Israel-Hamas War

Introduction & Top Questions
The October 7, 2023, attack
The first year of war in the Gaza Strip (2023–24)
- October 2023: Air campaign
- October 2023–January 2024: Ground invasion and initial ceasefire efforts
- February–June 2024: Invasion of Rafah looms
- May–June 2024: Rafah invasion, Operation Arnon, and pressure for a ceasefire
- July–September 2024: Ceasefire negotiations reach impasse
- Mid-September–mid-October 2024: The decapitation of Hezbollah and the killing of Yahya Sinwar
- Mid-October–December 2024: Reopening dialogue and ICC issues warrant for Netanyahu
Ceasefire and hostage exchange (January–March 2025)
- Implementation of the first phase
- Breaking of the ceasefire
Return to hostilities (March–October 2025)
Trump peace plan and second ceasefire in October 2025
Conflict outside the Gaza Strip: West Bank, Hezbollah, Houthi forces, and Iran
- Israel and Iran exchange direct strikes in April 2024
- Escalation with Iran’s Axis of Resistance in July 2024 and afterward
  - Israel and the Houthi movement in Yemen
  - Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon
  - Israel and Iran
- Israel’s large-scale offensive in the West Bank launched in August 2024
Global reaction to the war
Background to October 7, 2023

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Map of the Gaza Strip showing its boundaries with Egypt and Israel, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and major cities including Gaza, Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah. An inset locator map highlights Gaza Strip's position on the eastern Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel.

A distressed young woman sits at a picnic table with her head in her hand as Israeli rescue workers attend to her and others after a rocket attack in Tel Aviv at night.

Two people look at a wall covered with portraits of Israeli hostages and handwritten messages, during a rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv.

Nighttime view of Israel's Iron Dome intercepting rockets over a city, with glowing interception trails arcing across the sky above illuminated buildings.

People walk through widespread rubble and destroyed buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, after an Israeli airstrike, with damaged cityscape in the background.

Rows of makeshift tents fill a sandy area by the beach in Rafah, Gaza Strip, as displaced Palestinians shelter near the border with Egypt.

Optics in the hostage exchange

A more telling reality

Line chart showing the cumulative death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the Israel-Hamas War, rising steeply from October 2023 and leveling near 70,000 by May 2026.

Gaza ceasefire summit

Israel-Hamas War: Media

Israeli-Palestinian history

Images

Map of the Gaza Strip showing its boundaries with Egypt and Israel, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and major cities including Gaza, Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah. An inset locator map highlights Gaza Strip's position on the eastern Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel.

Gaza Strip

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A distressed young woman sits at a picnic table with her head in her hand as Israeli rescue workers attend to her and others after a rocket attack in Tel Aviv at night.

Aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack

Survivors of a Hamas rocket strike on Tel Aviv talking with rescuers on October 7,...

© Jack Guez—AFP/Getty Images

Two people look at a wall covered with portraits of Israeli hostages and handwritten messages, during a rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv.

Hostages taken on October 7, 2023

Portraits of some of the hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attacks, displayed...

© Jack Guez—AFP/Getty Images

Nighttime view of Israel's Iron Dome intercepting rockets over a city, with glowing interception trails arcing across the sky above illuminated buildings.

Israel's Iron Dome defense system

The Iron Dome antimissile defense system intercepting rockets launched from the Gaza...

© Mahmud Hams—AFP/Getty Images

People walk through widespread rubble and destroyed buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, after an Israeli airstrike, with damaged cityscape in the background.

Israel-Hamas War

Destruction in the Jabalia refugee camp from an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip...

© Bashar Taleb—AFP/Getty Images

Rows of makeshift tents fill a sandy area by the beach in Rafah, Gaza Strip, as displaced Palestinians shelter near the border with Egypt.

Rafah as refuge in the Israel-Hamas War

From November 2023 to May 2024, Rafah provided refuge for the majority of the population...

© Mohammed Abed—AFP/Getty Images

Optics in the hostage exchange

Optics in the hostage exchange

Before releasing four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross on January 25, 2025, Hamas...

© Moamen Qreiqea/apaimages—Imago Images/Reuters

A more telling reality

A more telling reality

Israeli hostages released in the fifth exchange, which took place on February 8,...

© Abed Rahim Khatib—Anadolu/Getty Images

Gaza ceasefire summit

Gaza ceasefire summit

U.S. Pres. Donald Trump (center) speaking during an international summit in Sharm...

© Yoan Valat—AFP/Getty Images

Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners return home

Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners return home

As part of a peace plan that brought a second ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War,...

© Mamoun Wazwaz—Anadolu/Getty Images, © Guy Antonovsky—GPO/Reuters; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map highlighting the Middle East, showing Israel in blue, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in purple, and Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen in orange to indicate the Iran-backed axis of resistance. An inset zooms in on Israel, Lebanon, and surrounding areas, marking key locations such as the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and West Bank, with Lebanon labeled for Hezbollah and Yemen for the Houthi movement. The map

Israel and the Axis of Resistance

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

Large crowd of people in Tehran march holding Iranian and Palestinian flags, banners, and portraits of Iranian leaders during a protest against Israel.

Iran and Israel exchange fire

Iranians marching in Tehran in protest of Israel's strike on military facilities...

© Fatemeh Bahrami—Anadolu/Getty Images

Charred and broken remains of exploded pagers are displayed on a wooden surface, showing melted plastic and exposed circuitry.

Pager detonated in an attack on Hezbollah communications

One of hundreds of pagers that exploded across Lebanon on September 17, 2024. The...

© AFP/Getty Images

Tel Aviv: Iranian ballistic missile strike on June 13, 2025

Tel Aviv: Iranian ballistic missile strike on June 13, 2025

Smoke billowing from a building on the border of Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan after it...

© Gideon Markowicz/Reuters

Protesters gather in front of tents and banners at Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley. Signs read Gaza Solidarity Encampment Until UC Divests and Boycott Divest Sanction.

Protest at the University of California, Berkeley

Pro-Palestinian activists calling for university divestment during a demonstration...

© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gaza's underground tunnels

Gaza's underground tunnels

Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) keeping guard inside an underground tunnel...

© Ashraf Amra—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Interactives

Line chart showing the cumulative death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the Israel-Hamas War, rising steeply from October 2023 and leveling near 70,000 by May 2026.

Death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the Israel-Hamas War

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Israelis and the Palestinians: A Century of Conflict

The Israelis and the Palestinians: A Century of Conflict

After a year of war between Israel and Hamas, the conflict in the Middle East continues...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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