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Israel–Hamas war

An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups[s] has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. It began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. After clearing the militants from its territory, the Israeli military embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion beginning on 27 October. Clashes have also occurred in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and with Hezbollah along the Israel–Lebanon border. The fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it is part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier.[141]

This article is about the ongoing war in and around the Gaza Strip. For the broader conflict, see Gaza–Israel conflict. For the 7 October Hamas-led attack, see 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. For the 27 October Israeli invasion, see Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present). For other uses, see Gaza War.

The Hamas-led attack on 7 October involved a barrage of several thousand rockets directed at Israel concurrent to an estimated 3,000 militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacking Israeli military bases and civilian communities. During this attack, 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals including 766 civilians and 373 security personnel were killed,[t] while 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive to the Gaza Strip. The attack has been described as a major Israeli intelligence failure.[142] Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, threats to the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners.[143][144][145][146][147] In response, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its blockade and launched one of the most severe bombing campaigns in modern history, before commencing the ground invasion on 27 October with the stated objective of destroying Hamas and controlling the Gaza Strip.[148]


Since the start of the Israeli operation, more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed,[83] including over 14,000 children and 9,000 women.[84][85] Several thousand more are missing and presumed trapped under rubble.[149][150] Nearly all of the strip's 2.3 million population has been internally displaced.[151] Israel's tightened blockade cut off food, water and medicine, and its attacks on infrastructure have led to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, including a collapse of the healthcare system and an ongoing famine, leading to accusations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.[152][153][154] By early 2024, Israeli forces had destroyed more than half of Gaza's houses,[155] at least a third of its tree cover and farmland,[156][157] hundreds of cultural landmarks,[158] and dozens of cemeteries.[159] Israel's ground invasion started on 27 October, focusing initially on northern Gaza, including Gaza City. After the expiration of a seven-day truce which involved the release of dozens of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Israel moved south to attack Khan Yunis on 3 December. By January 2024, Israel reoccupied most of northern Gaza.[160][161][162] Israel's next stated objective is a major offensive in Rafah, despite objections from the international community. Israeli forces claim to have killed an estimated 9,000 Palestinian militants during the conflict[163] while the latter killed over 250 Israeli soldiers.[164]


The war has had significant international repercussions. Large protests have occurred across the world, primarily pro-Palestinian ones calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation. Israel's actions have been denounced in the Islamic world and much of the Global South. In December 2023, South Africa launched proceedings at the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has received significant support from its traditional Western allies, most notably the United States, which has provided Israel extensive military aid throughout the war and has vetoed multiple UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire.[165] In response, Iran-backed militias have attacked American military bases in the Middle East, while the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked commercial ships they alleged were linked to Israel in a stated effort to end the war, incurring a military response from a number of countries led by the United States.[166][167]

A/HRC/55/L.13 – On the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the Council adopted by a vote of 42 in favour, 2 against and 3 abstentions, a resolution in which it called upon Israel, the occupying power, to immediately end its occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and to reverse and redress any impediments to the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Palestine, and reaffirmed its support for the , Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security. The Council urged all States to adopt measures as required to promote the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.[855][856]

two-state solution

A/HRC/55/L.14 – Regarding human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by a vote of 29 in favour, 14 against and 4 abstentions, the Council demanded that Israel immediately cease all settlement-related plans and activities in the occupied Syrian Golan and determined that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken or to be taken by Israel that seek to alter the character and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan are null and void.[858]

[857]

A/HRC/55/L.28 – As for Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, the Council adopted by a vote of 36 in favour, 3 against and 8 abstentions a resolution in which it called upon Israel to comply with all its obligations under international law and to cease immediately all actions causing the alteration of the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, and to end without delay its occupation of the territories occupied since 1967. The Council requested the , including East Jerusalem, and Israel to prepare a report on the identities of settlers, as well as settler groups and their members, that have engaged in or continue to engage in acts of terror, violence or intimidation against Palestinian civilians and the actions taken by Israel and by third states, and to present the report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session.[859][860]

Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory

A/HRC/55/L.30 – In the resolution on the Human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, 6 against and 13 abstentions, the Council demanded that Israel, the occupying power, end its occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; also demanded that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment; called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for immediate emergency humanitarian access and assistance, and for the urgent restoration of basic necessities to the Palestinian population in Gaza; called upon all states to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza; called upon all states to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel; urged all states to continue to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinian people and calls upon all States to ensure that the receives predictable sustained and sufficient funding to fulfill its mandate; invited the General Assembly to recommend that the government of Switzerland promptly convene the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Convention on measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; requested the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual use items to Israel, the occupying power, and to analyse the legal consequences of these transfers, and to present its report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session; requested the Office of the High Commissioner to deploy the additional necessary personnel, expertise and logistics to the occupied Palestinian territory country office to document and pursue accountability for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council at its fifty-eighth session.[861][862][863]

UNRWA

2020s in military history

Iron Sword War Memorial Day

List of military engagements during the Israel–Hamas war

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

List of wars by death toll

List of wars involving Israel

List of wars involving the State of Palestine

List of wars: 2003–present

Outline of the Israel–Hamas war

Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023

Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024

, OCHA.

Hostilities in Gaza and Israel, Flash Updates

, UNRWA

Monthly Bulletin (Action by UN System and IGOs Relevant to Question of Palestine)