in charge of civil law enforcement and had been coordinating aid deliveries to north Gaza.[287][288] The IDF said it killed 200 people in the hospital fighting, including senior Hamas leaders; this account was disputed.[289][290] Survivors denied that militants had organised on the hospital grounds.[291] Israeli forces were accused of reducing the hospital to a "blown out, fire-blackened" state, and of massacring 400 Palestinians.[292][293][294]
A 25 March UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan[295] was ignored by the IDF.[296] On 1 April, seven international aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Deir al-Balah.[297][298][299] WCK, who said their vehicles were clearly marked and their location known to Israel, subsequently withdrew from operating in Gaza alongside ANERA and Project HOPE.[298][300] On 4 April, Israel opened the Erez Crossing for the first time since 7 October after US pressure.[301]
By 6 March, Israel had completed a new east-west road in Gaza. It was intended to mobilize of troops and supplies, to connect and defend IDF positions on al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, and prevent people in the south Gaza Strip from returning to the north.[302] On 7 April, Israel withdrew from the south Gaza Strip, with only one brigade remaining in the Netzarim Corridor in the north.[303] Palestinians displaced from that city began to return from the south of the Gaza Strip.[304] Israel planned to initiate its ground offensive in Rafah around mid-April, but postponed to consider its response to the Iranian strikes on Israel.[305] On 25 April, Israel intensified strikes on Rafah ahead of its threatened invasion.[306][307]
On 6 May, the IDF ordered 100,000 civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis.[308] Later that day, Hamas announced that it had accepted the terms of a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar.[309] The deal included a 6-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners.[310] However, Israel rejected this deal.[311] Israel said that it found the terms unacceptable, but that it would continue to negotiate while the military operation on Rafah was ongoing to "exert military pressure on Hamas".[312][313] On 31 May, the United States announced a ceasefire framework for ending the war.[314]
The same day, the IDF entered the outskirts of Rafah,[315][316][317] seizing control of the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing to Egypt the following day.[318][319] On 11 May, the IDF ordered more residents to evacuate eastern and central Rafah.[320] By 15 May, an estimated 600,000 had fled Rafah and another 100,000 from the north, according to the United Nations.[321]
On 24 May, the United Nations said only 906 aid truckloads had reached Gaza since Israel's Rafah operation began.[322] Israel bombed the Tel al-Sultan displacement camp in Rafah on 26 May, killing at least 45 people, allegedly including two senior Hamas officials.[323][324][325] This provoked a skirmish between Egyptian and Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border in which one Egyptian soldier was killed.[326] Less than 48 hours afterwards, another evacuation zone, the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, was bombed, killing at least 21 people.[323][327][328] The IDF denied involvement in the attack.[329]
On 6 June, Israel bombed a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing dozens. Two days later, Israel conducted an attack on Nuseirat refugee camp which resulted in the rescue of four hostages[330][331] and resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinians.[332] On 27 June, Israeli forces re-invaded the al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood.[333] According to Middle East Monitor and ReliefWeb, between 4 July and 10 August, Israel attacked 21 schools in Gaza, killing 274 people.[334][335]
On 22 July, the IDF began a brief second invasion of Khan Yunis.[336][337] Israel ordered the evacuation of the eastern part of Khan Yunis,[338] 73 people were killed during the first day of the attack.[337][339][340] Footage from an Israeli drone surfaced showing the destruction of the Grand Mosque in Khan Yunis.[341] A third, month-long battle ended on 30 August when the IDF withdrew its 98th battalion from Khan Yunis and Deir el-Balah, stating it killed over 250 Palestinian militants.[342]
On 13 July, at least 90 people were killed and 300 were injured in an Israeli strike on Al-Mawasi and 22 people were killed in an Israeli strike targeting people gathered to pray in the Al-Shati refugee camp.[345][346][347] On 10 August, at least 80 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Al-Tabaeen school.[348] The IDF claimed to have killed 200 militants and discovered dozens of weapons in Tel al-Sultan in one week in its operation in Rafah.[349] On 10 September, Israeli missile strikes on a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi killed 19 to 40 people.[350][351][352] An IAF UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Rafah while trying to evacuate a critically injured combat engineer, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring seven others.[353]
An Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp on 11 September killed at least 18 people.[354][355][356]
In October, Israeli airstrikes on Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque in Deir el-Balah and a school in central Gaza killed at least 26 Palestinians and injured over 93.[357][358][359] An Israeli strike on Rufaida school which was serving as a shelter for displaced people in Deir el-Balah killed at least 28 people and injured 54 others.[360][361][362] Oxfam condemned the killing of four engineers working with one of its partners by an Israeli airstrike, despite prior coordination of their activities with Israeli authorities.[363]
On 8 October, the IDF began to encircle Jabalia camp, killing several Palestinian militants and civilians in air strikes and street battles.[364][365] On 10 October, the IDF issued evacuation orders for three hospitals in northern Gaza.[364] The IDF's air and ground operations in Jabalia continued for the rest of October.[366] During that month and November, strikes on Jabalia killed hundreds of people.[367][368][369][370] On 10 December, the IDF said that it killed 10 Hamas operatives who were involved in the killing of three Israeli soldiers one day prior.[371] On 30 December, the IDF said that it killed dozens of militants in Jabalia.[372]
The IDF has been accused of blocking aid delivery to the Gaza Strip by allowing looting gangs to target aid convoys.[373] On 16 November, 98 out of 109 food trucks carrying UN aid from Kerem Shalom crossing were looted in Israeli-controlled areas of the Gaza strip.[373][374][375] On 1 December, the UN suspended its aid shipments to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, blaming Israel for failing to "ensure safe conditions for delivering relief supplies."[376] On 12 December, two Israeli strikes on an aid convoy in southern Gaza killed 13 people and wounded at least 30 people, including several of them seriously.[377][378][379]
On 30 November, a strike on a World Central Kitchen vehicle transporting supplies killed three aid workers.[380][381][382] An Israeli airstrike on a group of Palestinians waiting for receiving food from an aid convoy in Khan Yunis killed at least 12 Palestinians and injured several others.[383] On 9 December, an Israeli strike hit people who lined up for buying flour in Rafah, killing 10 people.[384]
On 16 October, IDF ground forces killed Yahya Sinwar in a shootout in Tal as-Sultan.[385] The conscript soldiers who participated in the shootout were initially unaware of Sinwar's presence, and he was identified the following day by his dental records.[386] There were no hostages in Sinwar's vicinity at the time of his death,[387] and no civilian casualties were reported.[388] Biden urged Israel to end the war after Sinwar's death.[389]
On 13 October, senior IDF officials told Haaretz that the government was not seeking to revive hostage talks and that political leadership was pushing for the annexation of parts of the Gaza Strip.[390] In the later weeks of October, Israel's siege of North Gaza intensified and daily aid shipments dropped significantly. Eyewitnesses reported the shelling of hospitals, razing of shelters, and abductions of men and boys by the Israeli military, leading to speculation that Israel had decided to implement a plan by a group of retired generals to turn the northern Strip into a closed military zone and declare all who refuse to leave as combatants.[391] On 5 November, Israeli Brigadier General Itzik Cohen told reporters that "there is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return" and that no food aid had entered northern Gaza because there were "no more civilians left".[392]
The IDF continued its encirclement of Jabalia by sending tanks to Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun and issuing evacuation orders to residents.[393] On 24 October, an IDF attack destroyed at least 10 residential buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to an assessment by Gaza Civil Defense, 150 people were killed or injured.[394] On 25 October, the WHO said it had lost contact with Kamal Adwan hospital, and UN human rights chief Volker Türk called recent developments in North Gaza the "darkest moment" in the war so far.[395] Food aid to Gaza reached a new low in October at an average of 30 trucks per day, or less than 6% of the daily pre-war average.[396] Residents of northern Gaza said in November that no aid had reached their cities since 5 October.[392] The UN warned that the situation had become "apocalyptic" and that "The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence".[397] On 2 November, UNICEF said that over 50 children were killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia in the past two days.[398] On 12 November, aid in Gaza fell to its lowest level in 11 months despite a US ultimatum that it be restored.[399]
On 24 November, Israel issued a new wave of evacuation orders, triggering another round of displacements in Jabalia.[400] UNRWA said that Israel had rejected nine attempts to deliver aid to north Gaza in the month of November and obstructed an additional 82 attempts; they added that the survival conditions were diminishing for the 60,000 to 70,000 civilians remaining in north Gaza.[401] Mahmoud Almadhoun, a chef who founded the Gaza Soup Kitchen, was targeted and killed by an Israeli quadcopter near Kamal Adwan hospital.[402] On 5 December Israeli Army Radio announced that 18,000 Palestinians were evacuated from Beit Lahia and that soldiers killed approximately 20 militants during fighting on the previous day.[403]
On 13 December, Israeli tank fire killed Dr. Sayeed Joudeh, the last orthopedic surgeon in northern Gaza.[404] On 26 December, an Israeli air strike hit a building in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital, killing about 50 people, including five staff.[405] Over the next days, the World Health Organization announced that the hospital had been put out of service by Israeli attacks and the hospital's director, Hussam Abu Safiya, had been abducted: the IDF forced patients to evacuate to an already-destroyed hospital by cutting off their oxygen.[406] The IDF claimed to have killed 19 militants during its raid;[407][408] Gaza Health Ministry said that 50 people including hospital staff were killed.[407]
On 15 January 2025, an agreement was announced between Israel and Hamas, through the mediation of Qatar, in which Hamas agreed to release a number of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the 7 October attack in exchange for Hamas militants and other Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. The two parties also agreed to a ceasefire for the second time during the war;[409] it went into effect on the morning of 19 January 2025.[410]
Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Houthi movement in Yemen have launched limited attacks against Israel, raising fears of a wider regional military conflict. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have also traded attacks with the US and IDF.[411] Israel has bombed targets in and around Damascus throughout the war,[412][413][414] with an attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on 1 April leading to a direct Iranian response.[415] Iran launched a series of retaliatory airstrikes on Israel.[415][416] Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since 7 October. The IDF has condemned some acts of Israeli settler violence.[417][418]
Amnesty International released a report[419] on 5 February 2024 stating that Israel is carrying out unlawful killings in the West Bank and displaying "a chilling disregard for Palestinian lives" and that Israeli forces are carrying out numerous illegal acts of violence that constitute clear violations of international law.[420][421]
Even before the war, 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 20 years. Violence in the West Bank has increased since the war began with more than 607 Palestinians and over 25 Israelis killed.[422][423] At the same time, Israeli settler violence further increased to around 1,270 attacks, against 856 for all of 2022.[424] About 1,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by settlers since 7 October and almost half of clashes have included "Israeli forces accompanying or actively supporting Israeli settlers while carrying out the attacks" according to a U.N. report.[425] According to the West Bank Protection Consortium, since the 7 October attacks six Palestinian communities have been abandoned due to the violence.[426]
By 10 October, confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces had left 15 Palestinians dead, including two in East Jerusalem.[427] On 11 October, Israeli settlers attacked the village of Qusra, killing four Palestinians. A 16-year-old child was fatally shot by the IDF in Bani Na'im, while another person was shot dead by the IDF near Bethlehem.[428] On 12 October, two Palestinians were killed after Israeli settlers interrupted a funeral procession for Palestinians killed in prior settler attacks and opened fire.[429][430][431]
On 18 October, protests broke out over the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, with clashes reported in Ramallah.[432] In Jenin, a 12-year-old girl was shot dead by crossfire from Palestinian Authority security forces, and another youth was injured by PA forces in Tubas. One Palestinian was killed in confrontations with Israeli forces in Nabi Salih, and 30 others were injured across the West Bank.[433] On 19 October, more than 60 Hamas members were arrested and 12 people were killed in overnight Israeli raids across the West Bank. Those arrested included the movement's spokesperson in the West Bank, Hassan Yousef.[434]
On 22 October, Israel struck the al-Ansar Mosque in the Jenin refugee camp, saying that it had killed several "terror operatives" from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were planning attacks inside without providing evidence.[435] Within a few days Ayser Mohammad Al-Amer, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was killed during a clash with IDF in the Jenin refugee camp.[436] On 31 October, the IDF engaged Hamas around Shuweika.[437]
On 20 April 14 Palestinians were killed in clashes during an Israeli raid in the West Bank. Palestinian sources identified one of the victims as a militant,[438] while Israel said that 14 gunmen were killed.[439]
In July 2024, Israeli authorities approved the seizure of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the occupied West Bank. According to Peace Now, this was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords."[440] On 4 July, Israeli authorities approved plans for almost 5,300 new houses in occupied West Bank.[441]
On 7 August, Wafa reported that Israeli forces destroyed the regional headquarters of Fatah in the Balata Camp.[442][443]
On 14 August, the Israeli government approved new settlements in the occupied West Bank.[444][445]
On 28 August, Israel launched the largest military operation into the northern West Bank in more than 20 years. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the operation was a "full-fledged war".[446] Israeli forces carried out simultaneous operations in Jenin, Tubas, Nablus, Ramallah and Tulkarem. In Jenin, Israeli forces devastated civilian infrastructure with anti-tank munitions and armored bulldozers, set fire to the Jenin farmers' market, and carried out mass arrests of men and boys. Civilians were trapped in their homes and denied access to food, water and medicine. Members of the press were denied access to the city while the operation was ongoing. Eyewitnesses also reported the use of Palestinian detainees as human shields and the use of attack dogs against civilian families. The army blocked access to hospitals and ambulances.[447] On 29 August, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded a halt to the operations.[448] EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the operations "must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza, including full-scale destruction."[449] On 3 September, Israeli media reported that the IDF had classified the West Bank as a "combat zone" and now viewed it as the second most important front in the war.[450][451] Yoav Gallant said that Israel was "mowing the lawn" with its West Bank operations, but that it would eventually need to "pull out the roots".[452] On 6 September, Turkish-American protestor Ayşenur Eygi was killed by an Israeli sniper at a demonstration near Nablus.[453]
On 3 October, an Israeli airstrike in Tulkarm Camp killed at least 20 people.[454][455]
On 13 November, Smotrich said that with Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election, Israel was "a step away" from "sovereignty in Judea and Samaria." Later comments by Mike Huckabee, chosen by Trump as the next ambassador to Israel, corroborated the possibility of an Israeli annexation of the West Bank.[456]
On 21 January, the IDF said that it started a major operation in Jenin.[457][458] The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 10 people were killed and at least 40 others were wounded.[459][460][461] The IDF claimed that it killed 10 Palestinian militants, struck infrastructure sites and dismantled explosives during its operation in Jenin.[462][463]
Israeli settlers have taken advantage of the ongoing war to expand settlement activity supported by a far-right Israeli government,[464][424][465] including land seizure and large scale settlement plans.[466] In 2024, Israeli land seizures exceeded the combined total of the previous 20 years.[467]
During the war, civilians in Israel have been subjected to intermittent killings and other violence. For example, on 30 November, two Palestinian gunmen killed three and wounded eleven Israeli civilians at a bus stop on the Givat Shaul Interchange in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility.[468] On 16 February 2024, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israeli civilians and injured four others in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel. The shooter was killed by an off-duty IDF reservist at the scene.[469] On 12 April a 14-year-old Israeli shepherd was killed and on 16 April two Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers in Aqraba.[470] On 13 May, at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, a convoy of trucks carrying food supplies to Gaza was attacked by Israeli settlers, who damaged the trucks and threw supplies on the ground.[471]
Israel has increased its administrative detention of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Palestinian citizens of Israel, since the start of the war. Administrative detention was already at a 20-year high before October 2023.[472] More than 11,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails, not counting detainees taken from Gaza during the war.[473] At least 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since 7 October.[474]
In December 2023, a military base at Sde Teiman in the Negev Desert was converted to a detention camp by the IDF. Whistleblowers and detainees reported beatings and torture of Palestinian detainees at the camp, as well as amputations of limbs due to injuries sustained from handcuffing, medical neglect, arbitrary punishment and sexual abuse. Prisoners have been coerced to make confessions that they are members of Hamas.[475][476][477] After conditions in the camp came to light in May 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing and the IDF began transferring 1,200 of the prisoners to Ofer Prison.[478] Detainees have reported severe instances of violence during transfers between prisons.[474][479]
Several Palestinian healthcare workers have been abducted from Gaza hospitals during sieges by Israeli forces.[479] On 5 December, Israeli forces abducted the adult men present at Al-Awda hospital and took them to Sde Teiman camp. Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh was detained and later died in Israeli custody.[480] In March, Israeli forces abducted Khaled Alser, lead author of the first Lancet paper on trauma among Gazan ER patients and doctors, from Nasser Hospital. As of 31 August, he remains in detention and his whereabouts are unknown.[481]
Al-Araby TV correspondent Mohammed Arab was abducted from the Gaza strip in March 2024 and transferred to Ofer prison in July. After reports of his treatment were leaked to al-Araby, he was beaten, threatened and tortured. According to Arab's testimony, prison guards used dogs and fire extinguishers to enact sexual violence on other prisoners.[473]
In July 2024, military police raided Sde Teiman to arrest ten soldiers "suspected of the serious sexual abuse" of a Palestinian detainee. Itamar Ben-Gvir and other members of the Otzma Yehudit party condemned the arrests.[475] Supporters of the arrested soldiers including Ben Gvir, Amihai Eliyahu, Zvi Sukkot, and Nissim Vaturi stormed Sde Teiman that night in protest. Hours later, protestors broke into Beit Lid where the soldiers were being held.[482]
On 7 October 2024, American journalist Jeremy Loffredo and three other international and Israeli journalists were detained at a checkpoint in the West Bank on suspicion of "assisting an enemy in war" for their reporting on the October 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel. The journalists' cameras and phones were confiscated. Loffredo was released after four days in detention, and barred from leaving the country until 20 October.[483]
The extent of United States support for Israel has led the war to be labelled as 'The first US-Israeli joint war'.[484] Alongside substantial military, financial, and diplomatic support, the US also intervened in the war directly. 100 US soldiers were deployed in combat to man a THAAD anti-air battery.[485][486]
In addition, the US piloted drones over Gaza in order to provide intelligence to Israel.[487] This intelligence was aimed at locating Palestinian militant leaders in Gaza and the location of hostages.[488]
On 24 November 2023, a suspected Iranian drone attacked the CMA CGM Symi, owned by Eastern Pacific Shipping, whose principal is Israeli, in the Indian Ocean, according to a US defense official. An anonymous source said the drone was suspected to have been a Shahed-136 drone. The attack caused damage to the ship but did not injure any of the crew.[489]
In December, the US military was reportedly looking to build a maritime task force to protect trade against Iranian harassment.[490]
On 23 December, a suspected Iranian drone attacked the Israel-affiliated oil tanker MV Chem Pluto in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Gujarat. The attack did not harm any of its 20 crew members, but caused a fire that was extinguished. The vessel was reportedly carrying Saudi oil to Mangalore, India.[491]
On 13 April 2024, the IRGC Navy boarded the Portuguese-registered and Madeira-flagged container ship MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz via helicopter, and directed it to Iranian territory for "violating maritime law". The ship is leased by MSC from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, whose principal is Israeli.[492][493]
On 31 July, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, where he had traveled to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Iranian media said an Israeli strike took place at 02:00 and targeted a residence for war veterans in North Tehran, where Haniyeh was staying.[494]
On 13 April, following an Israeli airstrike on its consulate building in Damascus, Syria on 1 April,[495] Iran launched Operation True Promise,[496] a series of retaliatory airstrikes on Israel,[415][416] attacking the country from Iranian soil for the first time.[497]
On 1 October 2024, Iran began firing missiles at Israel in at least two waves,[498][499] with sirens being heard across the country. Explosions were heard overhead across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.[498] The IDF confirmed over 100 missiles were fired by Iran.[500]
On 12 October, the United States authorized the deployment of THAAD missile defense systems and American crews to man them to Israel in anticipation of an Iranian response to the planned Israeli retaliation for Iran's 1 October strikes.[501][502] Massive cyberattacks were reported on nuclear facilities and government agencies of Iran.[503] Leaked US intelligence documents revealed that Israel was conducting covert drone operations over Iran in preparation for a strike. The documents also showed that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency was monitoring Israeli weapons movements, ground forces, air defenses, navy, air and special forces, and nuclear weapons, but that it lacked the intelligence to anticipate an Israeli strike. US intelligence did not find any indication that Israel was planning to use nuclear weapons in its response.[504][505] On 23 October, Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran's National Organization for Passive Defense said that Israeli cyberattacks against Iranian interests are continuing, but they are facing a "layer-by-layer" defence strategy that have kept them at bay.[506] On 24 October, IRGC chief Hossein Salami claimed that THAAD systems will not be enough if Israel prompts an Iranian attack by attacking Iran.[507] On 26 October, the IDF carried out airstrikes in Iran in response to its attacks against Israel.[508][509] An Iranian civilian and four Iranian soldiers were killed in the strikes.[510][511]
| Victims of the... | Total | Civilians | Children | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | Total | % | ||
| October 7 Hamas-led attacks | 1,195[512] | 815[512] | 68.2% | 36[513] | 3.2% |
| Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip | 45,936[514] | ~80%[515][516][517] | 33.1%[518] | ||
| Israeli attacks on the West Bank | 479 | 116[514] | 24.2% | ||
As of 8 January 2025[update], over 47,000 people – 45,936 Palestinian[514] and 1,706 Israeli[532] – have been reported killed in the Israel–Hamas war, as well as 166 journalists and media workers,[535] 120 academics,[536] and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, a number that includes 179 employees of UNRWA.[537] Scholars have estimated 80% of Palestinians killed are civilians,[516][515][517][538] while a study by OCHR, that verified fatalities from three independent sources, found that 70% of Palestinians killed were women and children.[344]
The majority of casualties have been in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) total casualty count is the number of deaths directly caused by the war. The demographic breakdown is a subset of those individually identified.[25][539] On 17 September 2024, the GHM published the names, gender and birth date of 34,344 individual Palestinians whose identities were confirmed and continues to attempt to identify all casualties.[25] The GHM count does not include those who have died from "preventable disease, malnutrition and other consequences of the war".[540] An analysis by the Gaza Health Projections Working Group predicted thousands of excess deaths from disease and birth complications.[541] A January 2025 analysis in The Lancet estimated that the number of Gazans directly killed was 70% higher than that reported by the GHM.[542][29] A survey by PCPSR reported showed over 60% of Gazans have lost family members since the war began.[543][544] Indirect deaths[545][31] are likely to be multiple times higher.[32][33] Thousands of more dead bodies are thought to be under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[546][547] The number of injured is greater than 100,000;[86] Gaza has the most amputated children per capita in the world.[548]
The 7 October attacks on Israel killed 1,195 people, including 815 civilians.[512] A further 806 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem).[549] Casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, as well as in southern Lebanon,[550] Syria,[551] Yemen,[552] and Iran.[553]
According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Division, about 1,000 soldiers are wounded every month.[554] On 14 August 2024, the ministry predicted that it would have to account for 100,000 disabled IDF veterans by 2030 due to the war.[555]
The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war,[556][557] including a hunger crisis, in which famine-like conditions occurred in some areas of the strip and a high risk of famine persists as of October 2024,[558][88] as well as a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip, resulting in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies.[556][559][560] This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water.[561] In July 2024, available water worked out to 4.74 litres per person per day, just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies.[562] Doctors warned of disease outbreaks spreading due to overcrowded hospitals.[557] A polio epidemic was the target of mostly-successful vaccination campaigns.[563]
Heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes caused catastrophic damage to Gaza's infrastructure, further deepening the crisis. Direct attacks on telecommunications infrastructure by Israel, electricity blockades, and fuel shortages caused the near-total collapse of Gaza's largest cell network providers.[564][565][566] Lack of internet access has obstructed Gazan citizens from communicating with loved ones, learning of IDF operations, and identifying both the areas most exposed to bombing and possible escape routes.[564] The blackouts impeded emergency services, making it harder to locate and access the time-critical injured,[564] and have impeded humanitarian aid agencies and journalists.[564] By December 2023, 200,000 Gazans (approximately 10% of the population) had received internet access through an eSIM provided by Connecting Humanity.[567]
The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 4,000 children killed in the war's first month.[568] UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that Gaza had "become a graveyard for children."[w][571][572] Indirect Palestinian deaths are expected to be much higher due to the intensity of the conflict, destruction of healthcare infrastructure, lack of food, water, shelter, and safe places for civilians to flee to, and reduction in UNRWA funding, with one Lancet study stating that the death toll in Gaza, including future deaths indirectly caused by the war, might exceed 186,000.[516][573]
The scale and pace of destruction and damage of buildings in the Gaza Strip ranks among the severest in modern history,[574][575][576] surpassing the bombing of Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II,[577][578][579][x] and included apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, religious sites, factories, shopping centres, and municipal infrastructure.[579] As of January 2024, researchers at Oregon State University and the City University of New York estimated that 50–62% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed.[581][582][y][z] The damage to buildings in northern Gaza reportedly exceeds that in Bakhmut and Mariupol in the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[578] Aleppo in the Battle of Aleppo,[574] and Mosul and Raqqa in the War against the Islamic State.[574] The 29,000 munitions Israel had dropped on Gaza in three months exceeded the amount (3,678) dropped by the US between 2004 and 2010 after its invasion of Iraq.[585] According to satellite analyses, 68% of roads, 70% of greenhouses, and nearly 70% of tree crops have been damaged or destroyed.[586] After a year, the UN estimates that a total of 42m tonnes of rubble clutter the Strip, to clear and rebuild which might take 80 years and cost over $80bn.[587]
The Guardian reported that the scale of destruction has led international legal experts to raise the concept of domicide, which it describes as "the mass destruction of dwellings to make [a] territory uninhabitable".[575] In October 2024, after monitoring and analyzing Israel's war conduct in Gaza for more than a year, Forensic Architecture published a cartographic map platform detailing Israel's campaign in Gaza titled "A Cartography of Genocide", accompanied by an 827-page text report that concludes that "Israel's military campaign in Gaza is organised, systematic, and intended to destroy conditions of life and life-sustaining infrastructure".[588]
A UN Commission to the Israel–Palestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable."[589][590][591] On 27 October, a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides.[592]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed that its mandate to investigate alleged war crimes committed since June 2014 in the State of Palestine extends to the current conflict.[593][594] On 20 May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his intention to seek arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war.[595][596][597] On 21 November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.[598][599][600]
On 7 June 2024, both Israel and Hamas were added to the list of shame, an annex attached to an annual report submitted by the UN Secretary-General documenting rights violations against children in armed conflict. While past reports accused Israel of grave rights violations against children, the country was never included in the annex.[601][602][603]
On 19 June 2024, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory presented a detailed report to the United Nations Human Rights Council covering the war from 7 October to 31 December 2023, affirming that both Hamas and Israel committed war crimes and that Israel's actions also constituted crimes against humanity.[604] In a second report, the Commission found that Israel had carried out a policy of destroying Gaza's healthcare system.[605][606]
The June report found that the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or willful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying or seizing the property, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.[607][608] In relation to IDF operations and attacks in Gaza, the commission concluded that Israeli authorities are responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity. It also found that Israel committed numerous crimes against humanity, including carrying out the extermination of Palestinians and gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys.[609][610][611] The commission said that they had submitted 7,000 pieces of evidence to the ICC related to crimes committed by Israel and Hamas, as part of the International Criminal Court investigation in Palestine.[612]
In another report published in October 2024, the commission accused Israel of "committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" as well as accusing the IDF of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles, and restricting patients from leaving Gaza. The report also addressed the detention of Palestinians in Israeli military camps and facilities, finding that thousands of child and adult detainees, many arbitrarily detained, faced widespread abuse, including physical and psychological violence, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, and conditions amounting to torture, highlighting that deaths resulting from such abuse or neglect constituted war crimes and violations of the right to life. Israel refused to cooperate with the investigation, contending that it had an "anti-Israel" bias.[606][613]
On 5 December 2024, Amnesty International published a report concluding that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.[89][614]
On 19 December 2024, Human Rights Watch published a 179-page report concluding that Israel is responsible for the crime of genocide by intentionally depriving Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival.[615]
The war sparked a diplomatic crisis, with countries around the world reacting strongly to the conflict that affected the momentum of regional relations.[616] At least nine countries withdrew their ambassadors or cut diplomatic ties with Israel.[617][618] The war has also resulted in a renewed focus on a two-state solution to the broader conflict.[619][620] Global public opinion of Israel dropped during the war; a Morning Consult poll published in January 2024 indicated that the United States was the only remaining wealthy country in which Israel had net positive approval.[621]
Negotiations have focused on the possibility of a ceasefire, with Egypt and Qatar serving as negotiation mediators between Israel and Hamas.[622][623] The United Nations Security Council passed resolution 2728 in March 2024, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages for the month of Ramadan.[624][625]
Following talks mediated by China, on 23 July 2024, Palestinian groups including Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement to end their divisions and form a unity government for Gaza, which they announced in the Beijing Declaration.[626]
At the UNGA, Saudi Arabia announced a global alliance to push for a two-state solution. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said almost 90 countries were at the launch of The Global Alliance for the Implementation of a Palestinian State and a Two-State Solution.[627][628][629] On 29 September, Saudi Arabia said they would send aid to the Palestinian Authority, $60 million in six installments according to a senior PA official. The aid is seen as means of keeping the PA solvent and keeping the push for a two state solution alive notwithstanding Israeli financial restrictions.[630]
The Israeli government's response to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel has multiple aspects, including a military response leading to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. In October, the Knesset approved a war cabinet in Israel, adding National Unity ministers and altering the government; Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz froze non-war legislation, establishing a war cabinet with military authority.
Settler expansions and officials' remarks heightened unrest, leading to protests in Israel. The Knesset's law criminalizing "terrorist materials" consumption drew criticism.[631]
In an interview to the Wall Street Journal on 25 December, Netanyahu said that Israel's objectives were to "destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza and deradicalize the whole of Palestinian society".[632] There was broad support in Israeli society for military operations in Gaza.[633][634] Public opinion poll conducted in December 2023 by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 87% of Jewish Israelis supported the war in Gaza.[635]
Initially, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted the Palestinian people's right to self-defense against the "terror of settlers and occupation troops"[636] and condemned the orders by Israel for residents to evacuate north Gaza, labeling it a "second Nakba".[637] Later, Abbas rejected the killing of civilians on both sides, and said that the Palestinian Liberation Organization was the sole representative of the Palestinian people.[638]
 | This section needs to be updated. (May 2024) |
Significant geopolitical divisions emerged during the war. Much of the Western world provided strong diplomatic and military support to Israel,[639] including the United States,[640] United Kingdom,[641] and Germany,[642] however several European nations have been less supportive of Israel's actions, most notably Spain, Norway, and Ireland who formally recognised the State of Palestine in a coordinated move in June 2024.[643] Spain and Ireland have also supported South Africa's genocide case against Israel.[644][645] This has led to retaliatory action by Israel, who recalled its ambassadors to all three countries and later announced that it would be closing its embassy in Dublin.[646][647][648] Hugh Lovatt of the European Council on Foreign Relations says that during the Cold War, Israel sided with the West against the Arab countries supported by the Soviets, and Western leaders generally see Israel "as a fellow member of the liberal democratic club" and that this partially "explains the continued strong Western support for Israel – which has now largely become reflexive".[639] At least 44 nations denounced Hamas and explicitly condemned its conduct on 7 October as terrorism, including a joint statement by the US, UK, France, Italy, and Germany.[649]
In contrast, the Islamic world and much of the Global South denounced the actions of Israel and its allies, criticizing the "moral authority of the West" and alleging that it holds double standards surrounding human rights.[639][650] The double standards, in their view, is condemning an illegal occupation in Ukraine while standing firmly behind Israel that has occupied Palestinian lands.[651] Bolivia has cut all ties with Israel as a result of the conflict, while Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the country.[239][650]
The United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have supplied Israel with substantial military and medical aid.[641][652][653]
The Israeli government's response prompted international protests, arrests, and harassment.[654]
Brazil announced a rescue operation of nationals using an air force transport aircraft.[655] Poland announced that it would deploy two C-130 transport planes to evacuate 200 Polish nationals.[656] Hungary evacuated 215 of its nationals from Israel using two aircraft on 9 October, while Romania evacuated 245 of its citizens, including two pilgrimage groups, on two TAROM planes and two private aircraft on the same day.[657] Australia also announced repatriation flights.[658] 300 Nigerian pilgrims in Israel fled to Jordan before being airlifted home.[659]
On 12 October, the United Kingdom arranged flights for its citizens in Israel; the first plane departed Ben Gurion Airport that day. The government had said before that it would not be evacuating its nationals due to available commercial flights. However, most commercial flights were suspended.[660] Nepal arranged a flight to evacuate at least 254 of its citizens who were studying in Israel.[661] India launched Operation Ajay to evacuate its citizens from Israel.[662] Ukraine facilitated the evacuation of ~450 of its citizens from Israel as of 18 October, with additional evacuation flights planned for the near future.[663]
According to Daniel Byman and Alexander Palmer, the attack showcased the decline of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the rise of Hamas as a power center in Palestinian politics. They predicted the PLO's further decline if the status quo held.[664] Laith Alajlouni wrote that the immediate effect of the Hamas offensive was to unite Hamas and PLO.[665]
Amit Segal, chief political commentator for Israel's Channel 12, said that the conflict would test Benjamin Netanyahu's survival as prime minister, noting that past wars had toppled the governments of several of his predecessors such as that of Golda Meir following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Menachem Begin following the 1982 Lebanon War, and Ehud Olmert following the 2006 Lebanon War.[666] Citing the Israeli intelligence failure, which some observers attributed to the incumbent government focusing more on internal dissent, the judicial reform, and efforts to deepen Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories,[667] some commentators criticized Netanyahu for putting aside the PLO and propping up Hamas,[668] and described him as a liability.[669][670]
In an analysis by The Times of Israel, the newspaper wrote, "Hamas has violently shifted the world's eyes back to the Palestinians and dealt a severe blow to the momentum for securing a landmark US-brokered deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia."[671] Andreas Kluth wrote in his Bloomberg News column that Hamas "torched Biden's deal to remake the Middle East", arguing that the deal that was being discussed between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US would have left Palestinians in the cold, so the group decided to "blow the whole thing up". He added that viewed from Gaza, things were only going to get worse, considering that Netanyahu's coalition partners opposed a two-state solution. He suggested they would prefer to annex the entirety of the West Bank, even at the expense of turning Israel into an apartheid state.[672]
The Bank of Israel estimates that by 2025, the war will have cost the country US$67 billion, notwithstanding a $14.5 billion US aid package, part of the $22.76 billion the U.S. has so far allocated for military assistance.[673][674]
As early as 9 November 2023, the Bank of Israel reported that the drop in labor supply caused by the war was costing the Israeli economy $600 million a week, or 6% of weekly GDP. The bank also stated that the estimate did not include damage caused by the absence of Palestinian and foreign workers.[675] In the final quarter of 2023, the Israeli economy shrank by 5.2% quarter-to-quarter due to labour shortages in construction and from the mobilization of 300,000 reservists.[676] While Israel did still see economic growth of 2%, this was down from 6.5% growth in the year before the war. Consumer spending declined by 27%, imports declined by 42% and exports declined by 18%.
Israel's high-tech factories reported in December that recent bureaucratic obstacles with electronic imports from China had led to higher import costs and delayed delivery times.[677] Israeli officials also reported that China had refused to send workers to their country during the war against the backdrop of a worker shortage in Israel's construction and farming sectors.[678] China's actions were described as a de facto sanction.[679][677]
The 3,500-member Water Transport Workers Federation of India said it would refuse to operate shipments carrying weapons to Israel.[680] The declaration came a few months after one Indian company halted production of Israeli police uniforms due to the war in Gaza.[681]
About 9,855 Thai workers in the agricultural sector, 4,331 workers in the construction sector and 2,997 in the nursing sector left Israel following the 7 October attack. In addition, the prevention of 85,000 Palestinian workers from entering Israel created a shortage of about 100,000 foreign and Palestinian workers.[682]
It has been calculated that the carbon cost in terms of climate impact of rebuilding Gaza would exceed the annual greenhouse emissions of 135 countries.[683]
In reporting on the conflict, foreign media have limited access to Gaza and only in the presence of Israeli soldiers. Vox reported that the news organizations "have to submit all materials and footage to the IDF for review before publication".[684] The conflict has also seen large numbers of journalists wounded or killed in action. On 14 December, CBS reported on a statement from the International Federation of Journalists that "the number of journalists killed in the past two months in the war in Gaza has surpassed the amount killed in the Vietnam War, which lasted two decades".[685] Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court under section 8.2.b of the Rome Statute, accusing Israel of committing war crimes against 8 journalists.[686][684] It also lodged a complaint against Hamas, under section 8.2.a of the Rome Statute for the killing of a reporter covering the 7 October attack.[686] The Committee to Protect Journalists accused Israel of targeting journalists reporting from Gaza and their families, saying that in at least two cases, "journalists reported receiving threats from Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers before their family members were killed".[687]
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