Thegovernment of Israel referred to the conflict as the "Iron Swords war" (Hebrew:מלחמת חרבות ברזל)[123][q] until October 2025, when it began using "War of Redemption".[126][127] Within Israel, it is popularly referred to as the "October 7 war".[128] It has also been referred to as the "Simchat Torah war" because Hamas's attack began on the Jewish holiday ofSimchat Torah.[129] Palestinian militant groups refer to it as the "battle of al-Aqsa Flood" (Arabic:معركة طوفان الأقصى), in reference toOperation al-Aqsa Flood.[130][131] Media outlets have variably described it as the "Israel–Hamas war",[132] "war on Gaza",[133] "October 7 war",[134][135] "secondNakba",[136] or "Nakba 2023".[137][138]
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been governed byHamas, anIslamist militant group, while the West Bank remained under the control of thePalestinian Authority. After Hamas's takeover, Israel imposed ablockade[147][148] that significantly damagedGaza's economy.[149] Israel justified the blockade by citing security concerns,[150] but international rights groups have characterized it ascollective punishment.[151][152][153] By 2023,UNRWA reported that 81% of people were living below thepoverty level, with 63% being food insecure and dependent on international assistance.[139][154]
At the time of the attack, Israel and Saudi Arabia were conducting negotiations tonormalize relations.[179] Hamas leaders cited disrupting this "normalization train" as a motive for the October 7 attacks, withIsmail Haniyeh stating that the normalization efforts would marginalize the Palestinian cause and integrate Israel as "a legitimate entity" in the region.[180]
On the morning of 7 October 2023,[181] during the Jewish holidays of Simchat Torah andShemini Atzeret onShabbat,[182] Hamas announced the start of "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.[183][184][185] In the evening, Hamas launched another barrage of 150 rockets.[184] Simultaneously, around 3,000 Hamas militants[37] infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders.[170][181][186] They took over checkpoints atKerem Shalom andErez, and created openings in the border fence in five other places.[187]
The 7 October attacks were described as "an intelligence failure for the ages"[200] and a "failure of imagination" on the part of the Israeli government.[201] A BBC report commented on Hamas's "extraordinary levels of operational security".[202] 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.[203]
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 duringthe Holocaust."[189] According to both Hamas officials and external observers, the attack was a calculated effort to create a "permanent" state of war and revive the Palestinian cause.[204][205]
Palestinian infant receiving treatment following an Israeli airstrike in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip
A Palestinian refugee carries his injured grandchildren during the Israeli bombing of theNuseirat refugee camp
Building in the Gaza Strip being destroyed by Israeli missiles
Damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal area in Gaza City on October 2023
Injured Palestinians including children receive treatment at Al-Aqsa Hospital following an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp
The IDF began Israel's counter-attack several hours after the Hamas-led invasion.[206] The first helicopters sent to support the military reached the Israeli areas surrounding the Gaza Strip an hour after the fighting began.[192] Their crews encountered difficulties in determining which places were occupied by invading militants, and distinguishing between Israeli civilians, IDF soldiers, and Palestinian militants on the ground.[192] A June 2024 UN report[207][208] and a July 2024Haaretz investigation revealed that the IDF ordered theHannibal Directive to be used, killing an unknown number of Israeli civilians and soldiers.[209][210][211]
The attack was a complete surprise to the Israelis.[212] In a televised broadcast,Benjamin Netanyahu,Prime Minister of Israel, announced that the country was at war.[186] 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.[213][164] Overnight, Israel'sSecurity Cabinet voted to act to bring about the "destruction of the military and governmental capabilities ofHamas andPalestinian Islamic Jihad".[214] TheIsrael Electric Corporation, which supplies 80% of Gaza's electricity, cut off power to the area.[215]
The IDF declared a "state of readiness for war",[184] mobilized tens of thousands of armyreservists,[181][215] and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of Gaza.[216] TheYamam counterterrorism unit was deployed,[217] along with four new divisions, augmenting 31 existing battalions.[170] Reservists were reported deployed in Gaza, in the West Bank, and along borders with Lebanon and Syria.[218] Residents near Gaza were asked to stay inside, while civilians in southern and central Israel were "required to stay next to shelters".[215] The southern region of Israel was closed to civilian movement,[217] and roads were closed around Gaza[170] and Tel Aviv.[215] WhileBen Gurion Airport andRamon Airport remained operational, multiple airlines cancelled flights.[219] 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.[220]
Blockade, bombardment, and evacuation of northern Gaza
Doctors treat a Palestinian injured by an Israeli airstrike in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip
Injured Palestinian children receiving treatment
A newborn baby killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike
People fleeing following an Israeli airstrike on a house in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip
Video interviews conducted with several survivors of Israeli airstrikes in October 2023
Following the surprise attack, theIsraeli Air Force conducted airstrikes that they said targeted Hamas targets,[184][216][221] employing itsartificial intelligenceHabsora ("The Gospel") software.[222][223] These airstrikes killed, on average, 350 persons per day during the first 20 days, totaling over 7,000 deaths during that time.[224] Israel rescued two hostages before declaring astate of war for the first time since the1973 Yom Kippur War.[225][226] 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.[227] This order drew criticism fromHuman Rights Watch (HRW) who described it as a "call to commit a war crime".[228][229] Gallant backed down under pressure from US PresidentJoe Biden, and a deal was struck ten days later to allow aid into Gaza.[230] The first such aid convoy entered Gaza on 21 October,[231] while fuel did not arrive until November.[232]
On 13 October, the IDF ordered all civilians inGaza City to evacuate to areas south of theWadi Gaza[233] within 24 hours. The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs told residents in northern Gaza to defy those orders.[234] The Israeli order was widely condemned as "outrageous" and "impossible", and calls were made for it to be reversed.[235] As a part of the order, the IDF outlined a six-hour window on 13 October for refugees to flee south along specified routes.[236]An explosion along one of the safe routes killed 70 Palestinians. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the attack.[237] The IDF said Hamas set up roadblocks to keep Gaza residents from evacuating.[238] Israeli officials, foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations condemned Hamas's alleged use ofhospitals and civilians as human shields, which has been contested by Amnesty International[239] and by Hamas themselves.[240][241] Israeli soldiers and Palestinians, as well as human rights groups, have also accused the IDF ofusing human shields.[242][243][244]
On 17 October, Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza.[245] Late in the evening, anexplosion occurred in the parking lot of theAl-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in the center of Gaza City, killing hundreds. The ongoing conflict prevented independent on-site analysis.[246] Palestinian statements that it was an Israeli airstrike were denied by the IDF, which stated that the explosion resulted from a failed rocket launch byPalestinian Islamic Jihad,[247] who denied any involvement.[248]
Initial invasion to first truce (October–November 2023)
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.[249][250] Israeli airstrikes targeted the area aroundal-Quds hospital,[251] where around 14,000 civilians were believed to be sheltering.[251] The following day, the IDFstruck 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.[252][253][254] The attack resulted in several ambassador recalls.[255][256][257]
On 31 October, Israelbombed 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".[258] On 1 November, the first group of evacuees left Gaza for Egypt. Five hundred evacuees, comprising critically wounded and foreign nationals, were evacuated over several days.[259] On 18 November, Israel struck a markedMédecins Sans Frontières convoy, killing two aid workers.[260] On 22 November, Israel and Hamas reacheda temporary ceasefire agreement, providing for a four-day pause[261] in hostilities, the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza,[261][262] and the release of approximately 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated by Israel.[262]
13-year old Israeli hostage released by Hamas during thefirst ceasefire, 26 November 2023
Following the introduction of a Qatari-brokeredtruce on 24 November 2023, active fighting in Gaza ceased. Hamasexchanged some hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.[263] Israel arrested almost as many Palestinians as it released during the truce.[264] Prisoner exchanges continued until 28 November, when both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce.[265][266] 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.[267] The truce expired on 1 December, as Israel and Hamas blamed each other for failing to agree on an extension.[268]
Resumption of hostilities (December 2023 – January 2024)
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,[269][270] and Israel sometimes struck areas it had told people to evacuate to.[271][272][273] Law experts called these warnings ineffective.[274] Amnesty International found no evidence of Hamas targets at the sites of some strikes, and requested that they be investigated as possible war crimes.[275] On 6 December,Refaat Alareer, a prominent writer in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli airstrike,[276] after which his poem "If I Must Die" was widely circulated.[277]
An aerial photo of displaced Palestinians waiting in northern Nuseirat to return to their homes in Gaza
On 1 January 2024, Israel withdrew from neighborhoods in North Gaza.[288] On 15 January, Israeli Defense MinisterYoav 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.[289] 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.[290]
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.[291][292][293] On 29 January, Israeli forceskilled Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl, and six of her family members when the car they were driving was struck by Israeli tank and machine gun fire; two rescue workers attempting to retrieve Rajab were also killed.[294] TheRed Crescent released the audio from Rajab's phone call with rescue workers, causing international outrage over her death.[295]
Build-up to the Rafah offensive (February–April 2024)
An aerial view showing destruction in Rafah after Israeli forces withdrawal and as the ceasefire took hold, Gaza StripAn aerial view of theFlour Massacre captured by an Israeli drone, February 2024
Between February and May 2024, preparations to invade Rafah became a dominant theme in Israeli officials' public rhetoric. On 12 February, Israel conducted ahostage rescue operation in Rafah along with abombing campaign.[296] Food supplies increasingly became an issue. On 5 February, Israeli shelling damaged a marked UNRWA convoy, forcing UNRWA to suspend its operations for almost three weeks, affecting 200,000 people.[260] On 29 February, Israeli forcesopened fire on Palestinians that swarmed aid trucks in southwest of Gaza City, killing 100 and wounding 750. Some of the victims were run over by trucks as panic spread.[297] Survivors described it as an intentionalambush.[298][299] On 1 March, the United States announced it would begin to airdrop food aid into Gaza.[300] Some experts called the initiative performative, saying it would not alleviate the food situation.[301] During hisState of the Union Address, Biden announced that a temporary port on Gaza's coast would be constructed for aid delivery.[302]
Al-Shifa Hospital, previouslybesieged in November 2023, was raided again between 18 March and 1 April.[303] Israeli forces killed Faiq al-Mabhouh, who they said was head of the operations directorate of Hamas's internal security service. Hamas said al-Mabhouh was in charge of civil law enforcement and had been coordinating aid deliveries to north Gaza.[304][305] The IDF said it killed 200 militants in the hospital fighting, including senior Hamas leaders, while aslo arresting 500 confirmed militants; this account was disputed.[306][307] Survivors denied that militants had organized on the hospital grounds.[308] Israeli forces were accused of leaving the hospital with blown out walls and blackened frame, and of killing 400 Palestinians.[309][310][311]
A March UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza forRamadan[312] was ignored by the IDF.[313] On 1 April, seven international aid workers fromWorld Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in anIsraeli airstrike south ofDeir al-Balah.[314][315][316] WCK, who said their vehicles were clearly marked and their location known to Israel, subsequently withdrew from Gaza alongsideANERA andProject HOPE.[315][317] On 4 April, Israel opened theErez Crossing for the first time since 7 October after US pressure.[318]
By 6 March, Israel had completed a new east–west road in Gaza. It was intended to mobilize troops and supplies, to connect and defend IDF positions on al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, and prevent people in the south of Gaza from returning to the north.[319] On 7 April, Israel withdrew from the south Gaza Strip, with only one brigade remaining in theNetzarim Corridor in the north.[320] Displaced Palestinians began to return.[321] Israel planned to initiate itsground offensive in Rafah around mid-April, but postponed to consider its response to theIranian strikes on Israel.[322] On 25 April, Israel intensified strikes on Rafah ahead of its threatened invasion.[323][324]
An aerial view ofAl-Mawasi area where displaced Palestinians live in tents, Gaza Strip
On 6 May, the IDF ordered 100,000 civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate toAl-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis.[325] Later that day, Hamas announced that it had accepted the terms of a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar.[326] The deal included a 6-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners.[327] However, Israel rejected this deal,[328] saying it would continue to negotiate while the military operation on Rafah was ongoing to "exert military pressure on Hamas".[329][330] On 31 May, the United States announced aceasefire framework.[331]
The same day, the IDF entered the outskirts of Rafah,[332][333][334] seizing control of the Gaza side of theRafah Crossing to Egypt the following day.[335][336] By 15 May, an estimated 600,000 had fled Rafah and another 100,000 from the north, according to the United Nations.[337]
On 24 May, theUnited Nations said only 906 aid truckloads had reached Gaza since Israel's Rafah operation began.[338] Israelbombed the Tel al-Sultan displacement camp in Rafah on 26 May, killing at least 45 people, allegedly including two senior Hamas officials.[339][340][341] This provoked a skirmish between Egyptian and Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border in which one Egyptian soldier was killed.[342] Less than 48 hours afterwards, another evacuation zone, theAl-Mawasi refugee camp, was bombed, killing at least 21.[339][343][344] The IDF denied involvement.[345]
UN analysis covering killed Palestinian civilians between November 2023 and April 2024.[352][353]
Children (44.0%)
Women (26.0%)
Men (30.0%)
On 22 July, the IDF began asecond invasion of Khan Yunis.[354][355] Israel ordered the evacuation of the eastern part of Khan Yunis;[356]73 people were killed during the first day of the attack.[355][357][358] Footage from an Israeli drone surfaced showing the destruction of the Grand Mosque in Khan Yunis.[359] Athird, month-long battle ended on 30 August when the IDF withdrew its 98th battalion from Khan Yunis and Deir el-Balah, stating it had killed over 250 Palestinian militants.[360]
On 8 October, the IDF began toencircle Jabalia camp, killing several Palestinian militants and civilians in air strikes and street battles.[375][376] On 10 October, the IDF issued evacuation orders for three hospitals in northern Gaza.[375] The IDF's operations in Jabalia continued for the rest of October.[377] During that month and November, strikes on Jabalia killed hundreds of people.[378] 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.[379] On 30 December, the IDF said that it killed dozens of militants in Jabalia.[380]
The IDF has been accused ofblocking aid delivery to the Gaza Strip by allowing looting gangs to target aid convoys.[381] On 16 November 98 out of 109 food trucks carrying UN aid from Kerem Shalom crossing werelooted in Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza.[381][382][383] The Abu Shabab clan, a rival of Hamas, was widely blamed for the attacks.[384] 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."[385] On 12 December, two Israeli strikes on an aid convoy in southern Gaza killed 13 people and wounded at least 30, several of them seriously.[386][387][388]
On 16 October, IDF ground forceskilled Yahya Sinwar in a shootout inTal as-Sultan.[389] 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.[390] There were no hostages in Sinwar's vicinity at the time of his death,[391] and no civilian casualties were reported.[392] Biden urged Israel to end the war after Sinwar's death.[393]
A street in northern Gaza pictured in the aftermath of the siege during the initial phase of the 2025 ceasefire
On 13 October, senior IDF officials toldHaaretz 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.[394] In later October, Israel'ssiege 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 implementa 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.[395] 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".[396]
The IDF continued its encirclement of Jabalia by sending tanks toBeit Lahia andBeit Hanoun and issuing evacuation orders.[397] 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.[398] On 25 October, the WHO said it had lost contact with Kamal Adwan hospital, and UN human rights chiefVolker Türk called recent developments in North Gaza the "darkest moment" in the war so far.[399] 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.[400] Residents of northern Gaza said in November that no aid had reached their cities since 5 October.[396] 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".[401] On 2 November,UNICEF said that over 50 children were killed in Israeli strikes inJabalia in the past two days.[402] On 12 November, aid in Gaza fell to its lowest level in 11 months despite a US ultimatum that it be restored.[403]
On 24 November, Israel issued new evacuation orders, triggering another round of displacements in Jabalia.[404] UNRWA said that Israel had rejected nine attempts to deliver aid to north Gaza in 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.[405] Mahmoud Almadhoun, a chef who founded theGaza Soup Kitchen, was targeted and killed by an Israeli quadcopter near Kamal Adwan hospital.[406] On 5 December,Israeli Army Radio announced that 18,000 Palestinians were evacuated from Beit Lahia and that soldiers killed approximately 20 militants the previous day.[407]
On 13 December, Israeli tank fire killed Dr. Sayeed Joudeh, the last orthopedic surgeon in northern Gaza.[408] On 26 December, an Israeli air strike hit a building near Kamal Adwan Hospital, killing about 50 people, including five staff.[409] 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.[410] The IDF said it had killed 19 militants during its raid;[411][412]Gaza Health Ministry said that 50 people including hospital staff were killed.[411]
Liri Albag in the first meeting with her family after being released from Hamas captivity on 25 January 2025.Yarden Bibas, whosewife and children were later returned dead, meets his father and sister for the first time after his release from Hamas captivity on 1 February 2025.
On 15 January 2025, an agreement was announced, through Qatari mediation, in which Hamas agreed to release a number of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Hamas militants and other Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The two parties also agreed to a ceasefire,[413] which went into effect on the morning of 19 January 2025.[414] On 27 January, tens of thousands of Palestinians began a mass return to northern Gaza after Israel opened a corridor for civilian movement.[415] Hamas said that Israel had violated the terms of the ceasefire, and announced the suspension of the release of Israeli hostages on 10 February.[416] After Netanyahu and US PresidentDonald Trump threatened to restart fighting in Gaza,[417] Hamas relented on 13 February,[418] allowing the release of hostages to begin again two days later.[419] On 22 February, Hamas released six Israeli hostages;[420] however, Israel refused to release the 600 Palestinian prisoners, with Netanyahu objecting to the "use of hostages for propaganda" and saying that Israel would release the prisoners once the next hostage release was guaranteed without the ceremonies.[421] On 25 February, Israel and Hamas reached a deal to exchange the bodies of Israeli hostages who were agreed to be handed over during the first phase for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, without public ceremony.[422]
On 1 March, the day the first phase of the ceasefire was scheduled to end, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal to extend it to release more hostages, calling for the implementation of the second phase.[423] Negotiations for implementing this phase, intended to see the release of all remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and a permanent end to the war, were supposed to have begun in February, 16 days after the initial ceasefire began, but never happened.[424][425] Netanyahu's office said that Israel endorsed a US plan to extend the Gaza truce for theRamadan andPassover periods. Under this plan, half of the living and dead hostages would be released on the first day of the extended truce and the remaining hostages would be released at the end of the period if a permanent truce was reached. It said that the initial deal allowed Israel to resume war at any moment after 1 March if negotiations were deemed ineffective. Following Hamas's refusal to accept the US proposal,[426][427] Netanyahu ceased the entry of aid to Gaza the next day.[428][429]
Return of displaced people via Al-Rasheed Street after ceasefire, January 2025, Gaza Strip
The humanitarian aid blockade was condemned by mediators, namely Egypt, as a violation of the ceasefire, which stipulated that phase one would automatically be extended as long as phase two negotiations were in progress.[430][431] On 9 March, Israeli Energy MinisterEli Cohen ordered a halt to supply of Israeli electricity to Gaza.[432] On 14 March, Hamas said that it agreed to a proposal from mediators to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of four dual-national hostages.[433][434] The US and Israel rejected the offer, which did not conform to their joint proposal for the release of five living hostages on the first day of an extended ceasefire.[435][436] In January, Hamas said it had recruited thousands of new fighters during the war. Then U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken estimated that "Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost."[437]Reuters reported the number of new recruits, based on U.S. intelligence, was 10,000 to 15,000.[438]
Displaced Palestinians receive food from charitable Tekiya during Ramadan in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip.
On 18 March, Israel launched asurprise attack which included airstrikes across Gaza, killing over 400 (per Gaza officials) and ending the ceasefire.[439][440][441] Israel stated the attack was due to the refusal of Hamas to extend the first phase ofthe ceasefire, and was also in response to Hamas's rearming and reorganizing.[442] Hamas said that it had adhered to the ceasefire agreement, and that Israel had resumed aggression and war. Internationally, the strikes were seen to stymie hopes for a lasting ceasefire.[443] Observers have noted that Israel chose to launch the attack on the day Netanyahu would testify in hiscorruption trial, forcing the legal proceedings to be postponed.[444]
On 19 March, the IDF said that it had launched "targeted ground activities" in Gaza to create a "partial buffer", partially recapturing the center of theNetzarim Corridor.[452][453] The IDF also bombed the UN Office for Project Services building in Deir al Balah, killing a UN staffer and six other international workers.[454] Two days later, the IDF destroyed theTurkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital via controlled demolition.[455] On 23 March, IDF troopsfired on humanitarian vehicles, including five ambulances, a fire truck, and a United Nations vehicle, in Al-Hashashin, southern Rafah, killing 15 Palestinian medics. It was not until 30 March that their bodies were discovered in a mass grave.[456][457]
On 25 March, amid the Israeli operation,[443] hundreds[458] to thousands[459] of Palestinians in Gazaprotested against Hamas and the war, calling for an end to the war and toHamas's rule. The protests were caused bywar-weariness and dissatisfaction with Hamas, specifically their alleged misuse of humanitarian aid intended for Gazans,[460] suppression of thefreedom of speech andof the press, and abuse of Palestinian civilians.[461]
On 9 April, Israeli warplanesbombed a multi-story residential building in Shuja'iyya, killing over 35 Palestinians and wounding at least 70.[462][463] On 12 April, the IDF announced that it had encircled Rafah, and planned to seize portions of it while ordering large-scale evacuations of its population.[464] On 13 April, two Israeli missiles hit Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, forcing patients to evacuate and destroying its emergency department.[465] On 15 April, Yahya Fathi Abd al-Qader Abu Shaar, the head of Hamas's weapons smuggling network, was killed by the Israeli army in the area of Khan Younis.[466] On 22 April, an attack on a residential building in Khan Younis started a fire that killed at least 11 Palestinians.[467] On 23 April, Israel bombed a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced families, killing at least 10.[468]
In early May, Israel announced plans to expand the Gaza offensive and mobilized thousands of reservists.[469][470] On 8 May, two Israeli airstrikes on the last restaurant in Gaza City and a simultaneous strike on a crowded nearby market killed at least 33 people.[471][472] At least 143 people were killed in Gaza on 15 May, making it the deadliest day since the end of the ceasefire in March.[473]
On 16 May, Israel announced the launch ofOperation Gideon's Chariots, a military offensive aimed at taking control of the entire Gaza Strip. The move was condemned by several of Israel's allies, a number of whom threatened sanctions.[479][480][481] On 25 May, anIsraeli airstrike on the Fahmi al-Jawjawi school inDaraj, Gaza City, killed at least 36 people—including 18 children and six women—and injured over 55.[482] In late May a new militia in Gaza, thePopular Forces, began operating under the authority of the Abu Shabab clan in opposition to Hamas.Avigdor Lieberman accused Netanyahu and the Israeli government of funding and arming this militia.[384]
On 27 May, the US-backedGaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations in Tel al-Sultan to deliver humanitarian aid. As thousands of starving Palestinians overwhelmed the distribution center, Israeli forces fired into the crowd, killing ten and injuring at least 62 Palestinians.[483] In a series of subsequentattacks on aid seekers, more than 1,300 were killed.[484] On 30 June, anIsraeli airstrike on al-Baqa cafeteria killed at least 41 Palestinians—including photojournalistIsmail Abu Hatab—and injured another 75.[485]
In early August 2025, the Israeli security cabinet approveda plan to occupy Gaza City. The plan drew condemnation from the UN, the European Council president, and several countries. Germany said it would suspend the approval of arms exports to Israel, and Norway said it would re-evaluate its sovereign wealth fund's investments in Israel.[488][489] On 10 August, Israeli forces struck a press tent outside al-Shifa Hospital, killing six Al-Jazeera journalists includingAnas Al-Sharif,[490][491] bringing the number of journalists killed by Israel during the war to 192.[492]
On 20 August, Israel began the first stages of the offensive, calling up 60,000 reservists for the beginning of September.[493][494] On 25 August, an Israelidouble tap strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza killed 22 people, including five journalists.[495][496] The IDF stated on X that a camera on the roof had been used to "direct terrorist activities" against its soldiers, but journalists said there was only aReuters camera.[497] Subsequently Netanyahu said that he "deeply regretted" the strike which he described as a "mishap".[498] Between 5 and 8 September, Israel struck four high-rise buildings in Gaza City. On 8 September, four Israeli soldiers were killed when militants planted an explosive device on their tank.[499] On 9 September, Israel ordered the full evacuation of Gaza City, citing plans for intensified operation.[500] Six days later, the IDF launched the full offensive, deploying units from two armored and infantry divisions.[501]
Third ceasefire and peace plan (September–October 2025)
Gaza peace plan phase one withdrawal line shown in yellow
On 29 September, Trump proposed a20-point peace plan, which includes the release of all hostages, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israel and the disarmament of Hamas, and a temporary transitional government.[502] Israel accepted the deal, as did Arab and Muslim states who urged Hamas to agree to it.[503] On 3 October, Trump threatened Hamas and issued a deadline to accept the deal.[504] That day, Hamas released a statement to mediators agreeing to release all hostages, end the war, and hand over administration of the Gaza Strip, though it wanted to continue negotiating.[505] Trump said Hamas was "ready for a lasting PEACE" and demanded Israel stop its bombing, as world leaders celebrated the deal.[505] Netanyahu said Israel was ready to begin the first phase of the plan, while the IDF halted the offensive in Gaza City and switched to defensive operations on 4 October.[506] After negotiations, Israel and Hamas officially agreed to phase one of the peace plan on 9 October.[88] The Israeli cabinet approved the agreement the following day.[507] The IDF began a withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip to agreed-upon deployment lines.[89] The withdrawal was completed at noon local time at which point the ceasefire formally came into effect.[89]
As part of the phase one agreement, Hamas was given 72 hours to release all remaining 48 hostages, of whom approximately 20 were believed to be alive.[508] The deal allows the immediate provision of "full aid" to Gaza. Some Palestinians have been seen returning to northern Gaza.[89]
A peace summit on 13 October inSharm El Sheikh was attended by representatives of over 30 countries and international organizations, with the purpose of discussing the details and implementation of the next phases of the peace plan.[509][510][511] Also on 13 October, prior to the summit, Trump stated that negotiations for phase two had begun.[512][513] A prisoner exchange took place, with Hamas releasing the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages,[514] while Israel released 1,718 Palestinian detainees held without charge and an additional 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of crimes in Israeli courts.[515]
Following the cessation of hostilities between Hamas and Israel,clashes were reported between Hamas and members of the PalestinianDoghmush clan.[516]
The morning of 19 October, two IDF soldiers were killed in Rafah. Israel said they were killed by militants. Hamas stated that they were not in communication with units in the area.[90][517] The IDF called the attack a "blatant" ceasefire violation.[517][518] Israel resumed bombardment of Gaza in response, killing at least 29 Palestinians before reaffirming the ceasefire the same day. Aid shipments to Gaza were halted until the next day.[90]
Post-war plans
Israeli leaders' plans
On 16 October 2023, the Israeli war cabinet defined four central goals for the war: toppling the Hamas regime and dismantling its capabilities, removing the terrorist threat from Gaza, returning the hostages, and maintaining the security of Israel's borders and its residents.[519]
About a month after the war began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that overall security responsibility for the Gaza Strip would rest with Israel after the war, for an indefinite period.[520] He said that the Strip would be "demilitarized and under a civilian government, but a reliable force would be required to enter and kill the murderers so that an entity like Hamas would not emerge",[521] and that after the elimination of Hamas there would be overall Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip, including full demilitarization.[522] On 11 November, Netanyahu expressed opposition to the possibility of thePalestinian Authority assuming civilian control over the Strip.[523] In response to a question about the possibility of returning Jewish settlement to the Strip, he said that he did not see this as a realistic goal.[524]
In February 2024, Netanyahu presented his proposal for the "Day After Hamas" to theSecurity Cabinet of Israel. It included management by local people and was not rejected or approved by a vote at the cabinet.[525] About six months after the start of the war, it was reported that Netanyahu was preventing a strategic discussion on the goals of the war in light of its progress, contrary to the agreement reached in the war cabinet.[526] In May 2024, it was reported that the IDF leadership was demanding that the prime minister make a decision on post-war issues.[527] On 15 May, Israeli Defense MinisterYoav Gallant convened apress conference in which he called on Netanyahu to announce that Israel would not control Gaza, and expressed his opposition to a Israeli civilian and military government in Gaza. His remarks drew criticism from coalition and opposition figures, and were supported by the leader of theNational Unity party,Benny Gantz.[528]
On 24 July, Netanyahu outlined his vision for the post-war Gaza Strip before the US Congress:
A demilitarized Gaza free of weapons and extremism. We do not want to settle in Gaza, but we will have to maintain security responsibility there. It should be run by Palestinians who do not want to destroy Israel. A new generation of Palestinians should learn no more to hate Jews but to live in peace with us. After our victory, with the help of partners in the region, the demilitarization of Gaza and the end of extremism in Gaza, we can bring about a future of peace and prosperity.[529]
On 2 April, Israel Katz announced the Israeli government's intention to "seize large areas" of Gaza as large air and ground operations resumed following the end of the March ceasefire.[530] On 17 April, Katz said that Israeli forces would remain in areas of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely.[531] On 5 May, the Israeli cabinet approved plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip and occupy it for an unspecified period.[532] Far-right Minister of FinanceBezalel Smotrich said that Gaza would be "entirely destroyed" in Israel's new offensive and that the population would be expelled.[533]
On 8 August 2025, the Security Cabinet approved five principles for ending the war, includingdisarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, maintaining Israeli security control over it, and establishing an alternative civilian government not affiliated with Hamas or thePalestinian Authority.[534] Smotrich then withdrew confidence in Netanyahu's war leadership, criticizing his Gaza strategy as weak and calling for a decisive military victory over Hamas.[535]
In February 2025, Donald Trump announced his intention todisplace the Palestinian population of Gaza, reiterating his position that they should be resettled in neighboring Arab countries.[536] Ahead of a meeting with Netanyahu, Trump specified his intention to permanently displace Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants, which would be in violation of international law. He proposed a US takeover of Gaza during a press conference with Netanyahu.[537]
Trump insisted that neighboring countries would pay for Gaza's reconstruction and that "world people" would live there. He did not rule out deploying US troops if necessary. On 5 and 6 February, Trump aides and Trump himself walked back some of his comments, including his willingness to deploy US soldiers. On 10 February, Trump said that Palestinians who leave Gaza would have noright of return. In a meeting with KingAbdullah II of Jordan, Trump said that the US would take rather than buy Gaza because "It's a war torn area. It's Gaza. There is nothing to buy."[538] Trump had proposed Jordan take in the displaced Palestinians from Gaza, which Jordanian foreign ministerAyman Safadi rejected, stating "They don't want to come to Jordan and we don't want them to come to Jordan."[539]
Trump's statements were met with condemnation from world leaders; however, in Israel,far-right national security ministerItamar Ben-Gvir praised Trump, saying that Palestinian "migration" was the only solution.[540] Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir characterized the planned displacement of Gazans as a "voluntary migration", but communications ministerShlomo Karhi said the transfer will be forced.[541]
Trump has rejected the Arab League plan saying that "The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris andunexploded ordnance," and that the Trump administration will go ahead with seizing the territory "to bring peace and prosperity to the region".[542]
In May 2025, US special envoySteve Witkoff proposed a ceasefire in Gaza. This proposal reportedly included a 60-day truce, freeing of 28 hostages, release of over 1000 Palestinian prisoners and supply of humanitarian aid. Israel accepted the proposal. Hamas requested amendments to the plan and reiterated calls for the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.[543]
On 29 September 2025, Trump and Netanyahu announced in a press conference that they had agreed on apeace plan. It includes the cessation of hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages, and the establishment of a governance alternative to Hamas. Trump stated that the implementation of the plan was contingent upon Hamas's approval.[546][547] Multiple Arab countries announced their support for the plan. On 3 October, Hamas agreed to releasing hostages and handing over Gaza's administration to an technocratic government supported by Arab countries, also pledging to continue to negotiate on other parts of the plan. Hamas did not comment on the stipulation that it must disarm.[548]
On 8 October 2025, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the "first phase" of the plan, which included a pause in fighting, the release of "at least" some hostages and prisoners, and an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of Gaza. The agreement, reached after negotiations in Egypt involving U.S., Qatari, Turkish, Egyptian, Israeli and Hamas officials, was described as the most significant breakthrough in months toward ending the two-year war.[88][549] An internationalGaza peace summit on the next phase of the peace plan took place on 13 October 2025 inSharm el Shaikh, Egypt.[550]
Arab League proposal
Arab governments rejected Trump's transfer plan, instead backing an Egyptian proposal. TheArab League in March devised a $53-billion plan detailing the reconstruction of Gaza while keeping its population in place.[551] The proposal also included the requirement that Hamas disarm and fresh elections to a reformed Palestinian Authority be held.[542] Algerian PresidentAbdelmadjid Tebboune boycotted the league meeting saying that it was "monopolized by a limited and narrow group of Arab countries".[542] Hamas reiterated that the group's arms were non-negotiable and rejected the plan.[542]
Others
In March 2025, the United States and Israel said they have contacted officials fromEgypt,Jordan,Sudan,Syria,Morocco,Puntland, andSomaliland to discuss the resettlement of Gaza residents in their territories.[552][553][554] Egypt,[555] Jordan,[539] and Sudan,[556] rejected the proposal while Somalia and Somaliland denied that they had been contacted.[557] In May 2025, reports emerged that theTrump administration was working on a plan to permanently relocate 1 million Gazans toLibya, in exchange offering the release of around $30 billion in funds frozen by the US since thetoppling of the regime ofMuammar Gaddafi.[558][559] In August 2025, reports suggested that Netanyahu was in talks withSouth Sudan to discuss the resettlement of Gaza residents.[560][561][562] Reports stated that theSouth Sudanese cabinet actually agreed to the deal, but it fell short inparliament and other parts of the South Sudanese government.[561] South Sudan rejected the reports and its ministry of foreign affairs released a statement denying holding talks with Israel about the relocation of Palestinians, calling the reports "baseless".[563][562]
By the end of 2024, a year-longexchange of strikes between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into anIsraeli invasion of Lebanon, before it was paused after aceasefire.[574] Under the November 2024 agreement, Israeli forces were to withdraw from Lebanon by January 2025, but Israel refused and the deadline was extended to February 2025, where Israel withdrew its forces from Lebanese villages but kept Israeli forces maintaining five military outposts on highlands in Southern Lebanon, against Lebanon's wishes.[575][576] The crisis has also seen thefall of theAssad regime and an ongoingIsraeli invasion of Syria.[577][578] Israeli defense minister Israel Katz in April 2025 declared that Israeli forces would indefinitely remain in "security zones" that they "cleared and seized" in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.[579]
Amnesty International released a report[588] in 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.[589][590]
Violence in the West Bank has increased since the war began with more than 607 Palestinians and over 25 Israelis killed.[591][592] At the same time,Israeli settler violence further increased to around 1,270 attacks, against 856 for all of 2022.[593] About 1,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by settlers since 7 October and almost half of the clashes have included "Israeli forces accompanying or actively supporting Israeli settlers" according to a U.N. report.[594] According to the West Bank Protection Consortium, since the 7 October attacks six Palestinian communities have been abandoned due to the violence.[595]
On 19 October, more than 60 Hamas members were arrested and 12 people were killed in overnightIsraeli raids across the West Bank. Those arrested included the movement's spokesperson in the West Bank,Hassan Yousef.[596]
In July, Israeli authorities approved the seizure of 12.7 square kilometers in the West Bank, the largest single land seizure since the 1993 Oslo accords according toPeace Now.[597] Israeli authorities also approved plans for almost 5,300 new houses in occupied West Bank.[598] By July 2024, Israeli land seizures exceeded the combined total of the previous 20 years.[599] The following month, the Israeli government approved new settlements in the area,[600][601] and it was reported that Israeli settlers had taken advantage of the war to expand settlement activity supported by the Israeli government,[602][593][603] including land seizure and large-scale settlement plans.[604]
On 7 August,Wafa reported that Israeli forces destroyed the regional headquarters ofFatah in theBalata Camp.[605][606] On 28 August, Israel launchedthe largest military operation into the northern West Bank in more than 20 years. Israeli Foreign MinisterIsrael Katz called the operation a "full-fledged war".[607] Israeli forces carried out simultaneous operations in Jenin, Tubas, Nablus, Ramallah and Tulkarm. In Jenin, Israeli forces destroyed the city's infrastructure 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 and the army blocked access to hospitals and ambulances.[608] A day later, UN Secretary GeneralAntonio Guterres called for a halt to the operations,[609] and EU foreign policy chiefJosep Borrell said the operations "must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza, including full-scale destruction."[610] The IDF classified the West Bank as a "combat zone" in early September, viewing it as the second most important front in the war.[611][612] 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".[613] On 6 September, Turkish-American protestorAyşenur Eygi was killed by an Israeli sniper at a demonstration near Nablus.[614]
On 3 October, an Israeliairstrike inTulkarm Camp killed at least 20 people.[615][616] On 13 November,Israeli far-right finance ministerBezalel Smotrich said that with Trump's victory in the2024 United States presidential election, Israel was "a step away" from "sovereignty in Judea and Samaria." Later comments byMike Huckabee, the future US ambassador to Israel, corroborated the possibility of an Israeli annexation of the West Bank.[617] On 21 January 2025, the IDF launched a majorraid in the West Bank.[618][619] A week later the IDF conducted a drone strike targeting militants inTammun, killing at least 10 people.[620][621][622]
On 30 November, two Palestinian gunmenkilled three and wounded 11 Israeli civilians at a bus stop on theGivat Shaul Interchange in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility.[623] On 16 February 2024, a Palestinian gunmanshot and killed two Israeli civilians and injured four others inKiryat Malakhi, Israel. The shooter was killed by an off-duty IDF reservist at the scene.[624] On 12 April, a 14-year-old Israeli shepherd went missing near Ramallah and was found dead a day later. On 15 April, two Palestinians were killed byIsraeli settlers inAqraba.[625] 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.[626] On 8 September 2025, two Hamas militantsopened fire inside a bus, killing 6 Israelis and injuring 21 inEast Jerusalem.[627]
Israel has increased itsadministrative detention of Palestinians and Palestinian citizens of Israel since the start of the war. Administrative detention was already at a 20-year high before October 2023.[628] More than 11,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails, not counting detainees taken from Gaza during the war.[629] At least 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since 7 October.[630] They are held without charge or trial, which violates international law.[631]
In December 2023, a military base atSde Teiman in the Negev Desert was converted to a detention camp by the IDF. Whistleblowers and detainees reported 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 confess that they are members of Hamas.[632][633][634] After conditions in the camp came to light in May 2024, theSupreme Court of Israel held a hearing and the IDF began transferring 1,200 of the prisoners toOfer Prison.[635] Detainees have reported severe instances of violence during transfers between prisons.[630][103]
Several Palestinian healthcare workers have been abducted from Gaza hospitals during sieges by Israeli forces.[103] On 5 December 2023, 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 died in Israeli custody.[636] In March 2024, Israeli forces abducted Khaled Alser, lead author of the firstLancet 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.[637] In December 2024, Israeli forces abductedHussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, and 57 of the hospital's staff.[638] Abu Safiya is detained at Ofer Prison without charges or a trial.[639]
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 threatened and tortured. According to Arab's testimony, prison guards used dogs and fire extinguishers to enact sexual violence on other prisoners.[629]
In July 2024, military police raided Sde Teiman to arrest ten soldiers "suspected of the serious sexual abuse" of a Palestinian detainee. Israeli national security ministerItamar Ben-Gvir and other members of theOtzma Yehudit party condemned the arrests.[632] Supporters of the arrested soldiers including Ben Gvir,Amihai Eliyahu,Zvi Sukkot, andNissim Vaturi stormed Sde Teiman that night in protest. Hours later, protestors broke into Beit Lid where the soldiers were being held.[640]
As of February 2025, at least 160 healthcare workers from Gaza were believed to be held in detention by Israel, with another 24 missing after being taken from hospitals in Gaza. Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia, who was detained for 7 months and released without charges, detailed many of the abuses he faced and said that "no day passes without torture" in Israeli prisons.[641]
During the second 2025 ceasefire, the unidentified bodies of 120 Palestinians held in Sde Teiman prison by Israel were released to the Nasser medical complex in Gaza. Many of the bodies were ziptied, blindfolded, had gunshot wounds or showed signs of torture.[642]
US PresidentJoe Biden on a support visit to Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023
US PresidentDonald Trump receiving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on April 7, 2025.
Since October 7, America has aided Israel in its goal of "eliminating Hamas" as well as attempting to deter Hamas's allies in the region and to prevent them from expanding the scope of confrontation with Israel in the Middle East.[643] In October 2023 the Pentagon announced that it would send missile defense batteries to the Middle East and placed thousands of US troops on alert, as well as sending the USSGerald Ford and USSDwight D. Eisenhower to the Mediterranean Sea, a group of destroyers and a nuclear submarine.[644] Israel was also allowed to supply itself from American weapon stockpiles located in Israel.[645]The extent of American support for Israel has led the war to be labelled by Le Monde journalist Gilbert Achcar as 'the first US-Israeli joint war'.[646] Similarly, French historian Jean-Pierre Filiu argued that the extent of American support and involvement for Israel in its war against Palestine makes it a co-belligerent.[647] Alongsidesubstantial military, financial, and diplomatic support, the US also intervened in the war directly. 100 American soldiers were deployed in combat to man aTHAAD anti-air battery.[648][649] In addition, the US piloted drones over Gaza to provide intelligence to Israel,[650] aimed at locating hostages and Palestinian militant leaders in Gaza;[651] this also included information on Sinwar's location.[652]
During the Biden administration, the US sent a Marine three-star general and other U.S. military officers to Israel to advise on its operation in Gaza.[653] In November 2023, US special forces and commandos were deployed to help Israel track down hostages held in Gaza.[654]
On 18 March 2025, after Israel's surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer stated that the operation had "fully coordinated with Washington" and thanked theTrump administration "for their unyielding support for Israel".[655] On 6 April, a second THAAD system was deployed to Israel by the US.[656]
Human Rights Watch stated that America has overseen direct participation by US forces in military operations in Gaza since October 2023, including by providing intelligence for Israeli strikes and conducting extensive coordination and planning, making the United States a party to the war.[657] Al-Jazeera's Marwan Bishara stated that America "was complicit in genocide. It armed Israel, financed Israel and protected Israel in the diplomatic arena as it carried [out] genocide".[658]
During negotiations for an end to the war, American officials said there were plans to send 200 US soldiers to Israel to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire, though they said they would not enter Gaza, but instead Central Command will establish a "civil-military coordination center".[658]
As of 22 October 2025[update], over 71,200 people (69,236 Palestinians[661][35] and 1,983 Israelis[t]) have been reported killed in the Gaza war according to theGaza Health Ministry (GHM) and Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as217 journalists and media workers,[668][u] 120 academics,[671] and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, a number that includes 179 employees ofUNRWA.[672] Scholars have estimated 80% of Palestinians killed are civilians.[663][662][664][673] A study byOHCHR, which verified fatalities from three independent sources, found that 70% of the Palestinians killed in residential buildings or similar housing were women and children.[353][674]
The majority of casualties have been in theGaza Strip. The GHM total casualty count is the number of deaths directly caused by the war. The demographic breakdown is a subset of those individually identified.[675][676] 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.[675] The GHM count does not include those who have died from "preventable disease, malnutrition and other consequences of the war".[677] An analysis by the Gaza Health Projections Working Group predicted thousands of excess deaths from disease and birth complications.[678]
In January 2025, a peer-reviewed analysis of deaths in the Gaza war between October 2023 and 30 June 2024 was published inThe Lancet. The paper estimated 64,260 deaths from traumatic injury during this period, and likely exceeding 70,000 by October 2024, with 59.1% of them being women, children and the elderly. It concluded that the GHM undercounted trauma-related deaths by 41% in its report, and also noted that its findings "underestimate the full impact of the military operation in Gaza, as they do not account for non-trauma-related deaths resulting from health service disruption, food insecurity, and inadequate water and sanitation."[22] A comparable figure for May 2025 would be 93,000 (77,000 to 109,000), representing 4–5% of Gaza's pre-war population.[679]
A survey byPCPSR reported showed over 60% of Gazans have lost family members since the war began.[680][681] Thousands of more dead bodies are thought to be under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[682][683] The number of injured is greater than 100,000;[684] Gaza has the most amputated children per capita in the world.[685]
According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Division, about 1,000 soldiers are wounded every month.[690] In August 2024, the ministry predicted that it would have to account for 100,000 disabled IDF veterans by 2030 due to the war.[691]
An investigation byThe Guardian,+972 Magazine, andLocal Call found that, in May 2025, a classified IDF database listed 8,900 Palestinian fighters as dead or likely dead, or 17% of the 53,000 death toll at the time, which if correct would indicate that 83% of the dead were civilians—a rate higher only in theSrebrenica massacre (though not theBosnian war overall), thesiege of Mariupol, and theRwandan genocide.[30] In response, the IDF said that the numbers in the article are incorrect.[692]
In September 2025, former IDF commanderHerzi Halevi said that more than 200,000 Palestinians had been killed or injured in Gaza, and that legal advice had not affected military decisions.[693]
As reported by the Defense Ministry, the total number of Israeli fatalities as of October 2023 is 1,152. This figure encompasses soldiers, police personnel, Shin Bet operatives, and civilian security officials who died on duty, as well as those who succumbed to accidents, illness, or suicide. Notably, around 42% of the deceased were individuals under the age of 21.[694]
Residents inspect the ruins of an apartment in Gaza destroyed by Israeli airstrikes
The Gaza Strip is experiencing ahumanitarian crisis as a result of the war.[695][696] Famine-like conditions occurred in some areas and a high risk offamine persists as of October 2024,[697][92] as well as ahealthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened itsblockade, resulting in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies.[695][698][699] 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.[700] In July 2024, available water was 4.74 litres per person per day, just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies.[701] Doctors warned of disease outbreaks spreading due to overcrowded hospitals.[696] Apolio epidemic was the target of mostly-successful vaccination campaigns.[702]
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.[703][704][705] 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.[703] The blackouts impeded emergency services, making it harder to locate and access the time-critical injured,[703] and have impeded humanitarian agencies and journalists.[703] By December 2023, 200,000 Gazans (approximately 10% of the population) had received internet access through an eSIM provided byConnecting Humanity.[706]
TheGaza Health Ministry reported over 4,000 children killed in the war's first month.[707] UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres stated that Gaza had "become a graveyard for children."[v][710][711] 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 inUNRWA funding, with aLancet non-peer-reviewed correspondence estimating that the death toll in Gaza, including future deaths indirectly caused by the war, may exceed 186,000.[663][712]
In mid-April 2025, 12 CEOs of humanitarian organizations signed a statement that aid systems were in danger of collapsing.[713] In May, Donald Trump acknowledged starvation in Gaza and promoted a US-Israeli humanitarian aid plan where food would be distributed through hubs run by private contractors and protected by Israeli soldiers. The US-backedGaza Humanitarian Foundation was set up to carry out this plan and announced it would be ready to begin operations by the end of May.[714][715] International aid agencies have rejected US-Israeli aid plans, saying that they weaponize humanitarian aid, violate principles of neutrality, will exacerbate mass displacement and would not be able to meet the scale of aid that is required.[716] The UN'sWorld Food Programme Executive DirectorCindy McCain said only about 100 trucks a day were getting through, whereas prior to the blockade it had been upwards of 600 trucks a day.[717]USAID had concluded that in the majority of cases of theft of food aid, the perpetuators could not be identified, although there was no evidence of the widespread diversion by Hamas.[718]
In July 2025, UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher said not enough "lorries" (trucks) of food aid were getting through. For example on July 27, 110 trucks entered Gaza, whereas during the two-month ceasefire earlier in 2025 the volume of aid trucks was more in the range of 600 to 700 trucks a day.[719] Trump said Gaza is experiencing "real starvation", while Netanyahu blamed Hamas.[719][720] Projections show 100% of the population in Gaza is experiencing "high levels of acute food insecurity", with about 20% experiencingcatastrophic levels as of July 2025.[661]
In August 2025, an IPC analysis confirmed famine, orIPC Phase 5, in some parts of Gaza including Gaza City.[721][722] This analysis predicted that between mid-August and September 30, 2025, an additional 640,000 persons are expected to face Phase 5 conditions.[722]Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories issued a counter-report which it said refuted the contents of the IPC brief.[723]
Rimal inGaza City following an Israeli airstrike, 10 October 2023
The scale and pace ofdestruction and damage of buildings in the Gaza Strip ranks among the most severe in modern history,[724][725][726] surpassing the bombing ofDresden,Hamburg, andLondon combined duringWorld War II,[727][728][729][w] and included apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, religious sites, factories, shopping centers, and municipal infrastructure.[729] As of January 2024, researchers atOregon State University and theCity University of New York estimated that 50–62% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed.[731][732][x][y] 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 itsinvasion of Iraq.[735] According to satellite analyses, 68% of roads, 70% of greenhouses, and nearly 70% of tree crops have been damaged or destroyed.[736] After a year, the UN estimates that 42m tonnes of rubble clutter the Strip; clearing and rebuilding might take 80 years and cost over $80bn.[737]
The Guardian reported that the scale of destruction has led international legal experts to raise the concept ofdomicide, which it describes as "the mass destruction of dwellings to make [a] territory uninhabitable".[725] The termurbicide has also been used to refer to the destruction of Gazan cities and their institutions.[738] In October 2024,Forensic Architecture published a map platform detailing Israel's campaign in Gaza titled "A Cartography of Genocide", accompanied by a report that concludes that "Israel's military campaign in Gaza is organised, systematic, and intended to destroy conditions of life and life-sustaining infrastructure".[739]
On 7 June 2024, both Israel and Hamas were added to thelist 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.[753][754][755]
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 property, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.[759][760] In relation to operations 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.[761][762][763] 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 theInternational Criminal Court investigation in Palestine.[764]
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" and accused 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.[758][765]
On 5 December 2024,Amnesty International published a report concluding that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip;[95][766] and 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.[767]
On 13 March 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a report stating that Israel's attacks on women's healthcare facilities in Gaza amounted to genocidal acts, destroying "in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group".[768] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the report as "false and absurd", and accused UN Human Rights Council of being anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.[769]
On 16 September 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and that top Israeli officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Isaac Herzog, had incited these acts. The report said that four of the five acts of genocide have been committed, as defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention. Israel rejected the report as distorted and false, and called for the abolition of the Commission.[774][116]
The war sparked adiplomatic crisis and affected the momentum of regional relations.[775] At least nine countries withdrew their ambassadors or cut diplomatic ties with Israel.[776][777] The war has also resulted in a renewed focus on a two-state solution to the broader conflict.[778][779] 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.[780]
Following talks mediated byChina, on 23 July 2024, Palestinian groups including Hamas and Fatah agreed to end their divisions and form a unity government for Gaza, which they announced in theBeijing Declaration.[785]
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 ofThe Global Alliance for the Implementation of a Palestinian State and a Two-State Solution.[786][787][788] Saudi Arabia said they would send aid to the Palestinian Authority, $60million in six installments according to a senior PA official. The aid is seen as means of keeping the PA solvent and maintaining the push for a two-state solution, notwithstanding Israeli financial restrictions.[789]
On 9 August 2025, the Qatari Prime Minister met with U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff regarding a potential deal for the return of all hostages, living and dead, in return for an end to the war. The meeting is towards making "workable" a joint Egyptian-Qatari proposal.[790] The Director of Israel's spy agencyMossad traveled to Qatar on 14 August for negotiations. In addition to Qatar and Egypt, Turkey is also involved in negotiations to end the war.[791]
In October, theKnesset approved awar cabinet in Israel, adding National Unity ministers and altering the government;Benjamin Netanyahu andBenny Gantz froze non-war legislation, establishing a war cabinet with military authority.
Throughout the war,multiple protests have been held in Israel. As of September 2025 weekly protests took place in Tel Aviv and other locations in Israel with thousands of protestors calling for an end to the war and a hostage release deal.[792] The Knesset's law criminalizing "terrorist materials" consumption drew criticism.[793]
In December, Netanyahu said that Israel's objectives were to "destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza andderadicalize the whole of Palestinian society".[794]
There was broad support in Israeli society for military operations in Gaza.[795][796] A public opinion poll conducted in December 2023 by theIsrael Democracy Institute found that 87% of Jewish Israelis supported the war in Gaza.[797] In another Israel Democracy Institute survey of 510 Israeli citizens in early February 2024, 68% of respondents supported preventing all international aid from entering Gaza.[798] A poll commissioned byPenn State University and conducted in March 2025 among a representative sample of 1,005 Israeli Jews found that 82% supported the forced expulsion of Gaza residents. Additionally, 47% responded affirmatively to the question: "When conquering an enemy city, should theIDF act like the Israelites led by Joshua when theyconquered Jericho, that is, kill all its inhabitants?"[799][800]
Palestine
Initially, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas asserted the Palestinian people's right to self-defense against the "terror of settlers and occupation troops"[801] and condemned the orders by Israel for residents to evacuate north Gaza, labeling it a "second Nakba".[802] 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.[803]
A December 2023 poll by thePalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 72% of respondents (52% of Gazans and 85% of West Bank residents) approved of the October 7 attacks.[804] A 2024 follow-up poll found that two-thirds of respondents continued to approve of the attacks.[805] About 90% of respondents did not believe that Hamas committed atrocities (killing women and children, sexual violence) during the October 7 attacks, seeing this as enemy propaganda.[805] Half of respondents in Gaza expected Hamas to win the war, while a quarter expected Israel to win.[805]
Significant geopolitical divisions emerged during the war. Israel's traditionalWestern allies provided diplomatic backing and weaponry to Israel;[806] including the United States,[807] United Kingdom,[808] and Germany.[809] However several European nations have been less supportive of Israel's actions, most notablySpain,Norway, andIreland who formallyrecognized the State of Palestine in a coordinated move in June 2024.[810] Spain and Ireland have also supportedSouth Africa's genocide case against Israel.[811][812] 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.[813][814][815] 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.[816]
In contrast, theIslamic world and much of theGlobal South denounced the actions of Israel and its allies, criticizing the "moral authority of the West" and alleging that it holdsdouble standards surroundinghuman rights.[806][817] The double standards, in their view, is condemning Russia's invasion and occupation of Ukrainian land while standing firmly behind Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.[818]Bolivia has cut all ties with Israel as a result of the conflict, whileColombia andChile recalled their ambassadors.[256][817]
The US and Germany have supplied Israel with substantial military and medical aid.[808][819][820] The UK issues licenses for British companies to sell weapons to Israel, supplying less than 1% of Israel's military imports.[821] In September 2024, the UK suspended some military exports to Israel because there was a "clear risk" they might be used to violate international law.[822]
Pro-Palestinian protest inHelsinki, Finland, 28 October 2023
The Israeli government's response prompted internationalprotests, arrests, andharassment.[823]
On 10 September 2025, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed measures against Israel because of the war in Gaza, including suspending financial support (excluding Israeli civil society and Yad Vashem), partially suspending its association agreement, and sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and settlers. She added that the commission would also set up a Palestinian donor group next month to aid in Gaza's reconstruction.[824][825]
On 21 September 2025, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Portugal formallyrecognised a Palestinian state.[826] France, Luxembourg, Monaco, Malta, and others did so the following day.[827]
Brazil announced a rescue operation of nationals using an air force transport aircraft.[828]Poland announced that it would deploy two C-130 transport planes to evacuate 200 Polish nationals.[829] Hungary evacuated 215 of its nationals from Israel on 9 October, while Romania evacuated 245 of its citizens, including two pilgrimage groups, on the same day.[830] Australia also announced repatriation flights.[831] 300 Nigerian pilgrims in Israel fled to Jordan before being airlifted home.[832]
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.[833] Nepal arranged a flight to evacuate at least 254 of its citizens.[834] India launchedOperation Ajay to evacuate its citizens.[835] Ukraine facilitated the evacuation of ~450 of its citizens from Israel as of 18 October, with additional evacuation flights planned for the near future.[836]
According toDaniel Byman and Alexander Palmer, the attack showcased the decline of thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the rise of Hamas as a power center inPalestinian politics. They predicted the PLO's further decline if thestatus quo held.[837] Laith Alajlouni wrote that the immediate effect of the Hamas offensive was to unite Hamas and PLO.[838]
Amit Segal, chief political commentator for Israel'sChannel 12, said that the conflict would test Benjamin Netanyahu's survival asprime minister, noting thatpast wars had toppled the governments of several of his predecessors.[839] Citing the Israeli intelligence failure, which some observers attributed tothe incumbent government focusing more on internal dissent, thejudicial reform, and efforts to deepen Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories,[840] some commentators criticized Netanyahu for putting aside the PLO and propping up Hamas,[176] and described him as a liability.[841][842]
In an analysis byThe 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."[843] Andreas Kluth wrote in hisBloomberg 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.[844]
TheBank of Israel estimates that by 2025, the war will have cost the countryUS$67billion, notwithstanding a $14.5billion US aid package, part of the $22.76billion the US has so far allocated for military assistance.[845][z]
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 $600million 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.[847] In the final quarter of 2023, the Israeli economy shrank by 5.2% quarter-to-quarter due to labor shortages in construction and from the mobilization of 300,000 reservists.[848] 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 2023 that recent bureaucratic obstacles with electronic imports from China had led to higher import costs and delayed delivery times.[849] 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.[850] China's actions were described as ade factosanction.[851][849]
The 3,500-member Water Transport Workers Federation of India said it would refuse to operate shipments carrying weapons to Israel.[852] The declaration came a few months after one Indian company halted production of Israeli police uniforms due to the war in Gaza.[853]
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.[854]
It has been calculated that thecarbon cost in terms of climate impact of rebuilding Gaza would exceed the annual greenhouse emissions of 135 countries.[855]
Other
The report from the IDF in August 2025 indicated that the rise in fatalities among its soldiers was due to suicide, psychological trauma resulting from the prolonged conflict, and the distressing experiences encountered during the war.[856]
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".[857] The conflict has also seen large numbers of journalists wounded or killed. On 14 December, CBS reported on a statement from theInternational 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 theVietnam War, which lasted two decades".[858]Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with theInternational Criminal Court under theRome Statute, accusing Israel of committing war crimes against eight journalists.[859][857] It also lodged a complaint against Hamas for the killing of a reporter covering the 7 October attack.[859] TheCommittee 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".[860]
^From May 2024.[2][3][4] Popular Forces have been described as a Salafi Jihadist organization with alleged ties to theIslamic State. Several senior leaders in the Popular Forces also allied with the Islamic State in the Sinai.[5]
^Fired by Netanyahu as defense minister on 5 November 2024
^The combined forces of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad add up to 37,000.[12][13][failed verification][needs update] Estimates for Hamas alone are highly variable, from 20,000 to 40,000.[14][15]
^Including 169,500 active personnel[16] and 360,000 reservists[17]
Israeli estimates of 38,000+ Palestinians killed, including more than 22,000 (later marked down to 8,000)[26] militants[27] and probably almost 16,000 civilians (as of May 2024)[28] arewidely criticised as inaccurate, and no evidence has been presented for the claims of militants having been killed.[29] Internal Israeli data suggests 83% of those killed were civilians.[30]
^In addition to direct deaths, armed conflicts result in indirect deaths "attributable to the conflict". Mortality due to indirect deaths could be due to a variety of causes, such as infectious diseases.[31] Indirect deaths range from three to fifteen times the number of direct deaths in recent conflicts.[32]
10Shin Bet personnel (not including those who were also IDF soldiers)
The higher figure for IDF soldier deaths includes soldiers who died since the start of the war, but not necessarily as a result of it, while the lower figure includes only those listed by the IDF as killed in the war. Both figures include deaths in areas other than the Gaza Strip, including Israel proper, the West Bank, Golan and Lebanon.
^As of 22 January 2024.[83] Including 6,333 soldiers (as of 21 October 2025).[79]
^Also referred to as the "Israel–Hamas war", "war on Gaza", "Operation Iron Swords" (Hebrew:מלחמת חרבות ברזל), the "battle of al-Aqsa Flood" (Arabic:معركة طوفان الأقصى), "October 7 war", and others. For more information, seeNames.
^60,199 Palestinians of which have been fully identified as of 31 July 2025.
^Israeli UN AmbassadorGilad Erdan responded directly to Guterres, stating, "Shame on [Guterres]... More than 30 minors – among them a 9-month-old baby as well as toddlers and children who witnessed their parents being murdered in cold blood – are being held against their will in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the problem in Gaza, not Israel's actions to eliminate this terrorist organization."[708][709]
^By December 2023, the percentage of buildings damaged or destroyed in Gaza exceeded Dresden andCologne during World War II and approached the level of destruction seen in Hamburg.[728][730]
^In northern Gaza, includingGaza City, the number of buildings damaged or destroyed is as high as 80 percent.[733]
^In October 2024,The New York Times estimated 168,000 buildings in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed.[734]
^A conservative estimate for US funding for Israel's military operations and related US operations in the area sets the figure for the fiscal year between 7 October and 30 September at $22.76billion.[846]
^"How Israel is using 'Lavender' and 'Daddy' to identify 37,000 Hamas operatives".The Economic Times. 9 April 2024. Retrieved12 June 2024.The "Lavender" system is designed to identify individuals suspected of being part of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), even targeting those with lower ranks for potential aerial bombardments. In the initial stages of the conflict, the military heavily relied on Lavender, leading to the system labeling up to 37,000 Palestinians as militants, along with their residences, for potential airstrikes.
Morris, Loveday; Rubin, Shira; Balousha, Hazem (15 May 2024)."As Hamas returns to the north, Israel's Gaza endgame is nowhere in sight".The Washington Post.Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved25 January 2025.Netanyahu said last week that Israel has killed 14,000 Hamas militants; the IDF put its estimate at 13,000 last month. The numbers are not possible to independently verify — and no evidence has been offered to support them — but even the high-end figure would amount to less than half of Hamas's estimated fighting force before the war. Thousands of other militants belong to smaller groups that vie with Hamas for local influence.
^Geneva Declaration Secretariat (2008).Global Burden of Armed Violence(PDF) (Report). Geneva Declaration Secretariat. p. 4.The ratio of people killed in war to those dying indirectly because of a conflict is explored in the chapter on indirect deaths (INDIRECT CONFLICT DEATHS). Studies show that between three and 15 times as many people die indirectly for every person who dies violently.
Khatib, Rasha; McKee, Martin; Yusuf, Salim (2024)."Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential".The Lancet.404 (10449). Elsevier BV:237–238.doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01169-3.ISSN0140-6736.PMID38976995.In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2,375,259, this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.
For overview about death numbers, see:Bloxham, Donald (2025). "The 7 October Atrocities and the Annihilation of Gaza: Causes and Responsibilities".Journal of Genocide Research:23–24.doi:10.1080/14623528.2025.2483546.A study of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza in The Lancet using multiple data sources and capture-recapture analysis suggested that the MoH's methods, far from producing an exaggerated number, actually under-estimated the death toll by around 41 percent. ... When considering the total 'excess mortality,' we need to add the Palestinians who have died because of the blockade in combination with the IDF's destruction of health and sanitation and food infrastructure. As public health experts noted, in many wars, 'most deaths' are 'due to the indirect [sic] impacts of war: malnutrition, communicable disease, exacerbations of noncommunicable disease, [and] maternal and infant disorders.' 'Indirect' would be the wrong word for this conflict given the nature of Israeli policies, including the systematic obstruction of supplies into Gaza.
^"Death toll rises in Israel's war on Lebanon".Al Jazeera. 4 December 2024.Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,047 people and wounded 16,638 others, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a televised address.
^abcd"Data on casualties".United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory (OCHAoPt).Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved12 October 2023.
^Bloxham, Donald (2025)."The 7 October Atrocities and the Annihilation of Gaza: Causes and Responsibilities".Journal of Genocide Research.0:1–26.doi:10.1080/14623528.2025.2483546.ISSN1462-3528.A study of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza in The Lancet using multiple data sources and capture-recapture analysis suggested that the MoH's methods, far from producing an exaggerated number, actually under-estimated the death toll by around 41 percent.... When considering the total 'excess mortality,' we need to add the Palestinians who have died because of the blockade in combination with the IDF's destruction of health and sanitation and food infrastructure. As public health experts noted, in many wars, 'most deaths' are 'due to the indirect [sic] impacts of war: malnutrition, communicable disease, exacerbations of noncommunicable disease, [and] maternal and infant disorders.'117 'Indirect' would be the wrong word for this conflict given the nature of Israeli policies, including the systematic obstruction of supplies into Gaza.
Dumper, Michael; Badran, Amneh (2024). "Introduction". In Dumper, Michael; Badran, Amneh (eds.).Routledge Handbook on Palestine (1st ed.).Routledge. p. 2.doi:10.4324/9781003031994.ISBN9781003031994.In this context we should not overlook the latest turning point in the history of Palestine – the attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023 on Israeli settlements adjacent to Gaza and the subsequent genocidal war that the state of Israel has carried out in the Gaza strip
'You Feel Like You Are Subhuman': Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians In Gaza(PDF).Amnesty International (Report). 2024. p. 13.Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 December 2024.This report focuses on the Israeli authorities' policies and actions in Gaza as part of the military offensive they launched in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 while situating them within the broader context of Israel's unlawful occupation, and system of apartheid against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. It assesses allegations of violations and crimes under international law by Israel in Gaza within the framework of genocide under international law, concluding that there is sufficient evidence to believe that Israel's conduct in Gaza following 7 October 2023 amounts to genocide.
Traverso, Enzo (2024).Gaza Faces History. Other Press. p. 8.ISBN978-1-63542-555-0.The only normative definition we have, codified at the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948, accurately describes the current situation in Palestine... describes exactly what is happening in Gaza today
Our Genocide(PDF).B'Tselem (Report). July 2025. p. 86.The review presented in this report leaves no room for doubt: since October 2023, the Israeli regime has been responsible for carrying out genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Killing tens of thousands of people; causing bodily or mental harm to hundreds of thousands more; destroying homes and civilian infrastructure on a massive scale; starvation, displacement, and denying humanitarian aid — all this is being perpetrated systematically, as part of a coordinated attack aimed at annihilating all facets of life in the Gaza Strip.
Nebehay, Stephanie (13 September 2011). Graff, Peter (ed.)."U.N. experts say Israel's blockade of Gaza illegal".Reuters.Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved15 October 2023.A panel of five independent U.N. rights experts [said] the blockade had subjected Gazans to collective punishment in 'flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.'
"Hamas hardliner Yahya Sinwar elected as Gaza leader".BBC News. 13 February 2017.Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved15 October 2023.Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade around Gaza aimed at preventing attacks by militants there, though the measure has been condemned by rights groups as a form of collective punishment.
^"Where We Work. Gaza Strip".United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved12 October 2023.
^Sobelman, Daniel (2025). "The Afterword. The Axis of Resistance, Intra-War deterrence and Israel-Hamas War".Axis of Resistance: Asymmetric Deterrence and Rules of the Game in Contemporary Middle East Conflicts. State University of New York Press.ISBN9798855800821.
^"Why did Israel deploy Hannibal Directive, allowing killing of own citizens?".Al Jazeera. 9 July 2024. Retrieved21 January 2025.It allows the Israeli military to use any force necessary to prevent Israeli soldiers from being captured and taken into enemy territory [...]. Some officers [...] understand the order to mean that soldiers ought to deliberately kill their comrade in order to stop him from being taken prisoner [...]. However, the orders failed to distinguish between soldiers being captured and civilians.
^"Q&A on Gaza".Amnesty International. Retrieved13 April 2025.The Israeli authorities claim that Hamas and Palestinian armed groups use Palestinian civilians in Gaza as 'human shields'. Does Amnesty have any evidence of this? We're monitoring and investigating these claims but we don't have evidence of this during the current hostilities.
Alghoul, Fares; Khraiche, Dana; Altstein, Galit (7 May 2024)."Israel Says a Cease-Fire Plan Backed by Hamas Falls Short".Bloomberg News.Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved12 May 2024.The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal for the Gaza Strip, but Israel's war cabinet unanimously rejected it as 'far from Israel's necessary demands,'...
"Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 100: Report".Al Jazeera. 10 August 2024. Retrieved10 August 2024.Without providing evidence, the Israeli military said in a separate statement that it had intelligence indicating there were 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including senior commanders, operating from the school.
^Chamas, Akram Mohammad Ali (2024). "The United States of America: Comprehensive Support for Israel in its War on Gaza".Journal of Economic, Administrative and Legal Sciences.8 (12): 67.
^Chamas, Akram Mohammad Ali (2024). "The United States of America: Comprehensive Support for Israel in its War on Gaza".Journal of Economic, Administrative and Legal Sciences.8 (12): 69.
^Chamas, Akram Mohammad Ali (2024). "The United States of America: Comprehensive Support for Israel in its War on Gaza".Journal of Economic, Administrative and Legal Sciences.8 (12): 70.
^"The first US-Israeli joint war".Le Monde. 22 January 2024. Retrieved17 January 2025.The Israeli military forces' war on Gaza, following Hamas's 7 October attack, is the first Israeli war in which Washington is a cobelligerent.
^"US troops arrive in Israel".Telegraph. 15 October 2024. Retrieved18 October 2024.Around 100 American military personnel in total will be sent to operate the system – the first time US troops have been deployed in combat in Israel during the current crisis.
^abAyoub, H. H., Chemaitelly, H., & Abu-Raddad, L. J. (2024). Comparative analysis and evolution of civilian versus combatant mortality ratios in Israel–Gaza conflicts, 2008–2023.Frontiers in public health,12, 1359189. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1359189
^"How many people have died in Gaza?".The Economist. 8 May 2025.The researchers found that the overlap was so small that the true number of deaths was probably 46-107% higher than the official ministry total. If you assume that the ratio has stayed the same since last June (and not fallen, as systems caught up during the ceasefire, say) and apply them to the current tally, it would suggest that between 77,000 and 109,000 Gazans have been killed, 4-5% of the territory's pre-war population (see chart).
^Abdulrahim, Raja; Rosales, Helmuth; Shbair, Bilal; Singhvi, Anjali; Solomon, Erika; Abuheweila, Iyad; Abu Bakr, Bashir; Harouda, Ameera; Khurana, Malika; Penney, Veronica; Reinhard, Scott (7 October 2024)."Gaza in Ruins After a Year of War".The New York Times. Retrieved14 October 2024.
^Lakhani, Nina (6 June 2024)."Revealed: repairing Israel's destruction of Gaza will come at huge climate cost".The Guardian. Retrieved6 June 2024.The carbon cost of rebuilding Gaza will be greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated individually by 135 countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency on top of the unprecedented death toll, new research reveals. Reconstructing the estimated 200,000 apartment buildings, schools, universities, hospitals, mosques, bakeries, water and sewage plants damaged and destroyed by Israel in the first four months of the war on Gaza will generate as much as 60m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e), according to new analysis by researchers in the UK and US. This is on a par with the total 2022 emissions generated by countries such as Portugal and Sweden – and more than twice the annual emissions of Afghanistan.
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