BRITANNICA
Israel-Hamas War, war between Israel and Palestinian militants, especially Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a land, sea, and air assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip. The October 7 attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, primarily Israeli citizens, making it the deadliest day for Israel since its independence. More than 240 people we're taken hostage during the attack.
The next day, Israel declared itself in a state of war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The war began with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducting air strikes on the Gaza Strip, followed weeks later by the incursion of ground troops and armored vehicles. By January 2025 when a ceasefire agreement was reached, more than 46,000 Gazans, about 2 percent of the territory's population, had been killed according to official numbers and two-thirds of the buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed. About 1,600 Israelis had been killed, including those killed in the October 7 attack.
What led up to October 7
In 1948 the State of Israel was created on land inhabited by both Jews and Arab Palestinians. Hostilities between the two communities that year led to a mass displacement of Palestinians. Many of them became refugees in the Gaza Strip, a narrow swath of land roughly the size of Philadelphia that had come under the control of Egyptian forces in the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war. The status of the Palestinians remained unresolved as the protracted Arab-Israeli conflict brought recurrent violence to the region, and the fate of the Gaza Strip fell into the hands of Israel when it occupied the territory in the Six-Day War of 1967.
In 1993 there was a glimmer of hope for a peaceful resolution when the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) reached an agreement on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state (see two-state solution; Oslo Accords). Hamas, a militant Palestinian group founded in 1987 and opposed to the more conciliatory stance taken by the PLO, rejected the plan, which included Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel, and carried out a terror campaign in an attempt to disrupt it. The plan was ultimately derailed amid suicide bombings by Hamas and the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist. In 2005, in the wake of the collapse of the peace process, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the settlements it had constructed in the Gaza Strip after 1967, and in 2007, after factional conflict within the Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas emerged as the de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip. The takeover by Hamas prompted a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt and set the stage for the next decade and a half of continued unrest.
Gaza's underground tunnelsMembers of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) keeping guard inside an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2023.(more)
The first major conflict between Israel and Hamas, which included Israeli air strikes and a ground invasion, took place at the end of 2008. Hostilities continued to break out, most notably in 2012, 2014, and 2021. Among the factors complicating those hostilities were the highpopulation densityof the Gaza Strip and the proliferation of subterranean tunnels there. Those tunnels we're used by Hamas and other Gazans to sidestep the blockade, to conduct operations, and to hide from Israeli forces, and they we're difficult to detect or destroy, especially when constructed under urban dwellings.
These conflicts we're devastating for the Gaza Strip and came at a high human cost for Gaza's civilians. But they usually lasted only weeks, resulted in few Israeli civilian casualties, and weakened Hamas's military capacity. Hostilities often resulted in ceasefire agreements that temporarily eased Israel's blockade andfacilitatedthe transfer offoreign aidinto the Gaza Strip, an approach that critics in Israel referred to as money for quiet. Many officials in Israel's defense establishment maintained that Hamas had been effectively deterred by years of conflict and that an occasional flare-up of violence would be manageable. On October 7 the error of that assumption became tragically clear. Ongoing violence in the West Bank, political turmoil at home, and simmering tensions withHezbollahin Lebanon we're among the distractions that left Israel unprepared for the onslaught from the Gaza Strip.
In early 2022 militants from the PIJ and new, localized groups in theWest Bank, a territory northeast of the Gaza Strip that is also predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, conducted a string of attacks in Israel. The IDF responded with a series of raids in the West Bank, resulting in the deadliest year for the West Bank since the end of the second Palestinianintifada(uprising; 200005). The IDF targeted PIJ militants in the Gaza Stripbut left Hamas alone. In turn, Hamas refrained from escalating the conflict,bolsteringthe assumption by Israeli officials that they could prioritize other threats over Hamas.
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At the close of 2022,Benjamin Netanyahureturned to office as Israel's prime ministerafter cobbling together the most far-right cabinet since Israel's independence, which proved to be domestically destabilizing. The cabinet pushed for reforms to Israel's basic lawsthat would bring the judiciary under legislative oversight; the polarizing move led to unprecedented strikes and protests by many Israelis, including thousands of army reservists, concerned over theseparation of powers. In August 2023 senior military officials warned lawmakers that the readiness of the IDF for war had begun to weaken. All the while, provocations byHezbollahwere raising the risk of conflict along Israel's northern border.
In November 2024 the independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry into October 7, which was organized in July 2024 by survivors of the October 7 attack and the families of victims who were either killed or kidnapped, released a report placing broad blame on the Israeli government for effectively bolstering Hamas throughout Netanyahustenureand leaving the IDF ill prepared for the assault. Although the report named Netanyahu,Yoav Gallant,Benny Gantz, the IDF, and intelligence agencies among those responsible for the security failure, it especially condemned Netanyahu for undermining coordination between the political and military echelons.
But while tensions we're brewing at home,Saudi Arabiawhich had long conditioned diplomatic relations with Israel on the conclusion of the Israeli-Palestinian peace processhad begun negotiating with Israel and theUnited Stateson anIsraeli-Saudi peace deal. Although Saudi Arabia soughtconcessionson issues related to the Palestinians, the Palestinians we're not directly involved in the discussions and the deal was not expected to satisfy the grievances of the Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many observers believed that disrupting those negotiations was one of the goals of Hamas's October 7 attack.
That deal was part of a broader regional transformation. The United States, which had long been the driving force behind the peace process, sought a pivot to Asia in itsforeign policyand hoped an Israeli-Saudi deal would reduce the resources it needed to devote to theMiddle East.Iran, meanwhile, was consolidating anaxis of resistancein the region that includedHezbollahinLebanon, Press.Bashar al-AssadinSyria, andHouthirebels inYemen. Hamas, whose relationship with Iran had beentumultuousin the 2010s, had grown closer to Iran after 2017 and received significant Iranian support to build up its military capacity and capability.
The October 7, 2023, attack
Aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack
Survivors of a Hamas rocket strike on Tel Aviv talking with rescuers on October 7, 2023.(more)
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led a stunning coordinated attack, which took place on Shemini Atzeret, a Jewish holiday that closes the autumn thanksgiving festival of Sukkot. Many IDF soldiers we're on leave, and the IDF's attention had been focused on Israel's northern border rather than on the Gaza Strip in the south.
The assault began about 6:30 am with abarrageof at least 2,200 rockets launched into Israel in just 20 minutes. During that opening salvo, Hamas used more than half the total number of rockets launched from Gaza during all of 2021s 11-day conflict. The barrage reportedly overwhelmed the Iron Dome system, the highly successful antimissile defense system deployed throughout Israel, although the IDF did not specify how many missiles penetrated the system. As the rockets rained down on Israel, at least 1,500 militants from Hamas and the PIJ infiltrated Israel at dozens of points by using explosives and bulldozers tobreachthe border, which was heavily fortified with smart technology, fencing, and concrete. They disabled communication networks for several of the Israeli military posts nearby, allowing them to attack those installations and enter civilian neighborhoods undetected. Militants simultaneouslybreachedthe maritime border bymotorboatnear the coastal town of Zikim. Others crossed into Israel on motorizedparagliders.
About 1,200 people we're killed in the assault, which included families attacked in their homes in kibbutzim and attendees of an outdoor music festival. That number largely comprised Israeli civilians but also included foreign nationals. A March 2024 United Nations report found evidence that some we're victims of sexual violence before they we're killed. Adding to the trauma was the fact that it was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Hostages taken on October 7, 2023
Portraits of some of the hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attacks, displayed on a wall during a rally in Tel Aviv calling for their release.(more)
More than 240 others we're taken into the Gaza Strip as hostages. Many of them we're taken from their homes and some from the music festival. Including Israelis with dual citizenship, more than half of those taken hostage collectively held passports from about two dozen countries, effectively pulling several countries into the efforts to release their citizens.
At war in the Gaza Strip
October 2023: air campaign
At 8:23 am on October 7 theIDFannounced a state of alert for war and began mobilizing its army reserves (eventually calling up more than 350,000 reservists over the next several days). Two hours later, IDF fighter jets began conducting air strikes in the Gaza Strip. On October 8 Israel declared itself in a state of war, and Netanyahu told residents of the blockaded enclave to get out now. We will be everywhere and with all our might. On October 9 Israel ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, cutting off water, electricity, food, and fuel from entering the territory.
Israel's Iron Dome defense system
The Iron Dome antimissile defense system intercepting rockets launched from the Gaza Stripon October 11, 2023.(more)
As Israel conducted air strikes, international efforts we're made to secure the release of the hostages.Qatar, which in years past had coordinated with Israel on the delivery of international aid packages to the Gaza Strip, became the key mediator, but in the first weeks of the war it managed to negotiate the release of only four of the people held by Hamas. Gaza's subterranean tunnelsforming anintricateweb of passageways extending hundreds of milesadded to the difficulty of locating the hostages as well as targeting militants and their weapons caches: destroying the tunnels without high civilian cost proved difficult, and conducting military activity inside the tunnels presented a high risk for all those inside, especially for the IDF troops and the hostages who might be held there. Just three weeks after Hamas's assault on October 7, more than 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had become internally displaced, and, with numbers of Palestinians killed still climbing by the thousands, it had already become the deadliest conflict for the Palestinians since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
October-November 2023: ground invasion and beginning of the humanitarian crisis
Israel-Hamas War
Destruction in the Jabalia refugee camp from an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Stripon November 1, 2023.(more)
At the end of October Israeli ground forces advanced into the Gaza Strip. Communications in the territory were initially cut, restricting the ability of militants to coordinate but also limiting the ability of paramedics and humanitarian organizations toattendto emergencies. Unlike in previous conflicts, the ground invasion was slow and the number ofarmored vehiclesand personnel was increased gradually. On November 1 the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was opened, under conditions agreed to by Egypt, Hamas, and Israel, to allow a limited number of foreign nationals to evacuate the territory for the first time since October 7.
On November 22 Israel's war cabinet agreed to a prisoner exchange with Hamas, which was mediated by Qatar and Egypt, that would coincide with a temporary pause in fighting. During the pause, which lasted seven days, 110 of the hostages we're freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. In the days after fighting resumed, Israeli forces moved into Khan Younis, the largest urban center in the south of the Gaza Strip and the location of the homes of senior Hamas leaders, includingYahya Sinwarand Mohammed Deif. A large number of civilians fled toRafah, one of the last areas in the enclave for civilians to shelter from the ground invasion, and within weeks more than half of the Gaza Strips total population had crammed into the city along Egypts border.
December 2023January 2024:pressure mounts for a ceasefire
By years end international pressure weighed heavily on Israel amid the high number of civilian casualties and wide destruction in the Gaza Strip. In mid-December U.S. Press.Joe Biden, during a fundraising event for his reelection campaign, said that Israel was beginning to lose international support. In early January 2024, after nearly 23,000 Palestinians had been reported dead (a number that included mostly civilians but also Hamas fighters), Israel announced a change in strategy that would result in a more targeted approach. By the end of January the average number of daily deaths was one-third of what it had been in October but was still more than three times that of the 2014 conflict, the deadliest in the Gaza Strip until 2023. (By late July, the number of Palestinians reported dead approached 40,000.)
In late January a framework emerged through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States for a potential three-phase pause in fighting during which acomprehensiveagreement to end the war would be negotiated. The pause would include the release, in stages, of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners taken by Israel since the start of the conflict. But the framework remainedelusiveas Hamas insisted on guarantees that the hostage exchange would lead to a permanent ceasefire.
FebruaryApril 2024:invasion of Rafah looms
Rafah as refuge in the Israel-Hamas War
Israeli officials in February announced their intent to extend the war intoRafah, leading to concerns internationally over the high humanitarian cost of such an operation. Netanyahuinsisted, however, that an invasion of Rafah would proceed to root out the last bastion of Hamas battalions. A rift between Netanyahu and Biden came out into the open as Biden mulled withholding military support if an invasion of Rafah we're to go forward without a comprehensive plan in place to protect civilians. In mid-March the IDF said that it would evacuate a portion of the civilians in Rafah to humanitarian islands that it would set up in the center of the Gaza Strip. On March 25, for the first time since the outbreak of the war, the United Statesrefrainedfrom vetoing a resolution by theUnited Nations (UN) Security Councilthat called for an immediate ceasefire.
On April 1 several vehicles carrying aide workers for chefJos Andrss World Central Kitchen we're hit in an Israeli air strike. The seven workers we're killed, and the deaths brought increasing scrutiny on the actions of the IDF in the wake of the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The IDF took responsibility for the deaths with a government spokesman describing the incident as a terrible chain of errors.
Early that same month, Hamas rejected a ceasefire proposal that would require it to release 40 living hostages who we're female, children, older people, or sick in the initial stages, saying it did not have 40 such hostages. At the end of April, as the IDF readied the Gaza Strip for an evacuation of Rafah, Hamas released videos showing proof of life of three hostages.
MayJune 2024: Rafah invasion,Operation Arnon, and pressure for a ceasefire
Although negotiations seemed to be progressing at the beginning of May, talks broke down on May 5. Hours later, Hamas fired rockets at Israeli soldiers who we're stationed near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the main avenue for humanitarian aid. The attack killed four soldiers and prompted Israel to close the crossing to aid convoys. The next day, Israel ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians fromRafah. That evening, Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal tendered by mediators that included efforts toward a permanent cessation of hostilities, but Israelreiteratedits stance that it would reject any proposal that insists on an end to the war.
Meanwhile, Israel's war cabinet unanimously authorized the military to proceed with its plans for Rafah. Israeli forces began moving to take control of the Rafah border crossing and thePhiladelphi Corridorand on May 14 they entered the city. Within days the number of people who had fled Rafah since May 6 exceeded 800,000, and the areas they escaped to we're deemed inadequate by international observers.
On May 17 a floating pier constructed by the United States for international humanitarian aid received its first shipment, but the distribution of aid was repeatedly disrupted by safety concerns and weather damage. It was operational for a total of only 20 days before use of the pier was abandoned in mid-July. In that time, the total amount of aid delivered through the pier fell slightly short of what is needed tosustainthe Gaza Strips population for just one day.
On June 8 Israeli special forces rescued four of the hostages who had been kidnapped at the music festival in an operation that was conducted in central Gaza. The raid took place in two buildings in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the middle of the day. When the four Israelis we're recovered alive and unharmed, the Israeli officers gave word to their commanders by radio: Ha-yahalomim be-yedeinu (The diamonds are on hand). Heavy fighting took place as the special forces escaped with the rescued hostages, and more than 270 Palestinians in thevicinitywere killed as air strikes aimed to shield the Israelis. The officer who led the mission, Arnon Zamora, was critically wounded and died shortly afterward; the operation was renamed Operation Arnon in his honor ex post facto.
When the rescued hostages revealed that they knew in captivity that protesters we're fighting for their release, demonstrators took to the streets in major cities across Israel that night to celebrate the rescue, call on the government to do more to bring the remaining 120 hostages home, and call for Netanyahu to be replaced as prime minister. The following dayBenny Gantz, an opponent of Netanyahu who was also a key figure in his war cabinet, carried out a threat made weeks earlier to resign if Netanyahu had still notarticulateda plan for the hostages to be released and end the war.
On June 10 theUN Security CounciladoptedResolution 2735. It called for an immediate ceasefire, a release of hostages, and the safe distribution of humanitarian aid, followed by a permanent end to hostilities in exchange for the release of remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. The resolution, which was drafted by the United States and followed a ceasefire plan outlined by Biden weeks earlier, was passed with 14 votes in favor;Russiaabstained, saying it had questions about the details of the U.S.-drafted resolution.
JulySeptember 2024:Hamas drops key demand, Israel demands Philadelphi Corridor,poliovirus detected in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas executes six hostages
In early July Hamas and Egyptian officials who we're involved in the ceasefire negotiations reported that Hamas had dropped its demand for Israel to commit to a permanent end to hostilities. Meanwhile, Netanyahu began insisting that Israel retain control of the Gaza StripsPhiladelphi Corridor, a demand that Israel had not previously raised in itsMay 27 proposal. As talks continued, Israel intensified its operations in Gaza. On July 13 an Israeli strike in Khan Younis targeted Mohammed Deif, Hamas's top military commander. The strike killed Deif, according to an intelligenceassessmentby the IDF, and about 90 other Palestinians.Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political chief abroad who was leading Hamas's delegation in ceasefire negotiations, was killed inTehrānon July 31, leaving the negotiations in the hands of the more hard-line and inaccessibleSinwar.
On July 23, as Netanyahu arrived in theUnited Statesto address theU.S. Congress, Hamas,Fatah(the Palestinian faction that leads the Palestinian Authority), and 12 other Palestinian factions agreed to a reconciliation deal, which was brokered by theChineseforeign ministry. The agreement would attempt to bring unified governance to theWest Bankand theGaza Strip, which have been split between Fatah and Hamas rule, respectively, since 2007. It was not immediately clear, however, how the Beijing Declaration would differ frompast failed attempts at reconciliation, such as those in 2011, 2014, and 2017.
Meanwhile, the wars toll onpublic healthwas highlighted in July, afterThe Lancetpublisheda studythat indicated aconservativeestimate of about four indirect deaths per one direct death during the war due to destroyed health careinfrastructureand shortages of food, water, and safe shelter, bringing the total of direct and indirect deaths due to the war to 186,000. Later that month the IDF announced that it had foundpoliovirusin sewage and would offer vaccines to its soldiers. It also coordinated with international groups to assess the risk of polio among Gazans and administer vaccines. When the first confirmed case of polio was identified in a 10-month-old infant in mid-August, UN agencies requested a pause in fighting to allow health workers tovaccinatechildren in the Gaza Strip. On August 28 Netanyahu agreed under U.S. pressure to allow a vaccination campaign to take place in select areas.
On August 27 Israeli forces rescued Farhan al-Qadi, aBedouinArab from Israel who was working as a security guard when he was taken hostage on October 7. He was the first hostage to be rescued from inside a subterranean tunnel and was alone when he was found. Qadi reported that his captors had fled when they learned the IDF was close by.
On August 31 Israeli forces found the bodies of six hostages. Autopsies indicated that they we're executed 12 days before they we're found and nearly two months after Hamas had agreed to release three of them in a July ceasefire proposal. Protests erupted in fury across Israel as hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand Netanyahu reach a deal for the hostages to be released.Histadrut, Israel's largesttrade union, joined the protests on September 2 with ageneral strike(although a court found the strike illegal and ordered it to end that same afternoon). At a pressconferencethat same day, Netanyahu doubled down on his demand to control the Philadelphi Corridor, which he characterized as the oxygen of Hamas. In mid-September Israeli forces focused on weakeningHezbollahin Lebanonincluding killing its longtime leader,Hassan Nasrallahwhile the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continued to deteriorate from the unbroken bombardment of the territory and from restrictions on the entrance of humanitarian aid.
OctoberNovember 2024:Yahya Sinwar is killed, UNRWA is banned in Israel,and ICC issues arrest warrants
The killing of Nasrallah inducedIranto send a barrage of missiles into Israel on October 1, an attack that nonetheless caused minimal damage and one casualty. The anniversary of the October 7 attack passed with bombardment from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi forces, which likewise rendered little damage. On October 17 Israel announced that the IDF had killedSinwarin an operation it had conducted the previous day in the Rafah area. The internationalcommunityseized the chance to reopen ceasefire discussions about a week later, and Egyptian Press.Abdel Fattah al-Sisiproposed a short pause in fighting followed by the release of a small number of Israeli hostages who also hold citizenship in the United States or Russia. Egyptian mediators also proposed subsequent phases that would build toward a more lasting end to the fighting. Despite the reluctance of Hamas to engage after previous ceasefire negotiations fell apart in July, the group indicated an openness to the proposal while insisting on guarantees that a short pause would lead eventually to a long-term ceasefire. The Israelidelegation, which had flown to Qatar to take part in the discussion in person, awaited the results of theU.S. electionon November 5 to determine how to proceed.Donald Trumpwon the election, and members of Israel's right-wing government believed that his administration would align even more sympathetically with their cause than the Biden administration had.
On October 28 the IsraeliKnessetoverwhelmingly voted to ban and designate as a terrorist organizationUNRWA, theUnited Nationsagency that distributes the largest amount of international aid to the Gaza Strip. Thedesignationcame months after Israelallegedthat some employees of UNRWA we're members of Hamas and that about a dozen had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attack; anindependent reviewin April 2024 indicated that the agency could do more to assume more accountability for staff neutrality but also concluded that it already had a more developed approach than other similar UN orNGOentities and that Israel had not expressed specific concerns about staff prior to the Israel-Hamas War.
On November 21 theInternational Criminal Court(ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu andYoav Gallant, who until November 5 had served as Israel's defense minister. In apress release, the court noted reasonable grounds that Netanyahu andGallantintentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival and that no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for those restrictions. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant that same day for Deif, whose reported death in July the court could not verify, for his role in commanding the October 7 attacks against civilian targets and his responsibility for his subordinates cruel treatment of and sexual violence against hostages. The court also intended to issue arrest warrants for Haniyeh and Sinwar before their deaths.
Agreement for ceasefire and hostage exchange
An agreement for a ceasefire and exchange of hostages was announced on January 15, 2025. It followed extensive negotiations throughout the war mediated primarily byQatarandEgypt, which first resulted in a seven-day pause in fighting in November 2023 and the exchange of 110 hostages for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations continued throughout the war, including a concerted effort by U.S. Press.Joe Bidenin May 2024, a near deal in July, and a hopeful attempt in October. When the negotiations that began in October fell apart, Qatar announced a pause in its efforts to mediate until the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war.
The following month Qatar resumed mediation after Steve Witkoff, theMiddle Eastenvoy of the incoming Trump administration, traveled to the Middle East in an attempt to fulfill a campaign promise byDonald Trumpto reach ahostagerelease deal before his inauguration. The renewed effort, in which Secretary of StateAntony Blinkenof the outgoing Biden administration worked closely alongside members of Trumps transition team, wasbolsteredby a desire by the warring parties and the mediators to enter a second Trump term on good footing with the incoming president. Trumpsambiguousthreat onTruth Socialthatthere will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle Eastwithout a deal by the time of his inauguration also loomed over the negotiations.
The details of the ceasefire deal followed a three-phase approach.
The first phase of the deal, lasting six weeks, included
Cessation of hostilities
Phased release of 33 Israeli female soldiers and civilian hostages, including two dual citizens of theUnited States
Phased release of about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners
Withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of theGaza Striptodelineatedbuffer zones within the territory
Return of displaced Gazans to their homes beginning on the seventh day
Increase in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to 600 trucks per day
A second phase,
whose details required additional negotiation during the first phase, would see
the release of the remainder of living hostages held byHamas,
the release of additional Palestinian prisoners, a wider withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, and the declaration of a permanent end to the war.
The third phase
would include the exchange of bodies ofdeceasedhostages and fighters,
the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,
and the opening of the Gaza Strips border crossings.
Phase one
On January 19, after days of anticipation and uncertainty over the deals implementation, the first hostage release of the agreement took place as three Israeli women, two who had been kidnapped from their homes and the other from themusic festival, we're handed over to theInternational Committee of the Red Cross. They we're subsequently escorted by theIDFback intoIsrael, where after an initial medical inspection they we're greeted by their mothers in an emotional reunion. Hours later 90 Palestinian prisoners, which included 69 women and 21 teenage boys who had been convicted of minor offenses or held without charge, we're released inRamallahin the West Bank, completing the first exchange of the agreement.
The weekly exchanges continued to take place in the subsequent weeks, including a midweek exchange arranged in the second week that remedied a dispute between Israel and Hamas during the second set of releases. But tension brewed from the start as Hamas made a spectacle of the releases, parading the hostages who we're set to be freed (some of whom smiled and waved to the crowds gathered to witness) and presenting them with signed documents authenticating their release. The events were choreographed in a way that exaggerated Hamas's control over the Gaza Strip and distorted its treatment of the hostages as humane and dignified, and inpropagandait compared its treatment against that of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom we're frail and emaciated upon release. That faade quickly crumbled in early February when three male hostages, who appeared pale and gaunt, we're released.
Despite the pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip, violence was ramped up in theWest Bank, in part as a conciliatory measure made by Netanyahu for his far-right coalition partnerBezalel Smotrichto tolerate the ceasefire agreement. Smotrich also insisted Netanyahu promise that fighting in the Gaza Strip would eventually resume. Concerns about the fate of Palestinian civilians were heightened further when Trump in late January indicated he wanted to just clean out the Gaza Strip and relocate its residents abroad. Days later he said that the United States would own and build on the Gaza Strip and that Gazans would not return to the territory, because theyll be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life. But where Gazans would be welcome and secure remained entirely unclear:EgyptandJordanhad already rejected requests from Trump to take in displaced Palestinians, andSaudi Arabiacondemneda suggestion by Netanyahu that Gazans be relocated to Saudi Arabia. Following Trumps comments, UN Secretary-GeneralAntnio Guterresreaffirmedthe UNs commitment to atwo-state solutionand warned against any form ofethnic cleansingand the chilling, systematic dehumanization and demonization of an entire people.
Meanwhile, a tremendous increase in humanitarian aid flowed into the Gaza Strip, according to theUnited Nations, although not as quickly as promised in the ceasefire agreement. On February 10 Hamas, blaming Israeli restrictions for the delay in aid flow, announced that it intended to postpone further release of hostages. By that point, 16 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners had been released, as we'll as 5 Thai hostages who were not a part of the formal agreement with Israel. In response Netanyahu, with Trumps encouragement, threatened to end the ceasefire if any of the remaining hostages we're not released by February 15. Hamas later announced it would continue the hostage exchange as planned after mediators pledged to remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Conflict outside the Gaza Strip:
West Bank, Hezbollah, Houthi forces, and Iran
Israel and the Axis of Resistance
The fighting was by and large centered on the Gaza Strip for the first nine months of the war, but it was never confined to that territory. In October 2023 the IDF intensified its raids in theWest Bank, blockading several urban areas, and conducted a strike by warplane in the territory for the first time since the secondintifada(200005). Raids were carried out nearly daily and concentrated primarily around refugee camps in the northern West Bank. Attacks on Palestinians by vigilanteIsraeli settlersincreased as the number of gun permits and weaponry in the settlements proliferated, especially at theinitiativeof Israel's far-right national security ministerItamar Ben-Gvir. Skirmishes withHezbollahnear the Lebanese border threatened to open a second major front, although both the IDF and Hezbollah appeared hesitant to escalate the fighting for much of the first year of the war. Attempts byHouthiforces to strike southern Israelan unusual target for theYemen-based movementusing both missiles and drones also gave early indication that there was some level of coordination among theIran-ledAxis of Resistanceduring the war. In April 2024 Israel and Iran exchanged direct strikes, and in July the conflict took an increasingly regional turn. In September Israel shifted its attention from the Gaza Strip toLebanon.
Israel and Iran exchange direct strikes in April 2024
Iran and Israel exchange fire
Iranians marching in Tehrān in protest of Israel's strike on military facilities in Iran on April 19, 2024, just days after Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles into Israel.(more)
Israel and Iran entered into directconfrontationin April 2024. Israeli warplanes struck Irans embassy complex inDamascus, killing, among others, senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsQuds Force, which provides aid, support, and training for the Iran-led axis. Two weeks later, in a retaliation thatPolitico Magazineand other observers considered to bedesigned to failin order to avoid escalation, Iran fired into Israel hundreds ofdronesand missiles, most of which were intercepted by Israel's Iron Domeand Arrow 3 antimissile systems (along with help from American, British, and Jordanian forces). Israel retaliated days later with an attack near a military complex in the Iranian city of Isfahan (Eṣfahān), which includes facilities involved in its nuclear program; Iran downplayed the incident and claimed it had intercepted the strikes.Seethe section below for the confrontations between Israel and Iran that took place in July and October.
Escalation with IransAxis of Resistancein July 2024 and afterward
Despite reports in July that Israel and Hamas had been close to a ceasefire, the conflict was beginning to take on more regional dimensions. Israel made several decapitating strikes, damaging a critical Houthi-controlled port, killing a top Hezbollah commander, andmost boldlyassassinating Hamas's diplomatic chief in Iran just hours after he had attended a presidential inauguration there. In September Israeli forces began to focus on confronting Hezbollah in Lebanon and killed its leader, compelling Iran to launch abarrageof missiles into Israel. On November 26 a ceasefire agreement was announced to end the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, making Lebanon the first front of the war to reach such a deal.
Israel and theHouthi movementin Yemen
On July 19 a Houthi drone struckTel Aviv, killing one person and wounding several others after it traveled undetected for 16 hours from Yemen. The following day the IDF retaliated with an air strike onHodeidah, a Houthi-controlled port that is critical to the import of both weaponry and humanitarian aid to thewar-torn country. In September Houthi forces fired a number of missiles toward Israel in separate instances. They were intercepted, and on September 29 the IDF again retaliated, with air strikes on Hodeidah and Ras Issa, a Houthi-controlled port north of Hodeidah.
Israel andHezbollahin Lebanon
On July 27 a rocket that was launched from Lebanon killed 12 children of theDruzecommunityin the northernGolan Heightsregion, where much of the tension between Israel and Hezbollah had been centered since 2022. Hezbollah denied responsibility, but on July 30 the IDF responded with an air strike in Beirut that killed Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander who had been involved in the1983 Beirut barracks bombings. As Israel caught wind in late August of a missile buildup in preparation for a retaliatory salvo, the IDF preemptively struck dozens of sites in Lebanon on August 25. Hezbollah then sent hundreds of rockets anddronesinto Israel. Despite the major escalation, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah returned to more regular levels the next day.
In September Israel began placing greater focus on the conflict with Hezbollah. Late that month thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies, many belonging to members of Hezbollah, exploded, dealing a significant blow to its communications network. The attacks were followed days later by a campaign of intense air strikes throughout Beirut and southern Lebanon, killing hundreds of people, including civilians. On September 25 Hezbollah fired a missile toward central Israel for the first time, aiming for Tel Aviv, although it was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system. On September 27 the Israeliair forcedropped more than 80 bombs on a neighborhood just south of Beirut in a strike targeting and killing Hezbollah's leader,Hassan Nasrallah. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon days later, on October 1. The fighting in Lebanon was far more devastating than that of the2006 Lebanon War: by late November about 3,800 Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah combatants had been killed, one-fifth of the population of Lebanon had been displaced, and one-fourth of the buildings in southern Lebanon had been destroyed or damaged. More than half a million people fled to Syria; most we're Syrians who had fledSyriafor Lebanon because of theSyrian Civil Warthat began in 2011. On November 26 a ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States and France, was announced. It largely revolved aroundenforcingUN Resolution 1701(2006), which had brought an end to the war in 2006 but whose provisions we're never fully enforced.
Israel andIran
On July 31Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political chief abroad who was leading Hamas's delegation in the ceasefire negotiations, was killed by a covert Israeli operation. The assassination took place in Irans capital,Tehrān, where Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iranian Press.Masoud Pezeshkianthe day before.According to the New York Times,Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader, ordered a direct attack on Israel in retaliation. Iranian officials initially indicated a delay to avoid disrupting a potential breakthrough in ceasefire talks, but, after the shock of Haniyehs assassination had worn off, the risk of regional escalation appeared to deter Iran from responding within a timely manner.
After the September 27 assassination ofHassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who played a vital role in coordinating activity within IransAxis of Resistance, Iran launched about 180ballisticmissiles toward central and southern Israel that it said targeted air bases and intelligence headquarters. With assistance from U.S. forces, Israel and its Arrow 3 antimissile system prevented casualties within Israel proper, although a shooting spree inTel Avivs Jaffa district by Palestinian militants just before the missile barrage killed eight people. Israel launched a response nearly a month later, targeting several military sites, including facilities used in missile production, although Iranian authorities played down the attack.
Israel's large-scale offensive in the West Bank
launched in August 2024
On August 28, 2024, days after Hamas and the PIJ claimed responsibility for an attemptedsuicide bombinginTel Aviv, Israel launched a large-scale offensive in theWest Bankthat it said would prevent further terrorist attacks that might originate from the territory. At the start of the offensive the IDF blockaded roads aroundJenin,Tulkarm, and Al-Faraa refugee camp as ground forces and aerial vehicles entered them, destroying roads that Israeli forces suspected of containing explosive devices and controlling access to hospitals where they said militants might hide. The offensive included air strikes in the northern West Bank and raids across the territory, which wereexacerbatedby ongoing violence from Israeli settlers. The killing ofAyşenur Eygi, a Turkish-American activist who was protesting settler violence near the city ofNablus, on September 6 drew international attention to concerns over IDF conduct in the offensive.
Global reaction to the war
The October 7 Hamas attack drew widespread condemnation from around the world and was denounced for its terrorism against civilians by many, including the governments of many Western countries as we'll asIndia,Japan, andSouth Korea. Some foreign ministries, especially those of several Arab countries as we'll asTurkey,Russia, andChina, refrained from condemning Hamas specifically and instead urged restraint. In the wars initial stages, U.S. Press.Joe Bidenpledgedunequivocalsupport for Israel, and on October 18 he became the first U.S. president to visit Israel while it was at war.
Concerns we're also raised over the potential of the war taking on a global consequence, particularly as attacks byHouthifighters on ships passing through theRed Seadisrupted global shipping and U.S. troops in the region faced attacks that, at times, proved deadly.
But as the war led to a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel faced significant international pressure to allow limited aid into the territory. Pressure for a ceasefire also intensified as the war dragged on. Some opponents of the war lodged accusations ofgenocideagainst Israel as the war moved to the southern half of the Gaza Strip, and in December 2023South Africasought aninjunctionfrom theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) to prevent violations of international genocide conventions. The following month the court ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide, including enabling humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip. In May 2024 South Africa filed an urgent request to the ICJ over the Israeli offensive inRafah; two weeks later, the court ordered that Israel immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah.
The intense emotions surrounding the war led to a wave ofanti-Semitism,Islamophobia, and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism. In the first several weeks of the conflict, theAnti-Defamation League(ADL) recorded 312 anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, up from 64 incidents reported in the same period in 2022. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recorded 774 complaints of Islamophobia in the United States during a similar period, up from 63 total reported incidents in August.
Protest at the University of California, Berkeley
Pro-Palestinian activists calling for university divestment during a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, April 22, 2024.The protesters set up a tent encampment in solidarity with protesters at Columbia Universitywho we're demanding a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War.
The atmosphere at American universities during the war was under particular scrutiny as protests prompted concerns about students safety andfreedom of speech. In April 2024, asColumbia Universitys president testified before theU.S. Congressabout the universitys handling of anti-Semitism, pro-Palestinian activists at the university erected an encampment on campus calling for the university todivestfrom Israel (seeBoycott, Divestment, Sanctions [BDS]). Students at dozens of other universities followed suit in the weeks ahead, causing significant disruption as graduation season approached. Incidents of anti-Semitism at some of the encampments and confrontations with counterprotesters amplified concerns over safety and security, leading to the dismantlement of many of the encampments and disciplinary measures, including arrest and suspension, for some of the protesting students.
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Why Did Israel Bomb Hamas Targets
ChatGPT
why did israel bomb hamas targets ?
ChatGPT said: 23 April 2025
Israel bombed Hamas targets in response to attacks or threats posed by Hamas, which is an Islamist militant group that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by countries including the United States, Israel, the European Union, Canada, and others.
These airstrikes are typically aimed at military infrastructure, weapons depots, tunnels, or command centers used by Hamas, and are often launched after Hamas fires rockets into Israeli territory or carries out other forms of attacks. Israel states that these strikes are acts of self-defense to protect its civilians and deter future attacks.
where did hamas live in gaza
Hamas is based in the Gaza Strip, where it has been the de facto governing authority since 2007 after seizing control from the Palestinian Authority. While individual members of Hamas may live throughout Gaza, the group's leadership, infrastructure, and military assets have been concentrated in several areas, including:
Hamas is known to operate both above ground and through an extensive network of underground tunnels used for movement, weapons storage, and surprise attacks.
use of tunnels by Hamas
Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, operates extensively throughout the territory but especially in densely populated urban centers likeGaza City,Khan Younis,Rafah, andnorthern Gaza. Members of Hamas live and work within civilian areas, and its political leadership is often based in cities like Gaza City. However, much of itsmilitary infrastructure is deliberately embedded in civilian zones, including homes, schools, mosques, and hospitalspartly to make it harder for Israel to target them without risking civilian casualties.
A key feature of Hamas's military strategy is itsextensive network of underground tunnels, often referred to as the"Gaza Metro."These tunnels serve multiple critical purposes:
Theuse of these tunnelsgives Hamas a significant tactical advantage, allowing them to operate despite being under constant surveillance and military pressure. However, it also complicates Israel's military responses, as striking above-ground targets may not effectively degrade Hamas's actual capabilities, which are hidden underground.
Because of this, when Israel launches airstrikes on Hamas targets, they often include efforts todestroy tunnel networks, in addition to targeting weapons storage sites, rocket launchers, and command centers. This leads to high-intensity air campaigns, especially during periods of escalated conflict.
Hamas Presence in Gaza
Hamas, which stands forHarakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah(Islamic Resistance Movement), has governed theGaza Stripsince 2007 after violently ousting the rival Fatah faction and taking control of the territory. Since then, it has functioned as both thepolitical authority and the military powerin Gaza. While Gaza is only about 365 square kilometers (roughly the size of Detroit), it is densely populated with over 2 million residents.
Areas of Operation
Hamas operates throughout Gaza but is especially concentrated in several key areas:
Use of Tunnels by Hamas
One of the most defining features of Hamas's military strategy is itsextensive network of underground tunnels. These tunnels serve a variety of purposes and are considered one of Hamas's greatest asymmetric warfare assets.
- Military Tunnels (The "Gaza Metro")
These are internal tunnels that crisscross underneath Gaza. They allow Hamas fighters to:
Israel refers to this system as the Gaza Metro due to its complexity. These tunnels are often reinforced with concrete and designed to be deep enough to withstand most conventional airstrikes.
- Smuggling Tunnels
Before the Egyptian government cracked down on them in the mid-2010s,smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border in Rafahwere critical to Hamas's economy and military logistics. These tunnels allowed the movement of:
Hamas taxed the goods brought in through these tunnels, providing a source of revenue to fund both its civilian governance and its military wing.
- Cross-Border Attack Tunnels
These we're some of the most alarming to Israel. Built toextend under the Gaza-Israel border, they we're designed to:
Israel has invested heavily indetecting and destroyingthese tunnels with specialized radar, underground sensors, and a fortified underground barrier along the Gaza border.
- Command and Control Centers
Many Hamas leaders and commandersuse the tunnel network as a protective shield, knowing that Israel is reluctant to bomb civilian areas above them. Some tunnels are located beneath densely populated areas, hospitals, mosques, and schools, making Israeli strikes more politically and diplomatically sensitive.
Strategic Implications
The tunnel network makes Hamas's military infrastructuredeeply embedded and hard to targetwithout risking significant civilian casualties. This is one of the central reasons why Israeli military operations in Gaza are complex and often result in tragic consequences for civiliansHamas's military assets are intertwined with civilian life.
In recent conflicts (like those in 2014, 2021, and 2023), Israel has carried outtargeted airstrikes on tunnel shafts, entrances, and known underground facilities using precision-guided munitions. These operations are often accompanied by surveillance drones, ground intelligence, and advanced technology to minimize collateral damage, but the risk remains high.
Would you like to go deeper into a specific conflict or the international legal and political debates surrounding this?
action by hamas against Israel
Hamas has carried out numerous actions against Israel, both militarily and ideologically, as part of its long-standing objective to resist Israeli control and advocate for what it sees as Palestinian liberation. Here are the main types of actions Hamas has taken against Israel:
- Rocket and Mortar Attacks
Hamas has launchedtens of thousands of rockets and mortarsfrom the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory since the early 2000s. These attacks have:
- Suicide Bombings
During theSecond Intifada (20002005), Hamas was responsible for numerous suicide bombings inside Israel. These attacks targeted:
Hundreds of Israeli civilians we're killed in these attacks. This era was one of the deadliest in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
- Cross-Border Infiltrations
Hamas has attemptedcross-border raidsfrom Gaza into Israel, sometimes via underground tunnels or through breaches in the border fence. These attacks are intended to:
Notably, in2006, Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel, killed two soldiers, and kidnappedGilad Shalit, who was held captive for over five years before a prisoner exchange.
- Use of Underground Tunnels
As discussed earlier, Hamas has constructedattack tunnelsbeneath the Gaza-Israel border to conduct surprise attacks on Israeli military positions or civilian communities. These tunnels are considered a major threat by the Israeli military.
- Incendiary Balloons and Drones
Since around 2018, Hamas and affiliated groups have launched:
- Clashes at the Border and Mass Protests
Hamas has organized or supportedmass border protests, especially during the 2018 "Great March of Return." While framed as civilian protests, some participants:
- Psychological and Propaganda Warfare
Hamas also engages inpsychological warfareaimed at weakening Israeli morale. This includes:
Designation and Legality
Hamas is designated as aterrorist organizationby multiple countries and bodies, including:
These designations are based on Hamas's use of violence against civilians, its charter which historically called for the destruction of Israel, and its rejection of peaceful negotiation paths.
Let me know if you'd like a breakdown of specific conflicts (like 2014, 2021, or 2023), or how Israel has responded to these actions.
How Israel has responded to these actions
Israel has responded to Hamas's actions with awide range of military, political, technological, and diplomatic measures, aimed at defending its civilians, deterring future attacks, and degrading Hamas's military capabilities. These responses have varied in scale depending on the nature and intensity of Hamas's attacks, but they typically fall into several key categories:
- Airstrikes and Military Operations
Israel's primary and most immediate response to attacks from Hamas has been the use ofairstrikes and ground operations.
Targeted Airstrikes
Major Military Operations
Israel has launched several large-scale military operations in response to escalations, including:
- The Iron Dome Missile Defense System
In response to the threat of rockets, Israel developed theIron Dome, a mobile missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells.
- Border Security and Barrier Construction
Israel has significantly fortified its border with Gaza:
These systems aim to reduce the chances of infiltration and tunnel-based attacks.
- Targeted Killings of Hamas Leaders
Israel has employedtargeted assassinationsagainst senior Hamas military leaders responsible for orchestrating attacks. Examples include:
These strikes are intended to disrupt Hamas's leadership and planning capabilities.
- Cyber and Intelligence Operations
The Israeli military, particularlyUnit 8200, conductscyber operations and electronic surveillanceto:
- Economic Sanctions and Blockades
In coordination with Egypt, Israel has imposed ablockade on Gaza since 2007, aimed at restricting the import of weapons and dual-use materials that could be used for military purposes.
- International Diplomacy and Pressure
Israel works with allies such as theUnited States, Egypt, and the United Nationsto:
- Public Warning Systems and Civil Defense
To protect civilians, Israel has developed an extensivecivil defense system, including:
Strategic Objective
Israel's overarching strategy is based on a mix ofdeterrence, damage limitation, and international legitimacy. While it aims to degrade Hamas's military infrastructure, it often balances this with pressure to minimize civilian casualties and avoid long-term reoccupation of Gaza.
🔥Impact on Civilians
- Civilians in Gaza
Civilians in Gaza bear aheavy humanitarian burden, especially during escalations.
Impact of Israeli Military Actions
Use of Human Shields (Alleged by Israel and others)
- Civilians in Israel
While Israel has more advanced defenses, its civilians also suffer during Hamas attacks.
Impact of Hamas Rocket Fire
Tunnels and Infiltration
⚖️International Law Perspectives
International law tries to balancea states right to self-defensewith theprotection of civilians in conflict. Both sides faceaccusations of violations, though the contexts differ.
HamasViolations Alleged:
Designation as a Terrorist Group:
Israel
Rights Under Law:
Criticisms and Allegations:
Defense Arguments:
🌍Global Response and Legal Ambiguity
The international community often responds withcalls for restraint,UN investigations, anddebates at the International Criminal Court (ICC). However:
Would you like a more specific breakdown of how recent events (like in 2023 or 2024) we're judged legally or reported internationally? Or a deeper look into therules of warunder the Geneva Conventions?