Outline of the Gaza War

Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza in 2005, and Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, following its victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.[6][7] Gaza is an enclave between Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, with a Palestinian population exceeding two million.[6] After Hamas’s takeover, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade, and restrictions on movement and access became an enduring feature of the territory’s relationship with its neighbors.[7][6] Major rounds of fighting between Hamas and Israel followed in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021.[7]

The immediate trigger for the war was the coordinated Hamas-led assault of October 7, 2023, rather than a gradual escalation of the ground campaign that followed.[7] The attack occurred after approximately 16 years of Hamas control in Gaza and was unprecedented in scope and lethality during that period.[8] Regional diplomacy and Palestinian grievances formed part of the wider political background, although explanations connecting the attack’s timing to prospective Israel–Saudi normalization remained analysis rather than an established account of its causes.[7]

At about 6:30 a.m. on October 7, 2023, Hamas and other terrorist groups began attacking southern Israel under cover of a large rocket barrage, during Shabbat and Simchat Torah.[7][1] At least 2,200 rockets were launched within 20 minutes, while attackers crossed the Gaza perimeter at numerous locations using breaches made with explosives and bulldozers; others entered by motorboat or motorized paraglider.[7] The UN mission reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad was among the groups said to have participated.[9] The assault struck military posts, civilian communities, roads, and music festivals, including the Nova festival.[7][9]

The incursions developed in successive waves involving Hamas terrorists, members of other armed groups, and armed and unarmed people entering from Gaza.[9] Attackers reached 22 communities as well as military sites and the Nova festival.[1] People were shot in their homes, killed in bomb shelters, and attacked at the festival and on nearby roads.[9] Approximately 1,200 people were killed, predominantly civilians, and thousands were injured; the victims included people of different nationalities, religions, and ethnic backgrounds.[1][9] The later widely used total for people abducted into Gaza was 251.[1][8]

Sexual violence formed another documented dimension of the assault and hostage crisis.[9] A subsequent international mission found reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred at several locations during the attacks, and clear and convincing information that some hostages experienced sexual violence in captivity.[9] Its findings also distinguished supported information from allegations that could not be verified or were found to be unfounded, and it called for a full investigation to establish prevalence and specific attribution.[9]

Israel began air strikes in Gaza on October 7, while fighting continued in southern Israel.[7][10] On October 8, the cabinet officially sanctioned the state of war announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the previous day.[10] The Israeli response was designated Operation Swords of Iron.[2] Rocket fire continued to affect Israeli communities: during the first week, daily air-raid warnings generally numbered between 100 and 300, reaching 372 on October 9.[11]

Israel mobilized approximately 350,000 reservists and began an air campaign against Hamas targets before launching its ground offensive on October 27, 2023.[1] The government’s stated objectives included returning the hostages, ending Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, and preventing future threats from Gaza.[1][3] On October 11, a war cabinet was formed comprising Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and opposition leader Benny Gantz.[7] In its early response, Israel halted or restricted electricity, food, water, and fuel supplied from Israeli territory; on October 9, it announced a “complete siege.”[12][7]

Gallant outlined a prolonged campaign in three stages: an initial combination of firepower and maneuver against Hamas personnel and infrastructure, a second period of lower-intensity fighting to clear remaining resistance, and a third stage establishing a different security regime.[3] That final stage envisaged a new security regime and the removal of Israeli responsibility for life in Gaza, alongside a different security reality for Israel’s citizens and residents of the south.[3] These were announced plans rather than a statement of completed achievements.[3] On November 9, Netanyahu said, “We do not aspire to conquer Gaza, to hold Gaza, or to govern Gaza.”[3]

Before the ground offensive, Israel called on civilians in northern Gaza to move south, while Hamas called on them to remain.[12] By October 19, approximately one million people had been displaced, with many sheltering in overcrowded conditions as basic supplies and health services came under severe pressure.[12] Within about three weeks of October 7, internal displacement had exceeded 1.4 million.[7] The evacuation took place amid active bombardment and limited civilian infrastructure, raising concerns about the practical ability of civilians to relocate safely.[12]

Ground operations followed air strikes and localized raids, expanding into northern Gaza and subsequently encircling Gaza City.[13] The advance began gradually, and an initial communications blackout hindered terrorist-group coordination while also limiting the ability of paramedics and humanitarian organizations to respond to emergencies.[7] Gaza’s tunnel network complicated both hostage searches and operations against weapons and terrorist groups: entering tunnels endangered Israeli troops and potentially hostages, while destroying them posed risks to civilians above ground.[7] On October 30, Israeli soldier Ori Megidish was rescued in the war’s first successful hostage rescue.[1]

A negotiated pause began on November 24, 2023, following mediation involving the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.[13] The initial agreement envisaged approximately 50 hostages, mainly women and children, being exchanged for about 150 Palestinian security prisoners, mainly women and youths.[14] It provided for a four-day truce, extendable by one day for each additional ten hostages released, and increased entry of fuel, equipment, and humanitarian aid.[14] In implementation, the pause lasted seven days, through November 30, and secured the release of 105 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for approximately 240 Palestinian prisoners.[1][2]

Fighting resumed on December 1.[2] Rocket warnings had stopped during the pause; after its expiration, one contemporaneous tally recorded 214 rockets on the first day and 177 on the second, followed by declining alerts.[11] Israeli forces entered Khan Younis in December and also launched a ground offensive in central Gaza.[13] As the campaign moved south, many civilians fled toward Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population became concentrated within weeks.[7] By early January 2024, nearly 23,000 Palestinian deaths had been reported, including civilians and Hamas fighters.[7]

The military campaign increasingly included returns to areas where Hamas had re-established a presence.[15] Operations in Khan Younis during December and January followed the initial high-intensity northern campaign, while later raids revisited Shati, Zeitoun, and Shifa.[15] Israel announced a change in strategy in early January that reduced the average daily death toll, although that toll remained above the level of the 2014 conflict.[7]

Diplomacy continued alongside combat.[7] In late January, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States proposed a three-phase framework for staged releases of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, but it did not guarantee that the exchange would produce a permanent ceasefire.[7] Hamas continued to seek such a guarantee in later proposals.[7] In March, the United States refrained from vetoing a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.[7] Resolution 2735, adopted on June 10, called for an immediate ceasefire, hostage release, safe aid distribution, and a subsequent permanent end to hostilities.[16]

The Rafah operation began on May 6 after evacuation orders for eastern Rafah.[2] Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing on May 7 and established operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza–Egypt border later that month.[2] Israel stated that the operation sought to clear Hamas combatants and infrastructure.[7] More than 800,000 people fled Rafah within days of the evacuation order.[7]

Aid delivery faced severe operational difficulties.[7] An Israeli air strike on April 1 hit vehicles carrying World Central Kitchen aid workers, intensifying concern about dangers to humanitarian personnel and journalists.[7] A U.S.-built floating pier began delivering aid on May 17, but weather and safety problems disrupted distribution; it operated for only 20 days before being abandoned in mid-July.[7] By August, successive evacuation orders had displaced roughly 90 percent of Gaza’s population, while the designated humanitarian zone had contracted to about 42 square kilometers, or 11 percent of the territory.[17] The Israeli military estimated that approximately 1.9 million people were living in that zone.[17]

On June 8, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages from two buildings in the Nuseirat refugee camp.[7] More than 270 Palestinians in the vicinity were reported killed during the operation, in which air strikes shielded the rescuers.[7] The officer leading the mission, Arnon Zamora, died after being critically wounded, and the rescue was renamed Operation Arnon.[7] Public celebrations in Israel were accompanied by demonstrations demanding the return of the remaining hostages and Netanyahu’s replacement; Gantz resigned from the war cabinet the next day.[7]

Negotiations reached an impasse in mid-2024.[7] Hamas dropped its demand for an advance Israeli commitment to a permanent end to hostilities in July, while Netanyahu insisted that Israel retain the Philadelphi Corridor.[7] Israel killed Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in a July 13 strike, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31.[7] On August 31, Israeli forces recovered six hostage bodies from a tunnel beneath Rafah; autopsies indicated that the hostages had been executed one or two days earlier.[13][7] Their deaths prompted large protests demanding a hostage agreement.[7] On October 17, Israel announced that its forces had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Rafah the previous day.[7]

Israel and Hamas announced a three-phase ceasefire and hostage-exchange agreement on January 15, 2025, with the ceasefire taking effect on January 19 after approximately 15 months of war.[18][19] Its first, six-week phase provided for a halt in hostilities, the phased release of 33 Israeli hostages, the release of about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, and an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas to buffer zones.[18] It also allowed displaced Palestinians to begin returning north from the seventh day and envisaged aid entering at a rate of 600 trucks daily.[18] The hostages designated for the first phase were humanitarian cases, including women, children, older people, and the infirm.[20]

The proposed second phase would address the remaining living hostages, additional prisoner releases, a wider Israeli withdrawal, and a permanent end to the war.[18] A third phase would deal with remains, reconstruction, and border crossings.[18] The first exchange, on January 19, involved Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, with 90 Palestinian prisoners released.[21][18] By the end of the first phase, 33 Israeli hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners had been released, alongside five Thai hostages outside the formal agreement.[18]

Negotiations on the second phase were supposed to begin by February 3, but had not taken place when the first phase ended on March 2.[18] Israel stopped humanitarian aid entering Gaza in March, stating that this was intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages.[22] Electricity was also cut during the interval between the first phase’s expiration and the renewal of fighting.[18] The January 2025 ceasefire consequently remained a temporary interruption rather than the beginning of an implemented permanent settlement.[19][18]

Israel resumed major air strikes on March 18, followed the next day by a move to retake the Netzarim Corridor.[18] The initial bombardment reportedly killed more than 400 people.[18] A later Morag Corridor between Khan Younis and Rafah further divided the territory, and in April Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of nearly all of Rafah.[18] Israel said the renewed attacks followed Hamas’s refusal of further hostage-release proposals, while Hamas maintained that it had adhered to the agreement and was ready to proceed to its second phase.[23]

On May 5, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved an expanded battle plan that included capturing the whole Strip and moving civilians south.[13] Operation Gideon’s Chariots expanded ground operations in central and southern Gaza on May 18, including areas of Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat, and Rafah.[2] Its stated aims included seizing strategically important territory, destroying underground infrastructure, and dismantling remaining Hamas battalions in central Gaza.[2]

Aid entry resumed in late May, initially through international organizations and then through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which launched on May 27.[24] The new system envisaged distribution at a limited number of sites under U.S. and Israeli supervision.[18] At that time, humanitarian projections indicated that more than half the population faced emergency food insecurity and one-fifth faced catastrophe or famine.[18] Later in the summer, more than 1,000 Gazans were reported killed by gunfire while seeking food at foundation sites or other aid sources.[18] In August, Israel’s war cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, and the offensive began the following month amid evacuation orders and famine conditions.[18]

President Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan on September 29, 2025, proposing an immediate end to the war, release of all hostages within 72 hours, renewed aid access, and reconstruction without displacing Gaza’s residents.[18] It also proposed a Board of Peace and an international stabilization force for a transitional period.[18] Hamas announced approval on October 5, and Israel and Hamas signed a first-phase agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 9.[1][25] The ceasefire took effect on October 10 after an initial Israeli withdrawal.[25]

The United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey acted as mediators.[8] Within 24 hours of the ceasefire, Israel withdrew from approximately half of Gaza.[18] On October 13, Hamas released the remaining 20 living hostages.[1] Israel released approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 250 security prisoners and more than 1,700 Gazans detained during the war who had not been involved in the October 7 attack.[25] Only four of 28 deceased hostages had been returned at that stage.[1][25]

Implementation remained incomplete after the initial exchanges.[18] Hamas said it needed time to locate remains beneath rubble, and the deceased hostages were returned progressively rather than within the agreement’s initial timetable.[18] Aid remained below agreed levels, while Hamas fought rivals as it sought to reassert control.[18] After an Israeli soldier was killed in Rafah on October 28, Israel launched a day-long bombardment that reportedly killed 104 Palestinians.[18] Both parties continued to affirm their commitment to ending the conflict amid international pressure.[18]

On November 17, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2803 by 13 votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions, endorsing the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.[26] The framework authorized a transitional authority and international civil and security presences through the end of 2027.[8] Its intended arrangements included a technocratic Palestinian administration, disarmament, reconstruction, and staged Israeli withdrawal.[4]

On January 26, 2026, Israeli forces recovered the body of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, completing the return and accounting of the 251 people abducted on October 7.[2][1] Earlier that month, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the beginning of Phase Two of the 20-point plan, intended to establish a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration and begin demilitarization and reconstruction.[27][4] A mission statement for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was signed on January 17.[27]

The ceasefire reduced intensive warfare without resolving control of the territory.[4] A year after the agreement, Hamas remained armed and continued functioning as Gaza’s government, while the Board of Peace, technocratic administration, and proposed Palestinian police force had not assumed effective governance.[4] Implementation depended on linked steps involving verified disarmament, police deployment, reconstruction, and Israeli withdrawal.[4] Debate in July 2026 included a proposal to transfer authority first to a temporary Palestinian government of experts and introduce an international stabilization force, with Hamas disarmament to follow.[28]

The post-ceasefire “Yellow Line” functioned as an operational line of control rather than an international border.[5] One account placed approximately 60 percent of Gaza on its Israeli-controlled side, with most Palestinians concentrated on the other side.[5] Israel’s military posture shifted from continuous large-scale maneuver toward territorial control and follow-on operations against remaining terrorist-group capabilities.[5] Bouts of fighting continued after the ceasefire, and by October 2026 disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and reconstruction remained unresolved.[8][29]

Humanitarian hardship persisted on a large scale.[29] More than 1.2 million Palestinians had lost their homes, and approximately 1.37 million people were still living in tents or makeshift shelters a year after the ceasefire.[29] By July 2026, only 1 percent of rubble on roads and essential facilities had been cleared; as of August, 71 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure had been damaged.[29] More than two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings had been damaged or destroyed by November 2025.[7]

Employment and production remained structurally impaired, with recovery reliant on aid and small-scale commerce rather than large-scale reconstruction.[30] Limited activities included road repairs, waste removal, and rubble recycling.[30] A Gaza City bakery illustrated the infrastructure constraints: after shifting from gas ovens to manual baking with wood and furniture scraps, a process previously taking about half an hour required six hours.[30]

Reconstruction proposals were extensive but did not themselves establish that rebuilding had begun.[31][30] An October 2025 Palestinian Authority plan proposed $67 billion over five years, including $3.5 billion initially for humanitarian needs and critical infrastructure, followed by a three-year phase costing $30 billion.[31] The proposal drew on an earlier assessment estimating damage at approximately $70 billion.[31]

Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets from Lebanon on October 8, 2023, presenting its actions as support for Hamas’s attack, and Israel responded with strikes in Lebanon.[1][10] The northern front included rocket and anti-tank missile attacks against Israeli positions and communities.[2] Other threats from terrorist groups emerged from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — widening the conflict’s security context beyond Gaza.[12][22]

Houthi attacks on Israeli- and Western-linked shipping in the Red Sea and activity by Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq increased the risk of wider regional confrontation.[22] Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel in April and October 2024, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in September, and an Israel–Hezbollah ceasefire took effect on November 27.[27] Direct Israel–Iran hostilities in June 2025 included Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and infrastructure and Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel.[22] These were connected regional fronts rather than operations solely within Gaza.[22]

International responses combined condemnation of October 7, support for Israel, humanitarian pressure, and demands for a ceasefire.[16] U.S. President Joe Biden visited Israel on October 18, 2023.[16] Subsequent diplomacy focused repeatedly on hostage releases, civilian protection, aid access, and a durable cessation of hostilities.[16] Approximately ten countries recognized Palestinian statehood before the end of 2024, and the September 2025 New York Declaration received 142 votes in favor, ten against, and 12 abstentions in the General Assembly.[16][13]

Casualty reporting requires distinctions between dates, reported totals, and combatant classifications.[12][32] The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 74,200 war deaths by October 2026 without distinguishing civilians from combatants; the same reporting stated that Israel’s military considered the overall toll largely accurate while estimating two to three civilian deaths for every dead terror operative.[32] Earlier reported totals exceeded 67,000 in April 2026 and 73,000 in a June 24 humanitarian snapshot, reflecting different reporting dates rather than a single independently established count.[1][8] Estimates of indirect deaths, including a published calculation of 186,000 direct and indirect deaths, were estimates rather than confirmed fatality counts.[7]

Humanitarian assessments and aid figures also generated significant disputes.[24] Different data-collection methods produced substantial differences between Israeli coordination figures and international humanitarian counts.[24] An August 2025 food-security assessment reported famine in northern Gaza, while Israeli authorities disputed its methodology and findings.[1] Aid restrictions prompted accusations of collective punishment, which Israel rejected while arguing that Hamas diverted assistance.[22]

The legal proceedings had different institutions and procedural meanings.[33] In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered provisional measures concerning prevention of acts covered by the Genocide Convention, humanitarian conditions, and incitement; it neither ordered an immediate ceasefire nor decided the merits of South Africa’s genocide allegations.[33] A separate commission concluded in 2025 that there were reasonable grounds to find that Israel had committed genocidal acts, a conclusion Israel rejected as false; that commission’s findings were not a final judgment in the court case and carried no criminal enforcement power.[34] On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged deprivation of essentials to Gaza’s civilians, and for Deif; these were allegations supported by the court’s stated reasonable-grounds assessment, not findings of guilt after trial.[7]