Gaza–Israel Conflict

The Gaza Strip’s boundaries were established by the Egyptian–Israeli armistice agreement of February 24, 1949, following Israel’s War of Independence.[3] Before that war, the area had been part of the British Mandate; afterward, it received tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and came under Egyptian control.[4] Egypt administered Gaza from 1949 to 1956 and again from 1957 to 1967, when Israel captured the territory during the Six-Day War.[3] The first Palestinian uprising began in Gaza in December 1987, and Hamas was established there during that period.[4]

Under the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinian Authority began in 1994.[3] Israeli redeployments ultimately covered more than 85 percent of Gaza, while 99 percent of its Palestinian population lived under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.[5] The Palestinian Authority faced a stagnant economy, divided public support, stalled negotiations over further Israeli withdrawals and territorial arrangements, and opposition from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[3]

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a unilateral disengagement plan in 2003, and the Cabinet and Knesset approved it.[5] Evacuation began on August 17, 2005, and by mid-September approximately 8,000 Israeli civilians had been removed from 21 settlements.[5] Israel completed the withdrawal of its soldiers and settlers in September, transferring internal control to the Palestinian Authority while continuing to patrol Gaza’s borders and airspace; Egypt patrolled the Philadelphi Corridor along its border with Gaza.[3] Disengagement bitterly divided Israeli society.[4]

Competing as the Change and Reform bloc, Hamas won 74 of the Palestinian Legislative Council’s 132 seats in January 2006.[1] Its entry into government intensified tensions with Fatah over political and security authority.[1] Following mediation, the factions formed a unity government on March 17, 2007, but fighting resumed in May.[6] More than 600 Palestinians were killed in factional violence between January 2006 and June 6, 2007, followed by more than 160 deaths and at least 700 injuries during June 7–14 in Gaza.[1]

Hamas forces seized Fatah’s Gaza headquarters on June 12 and controlled most of the Strip by June 15, prompting President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the unity government and declare a state of emergency.[6] Hamas became Gaza’s de facto ruler, while the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority governed the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[1] Israel subsequently designated Hamas-ruled Gaza a hostile political entity and authorized economic sanctions, including restrictions on crossings and reductions in electricity and fuel supplies.[6]

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade after Hamas’s takeover, restricting movement and imports.[7] Hamas expanded smuggling through tunnels beneath the Gaza–Egypt border, while Israel eased restrictions on consumer goods after the deadly 2010 flotilla raid and ensuing international criticism.[8] Restrictions remained on materials such as cement and metals because of their potential military use.[8] Before the 2023 war, Gaza’s living conditions were already affected by dense population, inadequate water, sewage and electricity services, high unemployment and restrictions on movement and imports; its estimated population in 2023 was about 2.23 million.[3]

An Egyptian-brokered six-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in June 2008.[7] When it expired in December, Hamas declined to extend it, both sides accused the other of violations, and rocket fire increased.[7] Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 with airstrikes against Hamas offices, strongholds and infrastructure, followed by a ground incursion into northern Gaza on January 3, 2009.[9] Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on January 17, the operation’s twenty-first day.[9] The fighting killed 13 Israelis and more than 1,000 Gazans and drew international condemnation; the Security Council adopted Resolution 1860 by 14 votes to none, with the United States abstaining.[7][9]

In November 2012, Israel launched airstrikes after an increase in rocket fire over the preceding nine months.[10] The opening strike killed Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, the head of Hamas’s military wing, and Hamas intensified its rocket attacks in response.[10] Operation Pillar of Defense lasted eight days, ending with a ceasefire on November 21.[10][11]

Tensions escalated again in 2014 after three Israeli teenagers disappeared in the West Bank and were found dead on June 30.[10] Israeli forces conducted searches and arrested Palestinians suspected of armed-group ties, while rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals increased.[10] Approximately 300 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza between June 12 and July 7.[12] Israel’s aerial campaign began in early July, and ground forces entered on July 17 after an infiltration through a cross-border tunnel.[12] The ground campaign targeted tunnels and other military infrastructure.[10]

Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza on August 5 after locating and neutralizing 32 tunnels, while the aerial campaign continued until the August 26 ceasefire.[12] Operation Protective Edge caused widespread destruction in Gaza and killed more than 2,100 Palestinians.[10] Israeli government figures recorded six Israeli civilian deaths and 67 soldier deaths.[12] A Bank of Israel estimate placed damage to Israel’s economy at 0.3 percent of gross domestic product, represented as NIS 4.1 billion in a later comparison.[11]

Hamas invested in an underground network that served several purposes: smuggling weapons from Egypt, enabling attacks into Israel, concealing operations and protecting weapons production from surveillance.[1] Some tunnels were constructed near or beneath schools, mosques and United Nations facilities.[1] After the earlier rounds of conflict, Hamas retained control of Gaza and rebuilt its military capabilities and tunnel network with help from Iran and its allies.[2] Israel and Egypt permitted humanitarian and limited commercial supplies while restricting open imports of major construction materials that could be used to rebuild those capabilities.[2]

Border protests and violence intensified in 2018.[7] On May 14, Israeli soldiers opened fire on demonstrators attempting to cross the border, killing about 60 people and wounding approximately 2,700.[7] Subsequent escalation involved Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket fire.[7] In May 2021, clashes in Jerusalem preceded Hamas rocket launches toward Jerusalem and other Israeli locations, followed by Israeli airstrikes.[7] Hamas presented its launches as retaliation for police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa Mosque.[13] The fighting lasted 11 days before a ceasefire.[7]

On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists and members of other Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, launched a coordinated assault on Israel by land, sea and air.[14][15] The attack began at about 6:30 a.m. with at least 2,200 rockets fired in approximately 20 minutes, while attackers breached the perimeter at multiple points.[14] They struck Israeli communities, military sites and the Nova music festival near Re’im.[16] Incursions reached more than 20 Israeli communities, and approximately 1,200 people, predominantly civilians, were killed.[15]

Hamas and other terrorist groups abducted 251 Israelis and foreign nationals to Gaza.[2] The dead included 44 Americans, while a separate accounting of the abducted included 12 Americans.[15] The assault combined mass killing, hostage-taking and a rocket barrage directed into Israel.[15] A subsequent United Nations mission found reasonable grounds to believe that rape and gang rape occurred at several locations around the Gaza periphery.[17] First-hand accounts from released hostages provided clear and convincing information that some captives experienced sexual violence, including rape and sexualized torture.[17]

Israel declared war on October 8, its first such declaration since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.[14] On October 9, it ordered a “complete siege,” cutting off the entry of water, electricity, food and fuel.[14] The government defined its objectives as dismantling Hamas, returning the hostages and preventing future terrorist threats from Gaza; its stated objectives also encompassed destroying Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military and governing capabilities.[14][15] Approximately 350,000 reservists were called up before the expanded air and ground operation began on October 27.[16]

Israeli ground forces entered northern Gaza with the stated goals of dismantling Hamas infrastructure and bringing back the hostages.[18] Within three weeks of the attack, more than 1.4 million Palestinians had become internally displaced.[14] By the end of 2023, the Israeli campaign had disrupted much of Hamas’s governing control, apart from pockets in southern Gaza to which many fighters had withdrawn ahead of the advance from the north.[15]

A mediated agreement produced a weeklong pause from November 24 to 30, during which 105 Israeli and foreign hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners and the entry of humanitarian aid.[18] Fighting resumed on December 1.[18] Israeli forces subsequently moved into Khan Younis, while many civilians fled toward Rafah.[14] By October 2024, 117 hostages had reportedly been returned alive from Gaza, while others had been recovered dead or killed in encounters and some remained captive.[19]

In January 2024, Israel announced a change in strategy as the campaign continued across Gaza.[14] The reported Palestinian death toll had approached 23,000 by early January, including civilians and Hamas fighters.[14] The average daily death toll subsequently fell to approximately one-third of its October level, although it remained more than three times the daily figure during the 2014 conflict.[14]

Rafah became a central military and humanitarian focus in 2024.[14] After Israel ordered an evacuation on May 6, more than 800,000 people fled the city within days.[14] A United States-built aid pier began receiving shipments on May 17 but was repeatedly disrupted by safety concerns and weather damage.[14] It operated for 20 days before being abandoned in mid-July, and the total aid delivered through it was insufficient to sustain Gaza’s population for a single day.[14]

On June 8, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages from two buildings in the Nuseirat refugee camp.[14] More than 270 Palestinians in the vicinity were reported killed during heavy fighting and airstrikes as the forces withdrew with the rescued captives.[14] Arnon Zamora, the Israeli officer leading the mission, was critically wounded and later died; the mission was renamed Operation Arnon in his honor.[14]

Security Council Resolution 2735, adopted on June 10, welcomed a three-phase ceasefire proposal announced on May 31.[20] Its proposed first phase combined a ceasefire, the release of some hostages, an exchange of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli withdrawal from populated areas, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and expanded humanitarian assistance.[20] The second phase contemplated a permanent end to hostilities, release of all remaining hostages and full Israeli withdrawal, subject to agreement between the parties.[20] A third phase envisioned a multi-year reconstruction program.[20]

A ceasefire mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt took effect on January 19, 2025, at 11:15 a.m.[21] Its first phase was scheduled to last 42 days and provided for the release of 33 hostages in exchange for more than 1,800 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.[21] The terms also included increased humanitarian aid, redeployment of Israeli forces and the return of displaced residents to northern Gaza.[21] On the first day, three Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian women and minors.[21]

The ceasefire permitted approximately 600 aid trucks daily, or 4,200 weekly.[22] Entry figures recorded approximately 25,200 trucks carrying 447,538 tons during the 42-day period.[22] Hostage exchanges and partial Israeli withdrawals proceeded, but negotiations for a second phase failed.[23] Israel suspended the entry of humanitarian aid on March 2 as an effort to pressure Hamas.[22] The ceasefire ended on March 18 when the Israel Defense Forces resumed attacks under the operation name Strength and Sword.[24] Palestinian terrorist organizations resumed rocket fire, with 11 rockets recorded by the end of March.[24]

Aid entry resumed in late May, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating on May 27 alongside the existing United Nations-led mechanism.[22] Aid distribution became a major source of humanitarian concern and dispute, including criticism of the new mechanism and allegations that supplies were being diverted.[22] The period of renewed fighting continued until another ceasefire agreement in October.[23]

On September 29, President Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan to end the war.[25] Its provisions included the release of all hostages within 72 hours, an immediate end to the war, renewed aid and rebuilding Gaza while encouraging residents to remain.[23] Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase, and a ceasefire took effect at noon on October 10 after Israeli forces withdrew to agreed positions known as the Yellow Line.[26] The first phase required Hamas to release 48 living and deceased hostages, including as many bodies as it could locate within the specified period.[26]

Israel was to release 250 Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences and another 1,700 Gazans detained after October 7, 2023.[26] The final 20 living Israeli hostages returned on October 13, 2025.[27] The subsequent implementation of the first phase also brought the return of the bodies of 28 hostages, while aid rose to 4,200 trucks per week.[25] The body of the final hostage was returned to Israel on January 26, 2026.[27]

Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on November 17, 2025, endorsed the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and called for its implementation, including maintenance of the ceasefire.[28] It passed by 13 votes in favor, none against and two abstentions.[28] The resolution welcomed a transitional Board of Peace and authorized a temporary International Stabilization Force to help stabilize security, protect civilians and humanitarian operations, and support demilitarization.[28]

In January 2026, the United States special envoy announced the beginning of Phase Two, describing its goals as establishing a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration and initiating demilitarization and reconstruction.[2] The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was established that month but had neither entered Gaza nor assumed governing authority by October.[29] Plans also envisaged a Palestinian police force and an International Stabilization Force, whose deployment and assumption of responsibilities remained delayed.[25]

The ceasefire left Gaza divided between areas occupied by Israeli troops and areas generally subject to Hamas security control.[2] In late 2025, roughly 85 percent of residents lived in Hamas-controlled areas comprising less than half of the territory.[2] Israel controlled approximately 53 percent of Gaza at the beginning of the ceasefire, mostly outside urban areas.[26] By October 2026, estimates placed Israeli control at around 63 percent, with approximately 40 military posts in the Israeli-held area.[29] Residents were concentrated in western Gaza City, Khan Younis, central Gaza and al-Mawasi, and the Yellow Line restricted access to Israeli-controlled territory.[29]

A proposed disarmament roadmap envisaged decommissioning Hamas weapons in five zones, followed by the entry of Palestinian police and the technocratic administration, and then Israeli withdrawals.[25] That sequence had not begun by October 2026.[25] Israel insisted that further withdrawal and reconstruction depended on Hamas disarming and relinquishing power, while the Israeli government rejected a Board of Peace disarmament plan tentatively accepted by Hamas.[29] Hamas remained armed and retained governmental and security authority in its areas.[25]

Israeli strikes and bouts of fighting continued after the ceasefire.[2] The IDF described its strikes as efforts to thwart threats to troops and prevent Hamas from rebuilding its military wing.[29] By October 2026, Hamas had not fired rockets toward Israel for more than a year, although Israeli security officials warned that it was rebuilding capabilities.[29] The G7 foreign ministers’ November 9–10 statement supported accelerated implementation of Resolution 2803, called for Hamas to decommission its weapons and have no role in Gaza’s future, and urged progressive Israeli withdrawal under the resolution’s conditions.[30]

Most of Gaza’s approximately 2.1 million residents experienced repeated displacement, with many facing hunger, disease and overcrowding.[2] By November 2025, more than two-thirds of buildings had been damaged or destroyed.[23] In April 2026, the World Bank estimated recovery and reconstruction needs at $71.4 billion.[2] Food insecurity, shortages of shelter and essential services, and mass displacement remained major obstacles to recovery.[2]

Approximately 1.5 million people needed emergency shelter assistance when the October 2025 ceasefire began.[29] Subsequent shelter estimates indicated that about 65 percent of the population, or 1.37 million people, still lived in tents or makeshift structures, while 94 percent had shelter needs ranging from inadequate provisions to critical deficiencies.[29] Electricity, water and sanitation infrastructure sustained extensive damage, and large-scale rubble removal had not taken place by October 2026.[29]

Heavy rain in November 2026 flooded more than 70,000 tents over a weekend, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing injuries.[31] Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency reported at least five deaths after a sand embankment collapsed at a displacement camp.[31] The Board of Peace characterized seasonal flooding as an immediate humanitarian emergency and requested additional shelter, drainage, sanitation and winter supplies.[31]

Israel said its winterization preparations included more than 91,000 tents, over 8,200 trucks of winter supplies, sewage-removal vehicles, water and sewage repairs, and fuel for pumping facilities.[31][32] The Board of Peace maintained that the response was insufficient and criticized restrictions and delays, while also criticizing Hamas for retaining its weapons and authority.[32] Mobile homes remained barred from entry.[32] Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office reiterated that reconstruction should not begin until Hamas disarmed, relinquished governance and demilitarized Gaza.[32]

The legal consequences of Israel’s 2005 disengagement remain disputed: Israel maintained that withdrawal ended its direct control, while international bodies and human-rights organizations cited continuing control over borders, airspace, maritime access and movement as evidence of effective control.[33] Egypt controls the Rafah crossing, and Hamas has exercised internal governance since 2007.[33] International debate over the later war included allegations of disproportionate force, unlawful restrictions on aid and violations of international law, alongside Israel’s position that its operations were necessary for defense and that it took reasonable steps to protect civilians and facilitate assistance.[34]

Casualty figures require attention to date, reporting authority and combatant classifications.[2] An Israeli military assessment of approximately 2,125 Palestinian deaths in 2014 identified 936 as members of terrorist organizations, assessed or reasonably assumed 761 to be civilians, and left the remainder unclassified.[12] For the later war, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported 50,144 deaths and 113,704 injuries as of March 25, 2025; a subsequent ministry total carried through United Nations humanitarian reporting exceeded 73,000 deaths by June 24, 2026 and included both combatants and civilians.[24][2] The ministry also reported 1,488 deaths and 5,281 injuries from Israeli strikes and gunfire between the October 2025 ceasefire and October 11, 2026, without distinguishing civilians from combatants.[29]

Humanitarian reporting likewise relied on differing data systems: the 2025 aid-entry totals were based primarily on Israeli COGAT figures, while real-time United Nations truck-entry reporting stopped at the start of the January ceasefire.[22] OCHA reported at least 1,889 Palestinians killed while seeking food between May 27 and August 18, 2025, with most appearing to have been killed by the Israeli military; the IDF rejected allegations of intentional harm to civilians.[22] The IDF separately reported 52 ceasefire violations by Hamas and other terrorist groups between October 16 and November 5, 2026, a count not independently verified in the cited account.[35]

The International Court of Justice proceedings brought by South Africa concerned allegations of genocide and produced provisional measures in January, March and May 2024, not a final judgment that genocide had occurred.[2] The May order addressed actions in Rafah capable of creating conditions of physical destruction, humanitarian access through Rafah and access for investigators.[36] A separate United Nations commission concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide, an accusation that the Israeli and U.S. governments vehemently denied.[34] The International Criminal Court issued warrants in November 2024 for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif concerning alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity; these were not convictions, and Israeli and United States leaders disputed the Court’s jurisdiction.[2]