Israel–Hamas war

An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. It began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. After clearing the militants from its territory, the Israeli military embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion beginning on 27 October. Clashes have also occurred in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and with Hezbollah along the Israel–Lebanon border. The fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it is part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier.

The Hamas-led attack on 7 October involved a barrage of several thousand rockets directed at Israel concurrent to an estimated 3,000 militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacking Israeli military bases and civilian communities. During this attack, 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals including 766 civilians and 373 security personnel were killed, while 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive to the Gaza Strip. The attack has been described as a major Israeli intelligence failure. Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, threats to the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners. In response, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its blockade and launched one of the most severe bombing campaigns in modern history, before commencing the ground invasion on 27 October with the stated objective of destroying Hamas and controlling the Gaza Strip.

Since the start of the Israeli operation, more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, including over 14,000 children and 9,000 women. Several thousand more are missing and presumed trapped under rubble. Nearly all of the strip's 2.3 million population has been internally displaced. Israel's tightened blockade cut off food, water and medicine, and its attacks on infrastructure have led to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, including a collapse of the healthcare system and an ongoing famine, leading to accusations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. By early 2024, Israeli forces had destroyed more than half of Gaza's houses, at least a third of its tree cover and farmland, hundreds of cultural landmarks, and dozens of cemeteries. Israel's ground invasion started on 27 October, focusing initially on northern Gaza, including Gaza City. After the expiration of a seven-day truce which involved the release of dozens of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Israel moved south to attack Khan Yunis on 3 December. By January 2024, Israel reoccupied most of northern Gaza. Israel's next stated objective is a major offensive in Rafah, despite objections from the international community. Israeli forces claim to have killed an estimated 9,000 Palestinian militants during the conflict while the latter killed over 250 Israeli soldiers.

The war has had significant international repercussions. Large protests have occurred across the world, primarily pro-Palestinian ones calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation. Israel's actions have been denounced in the Islamic world and much of the Global South. In December 2023, South Africa launched proceedings at the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has received significant support from its traditional Western allies, most notably the United States, which has provided Israel extensive military aid throughout the war and has vetoed multiple UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire. In response, Iran-backed militias have attacked American military bases in the Middle East, while the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked commercial ships they alleged were linked to Israel in a stated effort to end the war, incurring a military response from a number of countries led by the United States.