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Hamas, an Islamist militant group, won the
2006 Palestinian legislative election and
a subsequent battle in the Gaza Strip between it and
Fatah, which led to Hamas taking over governance of Gaza, and further escalating tensions with Israel.[188][189] Israel, along with Egypt, imposed a
blockade that significantly damaged Gaza's economy, citing security concerns as the justification.[190] International rights groups have characterized the blockade as a form of
collective punishment,[191][192] while Israel defended it as necessary to prevent weapons and
dual-use goods from entering the territory.[193][194] The
Palestinian Authority has not held national elections since 2006.[190][195]
The Gaza Strip's economy declined greatly due to the blockade, with a 30% drop in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within a year. By 2015, the unemployment rate had risen to 45% (compared to the pre-blockade level of 10%).[206] In 2023,
UNRWA statistics for Gaza reported 81% of people living below the poverty level, and 63% being food insecure and dependent on international assistance.[181][207] According to an analysis in The Independent, the Gaza blockade created hopelessness among Palestinians, which was exploited by Hamas, convincing young Palestinian men that violence was their only solution.[208]Daoud Kuttab wrote that Palestinian attempts to solve the conflict via negotiations or non-violent boycotts have been fruitless.[209]
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by a number of states and regional blocs, particularly Israel's Western allies including the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
Japan,
Australia and the
European Union.[210][211][147][212] Other
UNSC permanent members including China[213] and Russia do not regard Hamas as a terrorist organization.[214][215][216] A 2018 attempt to condemn Hamas for "acts of terror" at the United Nations failed to achieve the two-thirds majority requirement set in place for the vote, with 87 votes in favor, 58 votes against, 32 abstentions and 16 non-votes.[217]
Mohammad Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing, the
Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message on 7 October that it was in response to what he called the "desecration" of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israel killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians in 2023.[220] He called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls".[220][221] Deif also called on "Muslims everywhere to launch an attack."[222] He said, "in light of the continuing crimes against our people, in light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and western [sic] support, we've decided to put an end to all this, so that the enemy understands that he can no longer revel without being held to account."[223][224]
The long-term goals of Hamas are disputed. Hamas has repeatedly
called for the destruction of Israel, notably in its
1988 charter.[225][u] Some commentators have argued that Hamas is antisemitic and "genocidal".[226] In 2017, Hamas replaced its old charter with
a new one that removed antisemitic language and stated that its struggle was with
Zionists, not Jews.[227][228][229][230] The 2017 charter accepts the idea of a
Palestinian state based on the
1967 borders.[231] However, the new charter indicates that Hamas will accept the peace agreements only provisionally, without relinquishing a claim to the entirety of
Palestine nor recognizing Israel.[232][226] The attack was also seen as a resolution of internal tensions within Hamas as to whether the group's main goal is governing the Gaza Strip or fighting against Israel.[233]
Experts consider the disruption of Israel-Arab diplomacy and the desire to assert its presence as a significant security and political force likely motives.[234] In addition, internal strife in Israeli society caused by
protests against the judicial reform encouraged Hamas to go ahead with its attack.[235][236]
On 21 January 2024, Hamas released an 18-page English-language document reiterating its previously stated rationales and framing the attack in a wider context as a struggle against
colonialism, describing its actions as "a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people".[237][238] It said that "maybe some faults happened" during the attacks "due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza" and that "[if] there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidentally".[239][237] The timing of the release raised questions; sources in Gaza, including those aligned with Hamas, told Haaretz that the document was designed to contend with criticism of the heavy price Gazans have paid for the attacks on Israel.[240][241]
Israeli policy
Benjamin Netanyahu has been Israel's prime minister for nearly the entire 15 year period preceding the war, with the exception of the 18 months from June 2021 to January 2023 when
Naftali Bennett and later
Yair Lapid took office.[242]
The Netanyahu government has been criticized for having championed a policy of empowering the Hamas government in Gaza by, for instance, granting
work permits to Gazan residents, facilitating the transfer of funds to Hamas and maintaining relative calm.[243][244][245] By the conclusion of Netanyahu's fifth government in 2021, the issuance of work permits to Gazans reached approximately 2,000–3,000. Later, under the Bennett-Lapid government, this number significantly increased to 10,000,[243] and since Netanyahu's return to power in 2023 the number rose again to 20,000.[243] These workers were accused of spying on Israel and being complicit in the October 7 attack.[246][247][248] After the attack, the
Israeli war cabinet granted additional 8,000 work permits to West Bank residents, despite concerns about their vetting and potential security risks.[246]
In addition to granting workers permits, millions of dollars from Qatar have been transported into Gaza, escorted by
Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, intended for Gaza's power plant, infrastructure projects and monthly stipends for impoverished Palestinian families, while Israeli officials were aware that Hamas might divert the funds to acquire weapons and rockets.[249][244]
These strategies towards Hamas have been criticized as having backfired in light of the attacks on 7 October 2023.[245] Critics, including human-rights activists and aid organizations, cautioned that such policies may have strengthened Hamas's power in Gaza while weakening
Mahmoud Abbas of the
Palestinian Authority in the
West Bank, thus sabotaging a
two-state solution.[250][245] This criticism has been echoed by several Israeli officials, including former prime minister
Ehud Barak and former head of the
Shin Bet internal security service
Yuval Diskin.[250] The Palestinian Authority and
Saudi Arabia were also critical of Netanyahu's government allowing
Qatar to deliver suitcases of money to Hamas[250] in exchange for maintaining the ceasefire.[243] Netanyahu's strategy towards the Palestinian issue has been described as that of "divide-and-conquer".[251][252] A Times of Israel op-ed argued after the Hamas attack that Netanyahu's policy to treat the Palestinian Authority as a burden and Hamas as an asset had "blown up in our faces".[243] Netanyahu himself has criticized opinions on his responsibility for the 7 October attacks, stating "Did people ask Franklin Roosevelt, after Pearl Harbor, that question? Did people ask George Bush after the surprise attack of November [sic] 11?" referring to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks.[253]
Over the course of 2023, before the October 7 attack, 32 Israelis and two foreign nationals had been killed in Palestinian attacks, while at least 247 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces.[265] Increases in settler attacks had displaced hundreds of Palestinians, and there were
clashes around the
Al-Aqsa Mosque which sits on the
Temple Mount, a contested holy site in Jerusalem.[266]
In August 2023, 1,264 Palestinians were held in administrative detention in Israel, without charge or trial, the highest number in three decades.[267][268] Israel says this tactic is necessary to contain dangerous militants.[267]
Tensions between Israel and Hamas rose in September 2023, and the Washington Post described the two "on the brink of war".[269] Israel found explosives hidden in a shipment of jeans and halted all exports from Gaza.[269] In response, Hamas put its forces on high alert, and conducted military exercises with other groups, including openly practicing storming Israeli settlements.[269] Hamas also allowed Palestinians to resume protests at the
Gaza–Israel barrier.[269] On 13 September, five Palestinians were killed at the border. According to the Washington Post, the Palestinians were attempting to detonate an explosive device.[269]Al-Jazeera reported that a Palestinian Explosives Engineering Unit was working to deactivate the device.[270] On 29 September,
Qatar, the UN, and Egypt mediated an agreement between Israel and Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip to reopen closed crossing points and deescalate tensions.[271][272]
Simon Tisdall argues that an uptick in Israeli–Palestinian violence in the West Bank in the first half of 2023 had portended war,[273] and stated that Netanyahu's "refusal to contemplate any type of peace process" added "fuel to the smouldering fire" in the context of "the relentless expansion of illegal Israeli settlements".[273] Prior to the attack, Saudi Arabia warned Israel of an "explosion" as a result of the continued occupation,[274] Egypt had warned of a catastrophe unless there was political progress,[209] and similar warnings were given by Palestinian Authority officials.[209] Two months before the attacks,
King Abdullah II of Jordan commented that Palestinians have "no civil rights; no freedom of mobility".[209]
Israeli intelligence failure
Israeli intelligence officials initially stated that they had no warnings or indications of the 7 October attack by Hamas, despite Israel exercising extensive monitoring over Gaza.[275] Furthermore, the United States warned the Israeli government of the possibility of a surprise attack from Hamas a few days before the incident.[276] Egypt said it warned Israel days before the attack, "an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big".[277] Israel denied receiving such a warning,[278] but the Egyptian statement was corroborated by
Michael McCaul, Chairman of the
US House Foreign Relations Committee, who said warnings were made three days before the attack.[279]
According to the New York Times, Israeli officials had obtained detailed attack plans more than a year prior to the actual attack. The document described operational plans and targets, including the size and location of Israeli forces, and raised questions in Israel as to how Hamas was able to learn these details. The document provided a plan that included a large scale rocket assault prior to an invasion, drones to knock out the surveillance cameras and gun turrets that Israel has deployed along the border, and gunmen invading Israel, including with
paragliders. The Times reported that "Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision". According to the Times, the document was circulating among the Israeli military and intelligence leadership, who largely dismissed the plan as being beyond Hamas's capabilities, though it was unclear if the political leadership was informed. In July 2023, a member of the
Israeli signals intelligence unit alerted her superiors that Hamas was conducting preparations for the assault, saying that "I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary". An Israeli colonel ignored her concerns.[148] According to the Financial Times, alerts from the signals unit were ignored because they came from lower-ranking soldiers, contradicted the belief that Hamas was contained by Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip, bombing, and placation via aid, and the belief that Hamas was seeking to avoid a full war.[280][281]
At the time of the attack, Israel and Saudi Arabia were conducting
negotiations to normalize relations. Saudi Arabian crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman said normalization was "for the first time real".[282] According to US President
Joe Biden and Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, the aim of the 7 October attacks was to disrupt the normalization talks.[283] According to Menachem Klein, Israeli normalization with other Middle Eastern states, including Saudi Arabia, threatened to leave the Palestinians "isolated and weak".[218]
As of 7 February 2024, Saudi Arabia confirmed that diplomatic relations with Israel requires an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.[284]
The attack took place during the Jewish holidays of
Simchat Torah and
Shemini Atzeret on
Shabbat,[285] and one day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the
Yom Kippur War, which also began with a surprise attack.[286] At around 6:30 a.m.
IDT (UTC+3) on 7 October 2023,[265] Hamas announced the start of what it called "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", stating it had fired over 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes. Israeli sources reported that at least 3,000 projectiles had been launched from Gaza. At least five people were killed by the rocket attacks.[287][288][289] Explosions were reported in areas surrounding the strip and in cities in the
Sharon Plain including
Gedera,
Herzliyya,[290]Tel Aviv, and
Ashkelon.[291] Air raid sirens were activated in
Beer Sheva,
Jerusalem,
Rehovot,
Rishon Lezion, and
Palmachim Airbase.[292] Hamas issued a call to arms, with commander Mohammad Deif calling on "Muslims everywhere to launch an attack" and to "kill them [the enemy] wherever you may find them".[293][289]
Hamas employed tactics such as using aerial drones to disable Israeli observation posts, paragliders for infiltration into Israel, and motorcycles, which was unusual for Hamas.[294] Palestinian militants opened fire on Israeli boats, while clashes broke out between Palestinians and the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) along the
Gaza perimeter fence.[292] In the evening, Hamas launched another barrage of 150 rockets towards Israel, with explosions reported in
Yavne,
Givatayim,
Bat Yam,
Beit Dagan, Tel Aviv, and Rishon Lezion.[288]
Simultaneously, around 3,000 Hamas militants[295] infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, pickup trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and
paragliders.[286][265][282] They took over checkpoints at
Kerem Shalom and
Erez, and created openings in the border fence in five other places.[296] Images and videos showed armed and masked militants, riding pickup trucks[291][297] and opening fire in
Sderot. Other videos display Israelis taken prisoner, a burning Israeli tank,[298][289] and militants driving IDF vehicles.[291]
Hamas has also stated that its attack was in response to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of
illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence and recent escalations at
Al-Aqsa.[149][150][151] Intelligence and security officials from multiple Western countries say that Hamas initiated the war to create a "permanent" state of war and to revive interest in the Palestinian cause.[299][300]
Hamas militants carried out an amphibious
landing in Zikim.[291][301] A military base near Nahal Oz was also taken by the militants, leaving at least two Israeli soldiers dead and six others captured. The IDF said it killed two attackers on the beach and destroyed four vessels, including two rubber boats.[302] Fighting was reported at
Re'im military base, headquarters of Israel's
Gaza Division.[303] It was later reported that Hamas took control of the base and took several Israeli soldiers captive,[303] before the IDF regained control later in the day.[304] The police station of Sderot came under Hamas control, with militants killing 30 Israelis, including policemen and civilians.[305] At least six IDF bases near the Gaza border were attacked.[306]
Militants killed civilians at
Nir Oz,[297]Be'eri, and
Netiv HaAsara, and other
agricultural communities, where they took hostages[307] and set fire to homes.[290] This resulted in widespread fires and smoke across the region.[290] 52 civilians were killed in the
Kfar Aza massacre, 108 in the
Be'eri massacre (a loss of 10% of the
kibbutz's population) and 15 in the
Netiv HaAsara massacre,[308][309][310] in what has been described as the bloodiest day in Israel's history and the worst single-day massacre of Jews since
the Holocaust.[310] In Sderot, gunmen targeted civilians and set houses ablaze. In
Ofakim, hostages were taken during Hamas's deepest incursion.[311][310] Hamas said it took prisoners to force Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.[312] In
Be'eri, Hamas militants took up to
50 people hostage.[313] Videos showed hostages being led barefoot across a street in the town.[314]At least 325 people were killed and more injured at an outdoor music festival near Re'im and Hamas took at least 37 attendees hostage.[315][316][317][318]
Witnesses recounted militants on motorcycles opening fire on participants who were already fleeing due to rocket fire.[319][320]Graeme Wood reported that the video footage retrieved from the body cameras of Hamas militants displayed several victims "in the beginning of the footage they are alive, by the end they're dead. Sometimes, in fact frequently, after their death their bodies are still being desecrated".[321] Israeli authorities screened bodycam footage of Hamas atrocities for journalists, which included an attempt to decapitate someone and a still image of a decapitated IDF soldier.[322][323]
An Israeli spokesman said militants had entered Israel through at least seven locations from both land and sea,[286] and invaded four small rural Israeli communities, the border city of
Sderot, and two military bases.[282] Israeli media reported that seven communities came under Hamas control, including
Nahal Oz,
Kfar Aza,
Magen,
Be'eri, and
Sufa,[326] and there were 21 active high-confrontation locations in southern Israel.[327]
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority denied the massacre, stating that Israeli helicopters and fighter jets were behind the high number of casualties.[328][329] An Israeli Police investigation stated that the first helicopters at the scene arrived hours after the massacre began, and that they were likely responsible for only a few
friendly fire casualties.[328][315]
In Be'eri, an Israeli tank fired on a house known to contain around 40 Hamas fighters and 14 hostages, among them two children; only one of the hostages in the house survived.[330][331] The families of those killed demanded an investigation.[332] A
Ynet article stated that there was an "immense and complex quantity" of friendly-fire incidents during the 7 October attack that "it would not be morally sound to investigate" given their number and the challenges soldiers were facing at the time.[333][334] In January 2024, an investigation by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth concluded that the IDF had in practice applied the
Hannibal Directive, ordering all combat units to stop "at all costs" any attempt by Hamas militants to return to Gaza, even if there were hostages with them.[335][336] It is unclear how many hostages were killed by friendly fire as a result of the order.[335][336]
Initial Israeli counter-operation (7–27 October)
After the initial breach of the Gaza perimeter by Palestinian militants, it took hours for the IDF to start its counter-attack.[338]
The first helicopters sent to support the military were launched from the north of Israel, and arrived at the Gaza Strip an hour after fighting began.[316] They immediately encountered difficulty in determining which outposts and communities were occupied, and distinguishing between Palestinian militants and the soldiers and civilians on the ground.[316] The helicopter crews initially sustained a high rate of fire, attacking approximately 300 targets in 4 hours. Later on the crews began to slow down the attacks and carefully select targets.[316]
According to Haaretz's journalist Josh Breiner, a police source said that a police investigation indicated an IDF helicopter which had fired on Hamas militants "apparently also hit some festival participants" in
Re'im music festival massacre.[315] The Israeli police denied the Haaretz report.[339]
A subsequent Israeli investigation claimed that militants had been instructed not to run so that the air force would think they were Israelis.[316] This deception worked for some time, but pilots began to realize the problem and ignore their restrictions. By around 9:00 am, amid the chaos and confusion, some helicopters started laying down fire without prior authorization.[316]
The attack appeared to have been a complete surprise to the Israelis.[340] Prime Minister Netanyahu convened an emergency gathering of security authorities, and the IDF launched Operation Swords of Iron in the Gaza Strip.[341][288] In a televised broadcast, Netanyahu said, "We are at war".[282] He threatened to "turn all the places where Hamas is organized and hiding into cities of ruins", called Gaza "the city of evil", and urged its residents to leave.[342][149] Netanyahu and Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant conducted security assessments at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.[297][291] Overnight, Israel's
Security Cabinet voted to act to bring about the "destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad".[343] The
Israel Electric Corporation, which supplies 80% of the Gaza Strip's electricity, cut off power to the area.[291] This reduced Gaza's power supply from 120 MW to 20 MW, provided by power plants paid for by the Palestinian Authority.[344]
The IDF declared a "state of readiness for war",[288] mobilized tens of thousands of army
reservists,[265][291] and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of Gaza.[326] The
Yamam counterterrorism unit was deployed,[327] along with four new divisions, augmenting 31 existing battalions.[286] Reservists were reported deployed in Gaza, in the West Bank, and along borders with Lebanon and Syria.[345]
Residents near Gaza were asked to stay inside, while civilians in southern and central Israel were "required to stay next to shelters".[291] The southern region of Israel was closed to civilian movement,[327] and roads were closed around Gaza[286] and Tel Aviv.[291] While Ben Gurion Airport and
Ramon Airport remained operational, multiple airlines cancelled flights to and from Israel.[346]Israel Railways suspended service in parts of the country and replaced some routes with temporary bus routes,[347][348] while
cruise ships removed the ports of
Ashdod and
Haifa from their itineraries.[349]
Following the surprise attack, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes that they said targeted Hamas compounds, command centers, tunnels, and other targets.[288][326][350] Israel employed its
artificial intelligenceHabsora ("The Gospel") software with a new and superior capacity to automatically generate targets to be attacked.[351][352] Two days after the surprise attack, Israel said that 426 Hamas targets had been hit, including destroying
Beit Hanoun, homes of Hamas officials, a mosque, and an internet hub.[350][353][354][355] Israel also rescued two hostages before declaring a
state of war for the first time since the
1973 Yom Kippur War.[356][357] Defense Minister Gallant announced a "total" blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off electricity and blocking the entry of food and fuel, adding "We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly".[358] This drew criticism from Human Rights Watch who described the order as "abhorrent" and as a "call to commit a war crime".[359] The first aid convoy after the start of the war entered Gaza on 21 October 2023,[360] while fuel entered Gaza only in November.[361]
The IDF later deployed
C-130 and
C-130J transport aircraft to retrieve off-duty personnel from abroad.[362]
As a part of a bombing run targeting Hamas command centers and weapon caches, the IDF stated that it had bombed the
Nukhba forces—a Hamas special forces unit that is thought to have led the attack on Israel.[363]
Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using
white phosphorus munitions over Gaza on 10 and 11 October, stating that it violated international law.[364] Israel denied the allegations.[365]
Almost a week after the initial attack on Israel, on 13 October, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for communities north of the
Wadi Gaza. All Palestinians in that region, including those in Gaza City, were given 24 hours to evacuate to the south. The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs responded by telling residents in northern Gaza to "remain steadfast in your homes and stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation".[366]
As a part of the order, the IDF announced a six-hour window from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time on 13 October, for refugees to flee south along specified routes within the Gaza Strip.[371] An
explosion at 5:30 p.m. along one of the safe routes killed 70 people.[372] Some sources attributed it to an IDF airstrike, while CNN said the cause was unclear. The Jerusalem Post said open-source analysts believed the explosion originated from a car on the ground, but the cause was unclear.[373][374] The Financial Times carried out an investigation, concluding "analysis of the video footage rules out most explanations aside from an Israeli strike", although it was "difficult to conclusively prove whether these blasts came from an IDF strike, a potential Palestinian rocket misfire or even a car bomb".[375]
The IDF stated Hamas set up roadblocks to keep Gaza residents from evacuating south and caused traffic jams.[376] Israeli officials stated this was done to use civilians as "human shields", which Hamas denied.[377] A number of countries and international organizations condemned what they called Hamas's use of hospitals and
civilians as human shields.[378][379][380][381]
According to an unnamed Israeli official, Hamas leader
Yahya Sinwar left Gaza City using a vehicle associated with a
humanitarian relief mission.[382]
On 17 October, Israel bombed in areas of southern Gaza.[383] Ministry of Health officials in Gaza reported heavy overnight bombing killing over 70 people, including families who had evacuated from Gaza City in the north.[384] One of the airstrikes killed a senior Hamas military commander
Ayman Nofal.[385] In the afternoon, an
Israeli strike hit a UNRWA school in the
Al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six and injuring 12.[386]
Late in the evening, an
explosion occurred in the parking lot of the
Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in the center of Gaza City, killing hundreds. The cause of the explosion was disputed by Hamas and the IDF, and the ongoing conflict prevented independent on-site analysis.[387] Palestinian statements that it was an Israeli airstrike were denied by the IDF, which stated that the explosion resulted from a failed rocket launch by
Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[388] The PIJ denied any involvement.[389][390] An independent analysis by
Human Rights Watch indicated that the evidence pointed to a misfired Palestinian rocket as the cause, but stated that further investigation was required.[391]
On 18 October, President Biden said the Pentagon had independently concluded that the explosion was not caused by Israel, but by "the other team", based on data from the
Defense Department.[392] Over the next few days, Canadian, British, and French officials announced that their respective intelligence agencies concluded the cause to be a failed Palestinian rocket and not an Israeli airstrike.[393][394][395] In its article dated 2 November, CNN stated that multiple experts said "they believe this to be the most likely scenario – although they caution the absence of munition remnants or shrapnel from the scene made it difficult to be sure. All agreed that the available images of evidence of the damage at the site was not consistent with an Israeli airstrike."[396]
Invasion of the Gaza Strip until the truce (27 October – 24 November)
On 27 October, the IDF launched a large-scale, multi-pronged ground incursion into parts northern Gaza. The IDF was building up a force of over 100,000 soldiers in the cities of
Ashkelon,
Sderot and
Kiryat Gat. Clashes between Hamas and the IDF were reported near
Beit Hanoun and
Bureij.[397] The Israeli invasion of Gaza was confirmed after Israel said its units were still in Gaza the next day.[398] Hamas leader
Ali Baraka said the invading Israeli forces suffered heavy casualties and loss of equipment due to an ambush.[399] Two days later,
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), described as "deeply concerning" reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent that the
al-Quds hospital had received an urgent evacuation warning. He reiterated that it was "impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without endangering their lives".[400] Israeli airstrikes targeted the area around the hospital, filling parts of the building with smoke and dust, prompting staff to give breathing masks to some patients.[401] Around 14,000 civilians were believed to be sheltering in or near the hospital.[401] Associated Press reported that Israeli airstrikes also destroyed roads leading to the Al-Shifa hospital, making it increasingly difficult to reach.[402]
Three days following the beginning of ground operations, a video showed an Israeli tank firing on a taxi with a white flag on its roof that had attempted to turn around. An IDF spokesperson said they were "not shown any proof" that the vehicle was civilian, adding, "terrorists use civilian infrastructure like cars".[403]
The following day, the IDF
struck at densely-populated
Jabaliarefugee camp, killing 50 and wounding 150 Palestinians according to the Gaza Health Ministry. According to Israel, a senior Hamas commander and dozens of militants in a vast underground tunnel complex were among those killed. Hamas denied the presence of a senior commander on the scene.[404][405][406] According to the IDF, the destruction of the tunnels caused the collapse of the foundations of several nearby buildings, leading to their collapse.[407] Eyewitnesses interviewed by CNN and Der Spiegel spoke of "apocalyptic" scenes, with dozens of collapsed buildings, children carrying other injured children, and bodies lying in the rubble.[408][409][410] The nearby Indonesian Hospital's surgical director said they had received 120 dead bodies and treated 280 wounded, the majority of them women and children.[411] The attack resulted in several ambassador recalls (see
§ Ambassador recalls).[412][413][414]Josep Borrell, the
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, wrote on the social media platform X that he was "appalled by the high number of casualties" from the bombing.[415] According to The New York Times at least two 2,000-pound bombs, the second largest type in Israel's arsenal, were used.[416]
On 31 October, Israel
bombed a six-story apartment building in central Gaza, killing at least 106 civilians including 54 children in what Human Rights Watch called an "apparent war crime." HRW found "no evidence of a military target in the vicinity of the building at the time of the Israeli attack," and called the bombing "unlawfully indiscriminate."[417]
On 1 November, the first group of evacuees left Gaza for Egypt. 500 evacuees, comprising critically wounded and foreign nationals, would be evacuated over the course of several days, with 200 evacuees already waiting at the border crossing.[418] On the same day, the Jabalia refugee camp was bombed for a second time; the
UN Human Rights Office expressed "serious concerns" that these were "disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes".[419][420] The IDF released what it stated was an intercepted call between Hamas operatives and the head of the
Indonesia Hospital, where they discuss diverting some of the hospital's fuel supply to Hamas.[421]
Two days later, the Gaza health ministry stated that
Israel struck an ambulance convoy directly in front of Al-Shifa Hospital, killing at least 15 people and injuring 60 more.[422] The IDF acknowledged having launched an airstrike at "an ambulance that was identified by forces as being used by a Hamas terrorist cell in close proximity to their position in the battle zone", adding that a "number of Hamas terrorist operatives were killed in the strike".[423] The IDF did not provide evidence that the ambulances were being used by Hamas combatants but said that additional information would be released.[423] A Hamas official described the Israeli statement as "baseless".[423] The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said one of its ambulances was struck "by a missile fired by the Israeli forces" about two metres from the entrance to al-Shifa hospital.[423] The PRCS said another ambulance was fired on about a kilometre from the hospital.[423] WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that he was "utterly shocked by reports of attacks on ambulances evacuating patients", adding that patients, health workers and medical facilities must always be protected.[422][424]
On 4 November a UNRWA spokeswoman confirmed reports that Israel had conducted
an airstrike against a UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp.[425] According to the Gaza health ministry, the attack killed 15 and wounded dozens more.[425]
Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, reported that due to Israeli air strikes, the bodies of 23 missing Israeli hostages were buried under the rubble.[426][427]
External videos
Instagram videos by Ahmed Hijazi of the Al-Shifa Hospital strike shown in the Visual Investigations report published by The New York Times.[428] Contains graphic images of severe injury.
Fighting continued through the middle of November and on 18 November Israeli strikes killed more than 80 people in Jabalia refugee camp.[429] On 22 November, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, providing for a four-day "pause"[430] or "lull"[431][432] in hostilities, to allow for the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza.[430][431] The deal also provided for the release of approximately 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated by Israel.[431] The agreement was approved by the Israeli cabinet in the early hours of the day; in a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated Israel's intention to continue the war.[430][431]
Following the introduction of a Qatari-brokered
truce on 24 November, starting at 7:00 am
Israel time, active fighting in the Gaza Strip ceased and some of the Israeli and foreign hostages were released by Hamas in
exchange for the release of some of the Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel. The truce was announced for a period of four days, but was extended for a longer period.
From 24 to 30 November, Hamas released hostages and Israel released prisoners. On 27 November, Qatar announced that an agreement between Israel and Hamas to extend the truce by two days had been reached.[433] Both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce on 28 November. On 30 November, Hamas released two more hostages as the truce, which was supposed to end minutes later, was extended by another day.[434]
Resumption of hostilities (1 December 2023 – present)
The truce expired in the morning on 1 December, as both Israel and Hamas blamed the other side for failing to agree on an extension. According to the New York Times, the disagreement centered on "how to define soldiers versus civilians and how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would release for its hostages".[435] The remaining hostages include a
year old baby, his 4 year old brother and their mother, an additional 13 women aged 18–39, and 85 men, some of whom are over the age of 70 and 80.[436] A Hamas official said that after the exchange, the only remaining hostages were "soldiers and civilian men who served in the occupation army", and refused to exchange them until "all our prisoners are freed and a ceasefire takes hold".[437] US National Security Advisor John Kirby said that "Hamas agreed to allow the
Red Cross access to these hostages while the pause was in place", which "didn't happen and is still not happening".[438]
Israel adopted a grid system to order precise evacuations within Gaza, released a map online, and dropped leaflets with a
QR code. The maps were criticized for being hard to access due to the lack of electricity and internet connectivity, and for causing confusion or panic. Some evacuation instructions have been vague or contradictory,[439][440][441][442] and Israel still operated in areas it had told people to evacuate to and that were safe for civilians.[443]
Two law experts said they had not seen significant changes in previous days of how Israel waged the war, due to its warnings to civilians appearing ineffective and it being unclear if anywhere in Gaza is truly safe.[444] Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in a press release that "US-made weapons facilitated the mass killings of extended families". Amnesty found no evidence of military targets at the sites of the strikes, or any indication that the occupants of the homes were affiliated with Hamas, prompting the group to request that the airstrikes be investigated as possible war crimes.[445] Several decomposed babies were found in the ICU of Al-Nasr Children's Hospital in northern Gaza, two weeks after its forced evacuation.[446] US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned against replacing "a tactical victory with a strategic defeat" if Israel does not work towards protecting Palestinian civilians.[447] The US State Department said it was too early to definitively assess whether Israel was heeding US calls to protect civilians.[448]
The IDF reported that its troops had reached the centers of Khan Yunis, Jabalia, and Shejaiya reporting the most "intense fighting" since the ground invasion of Gaza began.[449] Intensified bombing pushed Palestinian civilians further south to Rafah.[450]
On 7 December, Israel
detained 150 men in the Gaza Strip, with dozens more detained on 10 December. According to Israel, the detentions followed a mass surrender of Hamas militants.[451][452] The New York Times reported that the statement about Hamas fighters surrendering was made after video and photographs of "men stripped to their underwear, sitting or kneeling on the ground, with some bound and blindfolded" were seen on social media.[453]The Guardian reported that among the people seen in the images were people identified as civilians, among them a journalist. The ICRC said it was concerned by the images and that it strongly emphasized "the importance of treating all those detained with humanity and dignity, in accordance with international humanitarian law".[454] The BBC reported that a video of the apparent surrender of weapons is unclear whether a man is "surrendering" weapons or just moving them as instructed, suggested the event was performed for the camera, rather than as an act of authentic surrender, and that it not known whether the individuals shown have any involvement with Hamas or the 7 October attack.[455]Haaretz reported that Israeli security officials believed that approximately 10–15% of the people shown in the video were actually affiliated with Hamas, and that despite the public statements by Israel that this was not a "massive surrender" by Hamas units.[456]Amnesty International described the treatment of those detained on 7 December as a violation of international law.[457]
On 8 and 9 December, the IDF released footage of what it said was its soldiers engaging combatants near and inside two schools in Shejaiya. According to the IDF, fighters also discovered a tunnel leading from one of the schools to a nearby mosque.[458][459] It also released footage of armament that it stated was found on the campus of
Al-Azhar University, along with a tunnel shaft leading to a school 1 km away.[460] The IDF said that, since it designated a humanitarian zone for civilians in the Gaza Strip on 18 October, 116 rockets had been fired from there toward Israel, including 38 falling inside Gaza.[461]
The Pentagon announced on 9 December that the Biden administration had authorized the sale of around 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel without congressional authorization by using emergency powers.[462] On 29 December, it did so again to supply Israel with $147.5 million worth of artillery shells and related items.[463]
On 15 December, the IDF released a statement announcing that they had
killed three of their own hostages by
friendly fire. According to the IDF, they "mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat" during operations in
Shuja'iyya and subsequently fired at them, killing them.[464][465][466] According to an IDF official on 16 December, the three hostages were shirtless and were carrying "a stick with a white cloth on it" when an Israeli soldier, who declared them to be "terrorists" after feeling "threatened", opened fire, killing two hostages and injuring the third, who was killed by Israeli reinforcements.[467]
In an interview to the Wall Street Journal on 25 December, Netanyahu said that Israel's objectives were to "destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza and deradicalize the whole of Palestinian society".[468]
On 29 December,
South Africa filed
a case against Israel at the
International Court of Justice, alleging that Israel's conduct amounted to genocide.[469][470] South Africa asked the ICJ to issue provisional measures, including ordering Israel to halt its military campaign in Gaza.[469] South Africa was one of five countries making a referral of the war to the ICC in November 2023.[471]
The rocket attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas decreased in frequency during this period with notable attacks on the New Year's Eve and on 29 January 2024.[472][473]
On 1 January 2024, Israeli forces withdrew from neighbourhoods in North Gaza, including Sheikh Radwan, al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa.[474] On 6 January, the Israeli government said that Hamas control over the northern part of the Gaza Strip had been dismantled without providing evidence.[475] On 7 January the IDF conducted a targeted missile strike on a car carrying Al Jazeera journalists Hamza Dadouh and Mustafa Thuraya. Dadouh, Thuraya, and their driver were killed.[476]
On 15 January, Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant said that the most intense fighting in the northern part of the Gaza Strip had ended, and a new phase of low intensity fighting was about to begin.[477]
By 18 January, the IDF stated that Hamas had begun to rebuild its armies in the occupied parts of Northern Gaza. The IDF had previously stated these armies were stripped of military capabilities but by 18 January the fighting strength of many battalions had been significantly restored without providing any evidence.[478]
On 22 January, 24 IDF soldiers died in what was the deadliest day for the IDF since the ground invasion began. Of these, 21 died in a single incident where Palestinian militants fired an RPG at a tank as well as at adjacent buildings soldiers were rigging to demolish which thus caused the buildings to collapse. The IDF soldiers brought landmines into the empty building for the demolition process. It is unclear whether the collapse of the buildings was principally due to the primary RPG explosion or the secondary landmine explosions.[479][480][481] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog publicly mourned the loss.[482][483][484]
Preparations for the attack on Rafah (February – present)
During the period from February to early April 2024, Israeli preparations to invade Rafah became a dominant issue in public rhetoric made by Israeli government officials. In February 2024, the Israeli government stated on several occasions its next objective would be the
capture of
Rafah. On 12 February, Israel started the
bombing campaign on Rafah.[485] On February 15, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Egypt was building a refugee camp for over 100,000 people south of Rafah, surrounded by five-meter-high concrete walls.[486][487] However, the governor of
North Sinai Governorate, Mohamed Abdel-Fadil Shousha, denied these rumors in a statement published by
Al-Arabiya.[488] On 18 February, Israeli war cabinet member
Benny Gantz warned that a ground offensive will be launched in Rafah on 10 March unless Hamas has freed all hostages by then. Gantz added Israel would act in "a co-ordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimise civilian casualties".[489]
On 29 February, more than
100 Palestinians were killed and 750 were wounded during the
flour massacre when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food aid southwest of Gaza City, with many victims run over by trucks according to some accounts.[490] Survivors described it as an
ambush, stating that Israeli forces opened fire as people approached the aid trucks, resulting in a rush away from the gunfire that added to the death toll.[491][492]
On 1 March, the United States announced they would begin an operation airdropping food aid into Gaza.[493] Some experts called the US airdrops performative and claimed they would do little to alleviate the food situation in Gaza.[494]
During his
State of the Union Address, President Biden announced a new initiative for providing food and medications to Gaza by sea, setting up a temporary port on Gaza's coast to enable aid delivery.[495]
By 6 March, Israel had completed the construction of a new road in Gaza running across the full width of the Gaza Strip from east to west. The IDF reported that the road was an "active logistical route, constantly maintained during the war", It was intended to be used for the mobilization of troops and supplies, to connect and defend IDF positions on al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, and to prevent people in the southern Gaza Strip from returning to the north.[496]
Israeli forces raided al-Shifa hospital again between 18 March and 1 April. The IDF clashed with Hamas fighters in the area.[497] Israeli forces killed Faiq al-Mabhouh, who they said was the head of the operations directorate of Hamas' internal security service. Hamas said al-Mabhouh was in charge of civil law enforcement and had been engaged in "purely civil and humanitarian activity,"[498] coordinating aid deliveries to northern Gaza.[499][500] Multiple news agencies reported that the IDF assaulted and detained al-Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and more than 80 other people, including medical staff and other journalists, and confiscated and destroyed media equipment.[501][502] Al-Ghoul was released the following day, but could not verify the whereabouts of his colleagues.[503][504] The
Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "deeply alarmed and outraged by reports of the assault on Al-Jazeera reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul from Al-Shifa hospital and other journalists while doing their jobs reporting on the Israeli offensive on the hospital".[504]
According to the IDF a number of senior Hamas leader were killed during the fighting at the hospital, including Mahmoud Khalil Zakzuk, the deputy commander of Hamas’s rocket unit in Gaza City and Raad Thabet, the head of recruitment and supply acquisition.[505] Survivors of the events at al-Shifa who spoke to
Mondoweiss said that workers in Gaza's civil government were receiving their governmental salaries at the hospital before it was raided. Doctors, members of the civil government and those who refused to evacuate were executed.[506] The IDF said it killed 200 people inside and around al-Shifa hospital. Time Magazine said it provided "no evidence that all were militants."[507] Photos of the hospital after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces showed its "walls blown out and frame blackened" by fire.[508] Hundreds of bodies were found on the hospital grounds, and Palestinian witnesses reported massacres in and around the site.[509]
A deputy military commander of Hamas
Marwan Issa was reportedly killed in an airstrike in mid-March.[510]
On 23 March, at least 19 Palestinians were killed by the IDF while waiting for humanitarian aid at the Kuwait roundabout in Gaza City.[511]
On 25 March, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which would last for the remainder of the month of
Ramadan. The US delegate abstained, and all other delegates voted in favor of the resolution.[512] Israeli military activities in the Gaza Strip remained unchanged following the adoption of the resolution.
On 28 March, the IDF shot and killed two unarmed men near Al Rasheed Street in central Gaza before burying their bodies in the sand with bulldozers.[513] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a UN investigation into the "heinous war crime."[514]
On 1 April, seven aid workers from
World Central Kitchen, including
British,
Polish,
Australian, and
Irish nationals, were killed in an
Israeli airstrike south of
Deir el-Balah.[515][516][517] World Central Kitchen said their vehicles were clearly marked and their location was known to Israeli authorities. Several aid organizations including World Central Kitchen,
ANERA and
Project HOPE suspended their operations in Gaza in response to the strikes. Two-hundred-forty tons of aid from World Central Kitchen were not distributed in Gaza due to the charity's withdrawal from the strip.[518][519] On 4 April, Israel opened the
Erez crossing for the first time since October 7 after U.S pressure.[520] On April 7, Israel announced its withdrawal from Khan Yunis with only one brigade remaining in the Netzarim Corridor in the north.[521] Following the withdrawal, Palestinians displaced from that city began to return from the southern areas of the Gaza Strip.[522]
On 25 April, Israel intensified strikes on Rafah ahead of threatened invasion.[524][525]
Other confrontations
Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the
Houthi movement in Yemen have launched limited attacks against Israel, raising fears of a wider regional military conflict. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have also traded attacks with the US and IDF.[526] Israel has bombed targets in and around
Damascus throughout the war,[527][528][529] with an attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1 leading to a direct Iranian response.[530] Iran launched a series of
retaliatory airstrikes on Israel.[530][531] Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since 7 October. Settler violence has been heavily criticized by the IDF.[532][533]
Amnesty International released a report[534] on 5 February 2024 stating that Israel is carrying out unlawful killings in the West Bank and displaying "a chilling disregard for Palestinian lives" and that Israeli forces are carrying out numerous illegal acts of violence that constitute clear violations of international law.[535][536]
Even before the war, 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 20 years. From 7 to 31 October, B'Tselem said that Israeli forces had killed more than 100 Palestinians while Israeli settlers had killed at least seven, leading to fears that the situation would escalate out of control.[532] About 1,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by settlers since 7 October and almost half of clashes have included "Israeli forces accompanying or actively supporting Israeli settlers while carrying out the attacks" according to a U.N. report.[537] According to the West Bank Protection Consortium, which is funded by the European Union, since the 7 October attacks six Palestinian communities have been abandoned due to the violence.[538]
By 10 October, confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces had left 15 Palestinians dead, including two in East Jerusalem.[539] On 11 October, Israeli settlers attacked the village of
Qusra, killing four Palestinians. A 16-year-old child was fatally shot by the IDF in
Bani Naim, while another person was shot dead by the IDF near
Bethlehem.[540] On 12 October, two Palestinians were killed after Israeli settlers interrupted a funeral procession for Palestinians killed in prior settler attacks and opened fire.[541][542][543]
On 18 October, protests broke out over the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, with clashes reported in
Ramallah.[544] In
Jenin, a 12-year-old girl was shot dead by crossfire from Palestinian Authority security forces, and another youth was injured by PA forces in
Tubas. One Palestinian was killed in confrontations with Israeli forces in
Nabi Saleh, and 30 others were injured across the West Bank.[545] On 19 October, more than 60 Hamas members were arrested and 12 people were killed in overnight
Israeli raids across the West Bank. Those arrested included the movement's spokesperson in the West Bank,
Hassan Yousef.[546]
On 22 October, Israel
struck the al-Ansar Mosque in the Jenin refugee camp, saying that it had killed several "terror operatives" from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were planning attacks inside without providing evidence.[547] Within a few days Ayser Mohammad Al-Amer, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was killed during a clash with IDF in the Jenin refugee camp.[548] On 31 October, the IDF engaged Hamas around
Shuweika.[549]
On 1 November,
Issa Amro said the situation in the West Bank had become "very hard", noting "All the checkpoints are closed. Israeli settlers and soldiers are acting violently with the Palestinians."[550] The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned Israeli settler violence against Palestinians was on the rise.[551]
On 30 November, two Palestinian gunmen
killed three and wounded eleven Israelis at a bus stop on the
Givat Shaul Interchange in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility.[552]
On 16 February 2024, a Palestinian gunman
shot and killed two Israelis and injured four others in
Kiryat Malakhi, Israel. The shooter was killed by an off-duty IDF reservist at the scene.[553]
On 12 April 2024 a 14-old Israeli shepherd was killed and on 16 April 2024 two Palestinians were killed by
Israeli settlers in
Aqraba.[554]
On 20 April, fourteen Palestinians were killed in clashes during an Israeli raid in the West Bank. The Palestinian sources identified one of the victims as a militant,[555] while Israel said that 14 gunmen were killed.[556]
A
series of border clashes occurred along the
Israel–Lebanon border. On 8 October,
Hezbollah launched an artillery attack on Israeli positions in
Shebaa Farms; this was met with immediate retaliation.[557][558] Skirmishes have occurred every day since, spilling over to the occupied
Golan Heights. The clashes resulted in the deaths of 513 Lebanese militants and 15 Israeli soldiers,[559][560] as well as over 72 Lebanese civilians, 15 Syrian civilians and six Israeli civilians,[561][562] one Lebanese Army soldier,[563] and the displacement of 100,000 people in
Lebanon and 80,000 more in Israel.[564][565]
Several strikes against Israel and commercial ships in the
Red Sea are thought to have launched by Iran-backed
Houthi militants in
Yemen.[566][567][568] On 19 October, the United States Navy destroyer
USS Carney shot down several missiles that were traveling north over the
Red Sea towards Israel.[569] On 31 October, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the group had launched
ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel, and that they would continue to do so "to help the Palestinians to victory"[570] in an event that has been misrepresented in some news sites as a
declaration of war by Yemen.[571]
On 19 November, tensions increased when the
Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship chartered by a Japanese logistics company with 25 individuals on board, was hijacked by the Houthis using a
Mil Mi-17 helicopter.[572]
On 3 December, the Houthis said that they had attacked two ships, the Unity Explorer and Number 9, allegedly linked to Israel, in order "to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea".[573][574] Any ship destined for Israel, according to the group, was a "legitimate target". Saree announced in a post on X that the "horrific massacres" against the Palestinians in Gaza was the reason for this decision and that they will not stop until the Gaza Strip is supplied with food and medicine. Israeli National Security Adviser
Tzachi Hanegbi called this development a "global issue" and that Israel is "giving the world some time to organize in order to prevent this" otherwise, the country "would will act in order to remove this naval siege".[575]
On 10 October 2023, Israel exchanged rocket and mortar fire with forces in southern Syria. On 12 October, Israel bombed the Damascus and Aleppo airports ahead of a visit to Syria by Iranian foreign minister
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.[527]
In January 2024, four members of the Iranian
Quds Force in Syria were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Damascus.[588]
On 22 February, an Israeli airstrike killed two people in a residential neighborhood of Damascus.[529]
On 1 April, the Israeli Air Force launched an
airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing several.[589][590]
On 24 November 2023, a suspected Iranian drone attacked the CMA CGM Symi, owned by
Eastern Pacific Shipping, whose principal is Israeli, in the Indian Ocean, according to a US defense official. An anonymous source said the drone was suspected to have been a
Shahed-136 drone. The attack caused damage to the ship but did not injure any of the crew.[591]
In December, the US military was reportedly looking to build a maritime task force to protect trade against Iranian harassment.[592]
On 23 December, a suspected Iranian drone
attacked the Israel-affiliated oil tanker MV Chem Pluto in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of
Gujarat. The attack did not harm any of its 20 crew members, but caused a fire that was extinguished. The vessel was reportedly carrying Saudi oil to
Mangalore, India.[593]
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been termed a "crisis" and a "catastrophe".[597][598] More than 23,000 have been killed. As a result of
Israel's blockade, Gaza faces shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and medical supplies.[597][599] The blockade resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down desalination plants that provide drinking water.[600] According to WHO, 27 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza were shut down by 23 November 2023.[601] On 13 October,
UNRWA commissioner
Philippe Lazzarini said, "The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling".[602]
As of 24 April 2024, over 35,000 people (34,262 Palestinian[603] and 1,410 Israeli[611]) have been reported as killed in the Israel–Hamas war, including 97 journalists (92 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese)[612] and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 employees of
UNRWA.[613]
The vast majority of casualties have been in the
Gaza Strip: over 34,262 have been killed, 70% of them are women and minors.[614] In December 2023,
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor estimated 90% of the casualties were civilians,[615][616] while the IDF put the civilian ratio at 66% of those killed.[617] The death toll comes from the
Gaza Health Ministry and the total death toll in Gaza is presumed to be higher than reported,[618][619] with thousands remaining unaccounted for, including those trapped under rubble.[614][620]
A further 469 Palestinians (including 94 children[623]) have been killed in the
West Bank and
East Jerusalem by the Israel military and
settlers.[603] Casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, as well as in southern
Lebanon, and
Syria.[624]
Monitoring group
Action on Armed Violence said that each Israeli airstrike caused an average of 10.1 civilian deaths and that the figure suggested a notable change in Israel's targeting approach. The previous Israeli campaigns in Gaza produced averages of 1.3–1.7, while in the sieges of
Mosul,
Aleppo the ratio exceeded 20 civilian casualties per airstrike.[625][626][627] Israel uses an
AI system known as Gospel for its targeting process and experts are skeptical that such a system reduces civilian harm.[628][352] Israeli intelligence officers said the Israeli military allowed a large number of civilians deaths as collateral damage, particularly in the early part of the conflict.[629] The rate of killing exceeds that of US-led attacks in
Iraq,
Syria and
Afghanistan, which were widely criticized by rights groups.[630] The first month of the war has been the deadliest conflict for children this century.[631] Historian
Robert Pape regards the bombing of Gaza as “one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history".'[632]
Multiple generations of families have been killed in Israeli attacks. As of 31 October,
Amnesty International has documented five cases of entire families being killed in Israeli airstrikes.[633] The Associated Press reported that the killing of entire families in single airstrikes by Israel has "raised troubling questions about Israeli military tactics".[634] As of 15 October 47 families had been completely wiped away from the population registry, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.[635] The Financial Times reported how Palestinian families could have multiple generations living in a single multistory building has had the effect of those families being nearly completely wiped out by airstrikes. As of 23 November, according to Gazan health officials, 312 families had suffered the loss of more than 10 members. This had also led to children being left without any surviving family, with the acronym "WCNSF" for "wounded child, no surviving family" being increasingly used.[636]
Hospitals faced a lack of fuel and relied on
backup generators for the first two weeks of the war.[640] By 23 October, however, the Indonesia Hospital ran out of fuel and completely shut down.[641] Hospitals around Gaza also warned they would soon lose power completely, which would lead to the death of 140
premature babies in
NICUs.[642] The Gaza Health Ministry said that more than 192 medical staffers had been killed by Israeli airstrikes, as well as ambulances, health institutions, its headquarters, the Rimal Clinic, and the International Eye Center.[643]Médecins Sans Frontières stated 18 ambulances had been destroyed, and eight medical facilities destroyed or damaged.[644] On 24 October, a Health Ministry spokesman announced the healthcare system had "totally collapsed".[645]
On 16 October, doctors warned of disease outbreaks due to hospital overcrowding and unburied bodies.[598] The World Health Organization stated the situation was "spiralling out of control".[646] The
Palestinian Red Crescent reported that it had lost contact with its headquarters on 27 October, disrupting Gazans' ability to contact emergency services.[647]
On 14 November, Reuters reported that Israel was coordinating the transfer of medical incubators to
Al-Shifa Hospital to assist in the evacuation of newborn babies[648][649] and that the IDF stated that three battery powered incubators were on standby outside Gaza.[650] The director of Al-Shifa stated Israel's statement about providing
incubators to premature babies was false.[651]
According to the
World Food Program, as of 9 December, more than half of the population of Gaza was
starving, more than nine in ten were not eating every day, and 48% were suffering from extreme hunger.[652][653] One of the few bakeries still standing in the Gaza Strip was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in
Deir al-Balah, and Gazans were reported to be searching through the rubble of bombed bakeries attempting to find bags of flour.[654] The United Nations warned that a collapse of social order could result from the intense hunger among Palestinians.[654] The Associated Press reported that rare instances of public dissent against Hamas were taking place, with reports of angry chants against Hamas by hundreds of people taking refuge in a UN shelter.[655]
Palestinian Foreign Minister
Riyad al-Maliki, who is part of the
Palestinian Authority, said Israel was using starvation as a weapon, saying "they are starving because of Israel's deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against the people it occupied". An Israeli official responded that the charge was "blood-libellous" and "delusional".[657]Human Rights Watch similarly found that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war by deliberately denying access to food and water.[658] On 16 January 2024, UN experts accused Israel of "destroying Gaza's food system and using food as a weapon against the Palestinian people".[659] Michael Fakhri, the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said that Israel was intentionally starving Palestinians, stating "Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime" and that Israel was intending to "destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian."[660] On 3 March 2024, Fakhri stated that "famine may very well be already occurring".[661]
On 29 February, civilians attempting to get
aid from food trucks were
shot at by IDF soldiers, with at least 118 being killed.[662] The event was labelled a
massacre by some sources and referred to as the "
flour massacre".[663][491] The UN called for an investigation, stating it had "recorded at least 14 incidents involving shooting and shelling of people gathered to receive desperately needed supplies".[664]
In February 2024, the UN said 576,000 people were "facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and
starvation".[665] As of 22 February, the entire population in the Gaza Strip was classified in
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 – Crisis, or above. 50% of the population was in IPC Phase 4 – Emergency, and 25% is in IPC Phase 5 – Catastrophe. The IPC said the risk of famine was increasing every day.[666] An updated report released on 18 March said that food insecurity had deepened and widened, with a doubling of people projected to experience catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation by July.[667]Oxfam said in a report issued the same day that Israel was "deliberately" using bureaucracy to hinder the supply of aid.[668] Fewer aid trucks entered Gaza in February compared with January.[669]
On 6 March 2024, South Africa again asked the ICJ to act on an emergency basis asserting that the threat of starvation had materialized, pointing to the flour massacre and Israeli attempts to discredit UNRWA.[670][671][672]
On April 16, the U.N. Human Rights Office said Israel was placing unlawful restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip.[673]
The scale, extent, and pace of
destruction of buildings in the Gaza Strip ranks among the most severe in modern history.[674][675][676][677][678] The 29,000 munitions—shells and bombs—that Israel had dropped on Gaza in three months greatly exceed the amount (3,678) dropped by the United States, between 2004 and 2010, during its
Invasion of Iraq.[679] After seven months, Israel's war left 37 million tonnes of rubble, much of it with unexploded bombs and averaging 300 kilograms of rubble per square metre of Gaza, with an estimated removal time of 14 years.[680] The estimated extent of the destruction ranges from 35% of all buildings (March 2024,
UNITAR)[681][682] to 70% (December 2023, The Wall Street Journal),[675] with a higher level of destruction in northern Gaza.[683][684] The damage to buildings in northern Gaza reportedly exceeds that in Bakhmut and Mariupol in the
Russian invasion of Ukraine,[677] Aleppo in the
Battle of Aleppo,[674] and Mosul and Raqqa in the
War against the Islamic State;[674] by 5 December 2023, the percentage of buildings damaged or destroyed in Gaza exceeded
Dresden and
Cologne during
World War II and approached the level of destruction seen in
Hamburg.[677][685] Bombing has destroyed or damaged apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, religious sites, factories, and shopping centers.[675]The Guardian reported that the scale of destruction has led international legal experts to raise the concept of
domicide, which it describes as "the mass destruction of dwellings to make [a] territory uninhabitable".[676]
Definitively assessing the extent of destruction in Gaza has been complicated by difficulties in accessing up-to-date satellite imagery.[686] An analysis by The Washington Post found "apparent craters within 180 meters of 17 of the 28 hospitals in northern Gaza", although this represents "a conservative undercount of the actual bombs dropped near Gaza's hospitals".[674] This analysis focused on bombs weighing 2,000 pounds or more, which could irreparably damage a building 180 meters away.[674] Israel has employed unguided munitions, which are particularly destructive and has used
artificial intelligence to quickly identify targets for bombing.[677]
By 18 April 2024, more than 80% of schools and 60% of educational facilities in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, in addition to the killing of at least 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 professors and the injuring of 7,819 students and 756 teachers.[166] All of the Gaza Strip's
twelve universities were destroyed or damaged by Israeli forces, including the Israeli military's demolishing of
Al-Israa University and its museum that contains several thousand rare artifacts.[693] At least 625,000 children are out of school.[167][694][168] UN experts expressed concerns that the destruction of the Gaza Strip's educational facilities amounted to a systematic effort they termed a "scholasticide."[166]
By 20 January 2024,
Israeli forces had desecrated at least sixteen cemeteries and had turned some into military outposts.[170]Forensic Architecture noted that Israel had destroyed one of Gaza's most important archaeological sites, located near
al-Shati refugee camp.[695] Subsequent of the destruction of a cemetery in Khan Unis, Israel said Hamas uses cemeteries to hide tunnels and that "digging up the tunnels involves unavoidable collateral damage to sacrosanct spaces".[696] Israel also said it had damaged a cemetery in southern Gaza in a search for the bodies of hostages.[697]
By March 2024 38-48% of tree cover and farmland had been destroyed by Israeli forces by using bulldozers and dropping 10,000s of bombs. Due to a combination of destruction of agricultural land, displacement of people, bombing and the
Israeli blockade, the Gaza Strip is experiencing famine with most of the population at imminent risk of starvation.[164][165]
Israeli bombardment and the blockade have led to a total collapse of Gaza's civil infrastructure; sewage treatment, waste disposal, water management, and fuel supplies. Water has been polluted by 100,000 cubic metres of sewage being discharged into the sea every day due to Israel cutting off fuel supplies. Groundwater has been contaminated by toxins and munitions and air has been polluted by smoke and particulates from bombing. Soils have been degraded by uprooting trees and contaminated by toxins, munitions, heavy bombing, and demolitions. Bombing by the Israeli army has created 22.9 million tonnes of debris and hazardous material, much of which contains human remains.[164][165]
What’s left is devastation... an area that is no longer livable... The targeted farms and greenhouses are fundamental to local food production for a population already under a decades-long siege.... the effects of this systematic agricultural destruction are exacerbated by other deliberate acts of deprivation of critical resources for Palestinian survival in Gaza
Responses to crisis
On 20 October,
Doctors Without Borders stated it was "deeply concerned for the fate of everyone in Gaza right now".[698] On 21 October, a joint statement by
UNICEF,
WHO,
UNDP,
UNFPA, and
WFP stated, "the world must do more" for Gaza.[699] On 26 October, the World Health Organization stated Gaza's humanitarian and health crisis had "reached catastrophic proportions".[700] On 28 October, the
Red Cross president
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger stated she was "shocked by the intolerable level of human suffering".[701] During the first month of the war, the Gaza Ministry of Health recorded more than 4,000 children killed in Gaza.[702] UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on 6 November that Gaza is "fast becoming a graveyard for children". Israeli UN Ambassador
Gilad Erdan responded directly to Guterres, stating "Shame on [Guterres]... More than 30 minors – among them a 9-month-old baby as well as toddlers and children who witnessed their parents being murdered in cold blood – are being held against their will in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the problem in Gaza, not Israel's actions to eliminate this terrorist organization."[703][704] On 8 November, UN Human Rights chief
Volker Turk described the
Rafah Crossing as "gates to a living nightmare".[705] On 10 November, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jens Laerke stated, "if there is a hell on earth, it is the north of Gaza".[706]
Retired Israeli major general
Giora Eiland compared Israel's situation to that of the United States after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.[707] He argued that if Israel wanted to disarm Hamas, it had "no choice" but to make Gaza a place "that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in".[708][707] This, he stated, was not a "program for revenge", but a way to get the hostages back.[709]
On 18 October, the United States UN representative
Linda Thomas-Greenfield vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning all violence against civilians and urging humanitarian aid to Gaza. She said the council must instead support direct diplomacy.[710] On 27 October, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution on immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza and aid access.[711] The resolution attracted 121 votes in favor and 44 abstentions; 14 countries voted against, namely Israel, the United States,
Austria,
Croatia, the
Czech Republic,
Fiji,
Guatemala,
Hungary,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Nauru,
Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and
Tonga.[712][713]
On 9 November, Israel agreed to daily four-hour "humanitarian pauses" to allow civilians to obtain food and medicine, as well as evacuate to the south.[714] Evacuees described the evacuation path as full of death and horror.[715][716]Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the
Norwegian Refugee Council, said on 5 December that "The pulverising of Gaza now ranks amongst the worst assaults on any civilian population in our time and age. Each day we see more dead children and new depths of suffering for the innocent people enduring this hell".[717]
On 12 December, the UN General Assembly once again voted overwhelmingly for a resolution on immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza and aid access. The resolution attracted 153 votes in favor and 23 abstentions; 10 countries voted against, namely Israel, the United States, Austria, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.[718][v]
Due to an agreement reportedly brokered by Qatar and France between Israel and Hamas, medicine was scheduled to leave
Doha via two military aircraft and be delivered to the Gaza Strip on 17 January 2024 to aid hostages.[720][721][722] The medicine was successfully delivered.[723]
Several experts in international law and
genocide studies characterized Hamas's assault as genocide.[724][725][726] Legal and genocide experts have condemned the attack, during which 1,139 people were killed, including 695 Israeli civilians. They argue that these actions by Hamas constitute a significant violation of international law and were carried out with the intent to destroy the Israeli national group.[726][725][724] Some commentators highlight
Hamas's founding charter, which
calls for the destruction of Israel; this has led to suggestions that its intent is genocidal and that the attacks on 7 October were an attempt to fulfill this agenda.[727][226]
In a 12 October preliminary legal assessment condemning Hamas's attacks in Israel, international humanitarian law scholar and Dean of
Cornell Law SchoolJens David Ohlin said the evidence suggested Hamas's "killings and kidnappings" potentially violated Articles 6–8 of the
Rome Statute as well as the
Genocide Convention and were "crimes against humanity"; over a hundred international scholars expressed support for this position.[728][729]
During the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israeli communities, Israeli women and girls were reportedly raped, assaulted, and mutilated by Hamas militants, an allegation that Hamas denies.[730][731][732] Israeli police said dozens of women and some men were raped. The New York Times and the BBC reported that "videos of naked and bloodied women filmed by Hamas on the day of the attack, and photographs of bodies taken at the sites afterwards, suggest that women were sexually targeted by their attackers".[733][734][735] Although not investigative in nature, a United Nations team concluded in March 2024 that there was "clear and convincing information" of
Israeli hostages in Gaza experiencing "sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment", and there was also "reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks in multiple locations across Gaza periphery, including rape and
gang-rape, in at least three locations": the
Nova music festival and its vicinities of Road 232 and kibbutz
Re'im.[736][737]
Witnesses described the perpetrators using shovels,[738] beheading victims, engaged in rapes, and even playing with severed body parts,[734] although a number of testimonies were subsequently discredited.[739][740][741] These acts were denounced as gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, aligning with the International Criminal Court's recognition of sexual violence as such.[742][743] Some of the released hostages also shared testimonies of sexual violence during their time in Gaza.[744][731]
A New York Times investigation by
Jeffrey Gettleman,
Anat Schwartz, and Adam Sella, released in late December 2023, found at least seven locations where sexual assaults and mutilations of Israeli women and girls were carried out. It concluded that these were not isolated events but part of a broader pattern of
gender-based violence during the 7 October massacres. The newspaper's probe concluded that Hamas "weaponized sexual violence" during the attacks.[745] Nevertheless, Schwartz later revealed that she did not find any victim or complaint of sexual assault when she contacted every rape crisis clinic in Israel.[746]The Intercept and Mondoweiss both concluded that the mass rape allegations advanced by the New York Times were unfounded.[747][746]
Israel accused international women's rights and human rights groups of downplaying the assaults.[748] Hamas denied that it committed any sexual assaults, and has called for an impartial international investigation into the accusations.[749][750] On January 2024, UN experts
Alice Jill Edwards and
Morris Tidball-Binz [
de] said in a statement that the sexual violence acts amounted to war crimes which "may also qualify as
crimes against humanity".[751]
On 12 April 2024, the
European Union sanctioned military and special forces wings of Hamas and the armed wing of
Palestinian Islamic Jihad due to their responsibility for the alleged sexual violence on 7 October. An asset freeze and travel ban were imposed on the
Qassam and
Al-Quds Brigades and the
Nukhba Force.[752] The EU said the two groups' fighters “committed widespread sexual and gender-based violence in a systematic manner, using it as a weapon of war.”[753]
Hostage-taking
Human Rights Watch has stated that "Hamas and Islamic Jihad are committing war crimes by holding scores of Israelis and others as hostages in Gaza". They also added that "Civilians, including children, people with disabilities, and older people, should never be treated as bargaining chips", and "The armed groups should immediately and safely release all civilians detained".[754] The secretary-general of
Amnesty International urged the immediate release of "all civilians who were abducted, including children", and supported an investigation into these incidents "as part of the International Criminal Court's ongoing investigation into crimes committed by all parties in the current conflict".[755]
Looting
Looting took place in several kibbutzim and at Nova festival.[756][757] According to the videos published by the Times of Israel the looting in kibbutz Be'eri was done by Palestinian civilians who arrived to the kibbutz after Hamas militants stealing agricultural equipment, motorbikes, and televisions.[758]
Israel has been accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during the war.
The Israeli defence minister
Yoav Gallant declared on October 9: "we are fighting human animals".[759][760] As mentioned by the Times, Gallant promised “a complete siege” on Gaza, with “no electricity, no food, no fuel”. The next day he told Israeli troops he had “released all restraints”. Giora Eiland, a former Israeli general, wrote the same month: “To make the siege effective, we have to prevent others from giving assistance to Gaza."[761]
On 29 December,
South Africa submitted
a case to the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and requested provisional measures for Israel to suspend its military campaign in Gaza.[768][769][470] In its filing, South Africa alleged that Israel's actions were "intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group".[770] South Africa's case was backed by
Belgium,
Ireland and
Spain in Europe,[771] the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the
Arab League.
Malaysia,
Namibia and
Pakistan independently backed the case.[772] On 2 January 2024, Israel decided to appear before the ICJ in response to the case made by South Africa.[773] The Court issued an Order in relation to the provisional measures request on 26 January 2024 in which it ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent any acts that could be considered genocidal but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.[774] It determined that it was "plausible" that some of Israel's actions may violate the Genocide Convention. The final ruling is expected to take years.[775]
Some researchers in the fields of urban planning and architecture have alleged that the destruction in Gaza, particularly the destruction of historic buildings and essential infrastructure such as hospitals and universities, amounts to
domicide, or
urbicide.[776][777][778][779][780]
A mass grave with 283 bodies was uncovered in April 2024 at Khan Younis's Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza City. 30 bodies were buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.[781][782] According to Colonel
Yamen Abu Suleiman, bodies were found with their hands and feet tied. However, independent media was unable to verify these claims.[783] Following the reported discovery of the mass graves, UN human rights chief
Volker Türk called for an independent investigation into the deaths.[784]
Israel imposed a "complete siege" on Gaza in the first ten days of the war, due to alleged security concerns that weapons, fuel, and armaments would be transferred to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid.[785][786] Israel later allowed the delivery of limited humanitarian aid following security checks.[787] Israel's restriction of the flow of food, fuel, water, and other humanitarian aid was criticized as a war crime by human rights organizations.[788]
Tom Dannenbaum, co-director of the Center for International Law & Governance at the
Fletcher School at Tufts University, wrote that the order "commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime".[789]Oxfam issued a statement that accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, saying "
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare and as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL obligations to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza".[790]
Geoffrey S. Corn, Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at
Texas Tech University School of Law, and Sean Watts, professor in the Department of Law at the
United States Military Academy at West Point, write that sieges are subject to the same laws of war as other military tactics such as
distinction and proportionality.[791] Watts previously wrote that Article 23 of the
Fourth Geneva Convention "requires that parties to a conflict allow passage of a limited class of relief supplies for civilians...only if the parties are satisfied no advantage will result 'to the military efforts or economy of the enemy'", but that if the law is interpreted to allow "incidental" starvation of civilians proportional to anticipated military advantage, it "reduces the rule's humanitarian effect, perhaps to the vanishing point".[792]
Amnesty International called for an urgent investigation into Israel's
mass detentions and the
enforced disappearance of Palestinians in Gaza, noting that the disappearances and treatment of captives could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.[457]
Allegations of sexual violence
A report co-authored by
Francesca Albanese and
Reem Alsalem, United Nations Special Rapporteurs, urged an inquiry into allegations of serious
human rights violations against
Palestinian women and girls in
Gaza and the
West Bank by
Israeli forces.[793] The allegations involve rape and
sexual violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a press release on 19 February, citing those claims and referring to photos allegedly taken by Israeli troops showing female detainees in degrading circumstances posted online.[794] In an interview, Alsalem described the allegations as based on "reasonably credible information" and cited
Euro-Med Monitor as their source.[793]
Proportionality and distinction
Israel's adherence to the principles of
discrimination and
proportionality as required by the laws of war has been debated.[795][796]Human Rights Watch has stated that the overall civilian death toll, and Israel's use of powerful weapons in Gaza's densely-populated neighbourhoods, raised "serious questions" about the legality of Israel's conduct.[796] Human Rights Watch further argued that a higher proportion of casualties among women and children is indicative of a lack of proportionality, demonstrating what they describe as "a disregard toward Palestinian lives".[796]Amnesty International accused Israel of war crimes in a report where it analyzed five incidents between 7 October and 12 October where the IDF targeted residential areas in Gaza. It found that in several cases the IDF struck targets with no evidence of military activity and that these attacks were "indiscriminate" in nature. Anonymous IDF officials cited in a report by
+972 Magazine indicated a "loosening of constraints" in the rules of engagement, and that in numerous cases the IDF struck targets despite no evidence of military activity. The report claims that the rationale behind such attacks was "to harm Palestinian civil society" and, according to one source cited by the report, to "lead civilians to put pressure on Hamas".[352] Experts cited by
The Washington Post argue that certain Israeli airstrikes show that Israel has a tolerance for civilian casualties "orders of magnitude greater" than that of the
US in its war against ISIS.[797] United Nations officials and human rights groups have argued that Israel has not done enough to protect civilians.[796] In March 2024, the United Nations said that more children were killed in Gaza in four months than in four years of worldwide wars.[798] Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, declared: "This war is a war on children".[798]
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, an associate fellow at
Chatham House, argued that, given the size and nature of the 7 October attacks, Israel has a right of self-defence that could include its stated military aim of destroying Hamas, which has threatened to repeat its assault and eradicate the state of Israel.[796] According to The Economist, the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and international humanitarian law (IHL) grant Israel flexibility when it comes to taking military action against Hamas, but in its view, Israel's "definition of military targets is being stretched to breaking-point".[795]
Amichai Cohen, an Israeli lawyer, alleges that Israel does not deliberately target civilians but that Hamas's tactics make it hard to take action without affecting civilians.[795] Jill Goldenziel, a professor at the United States
National Defense University and
Marine Corps University, states that if Israel conducted every strike legally and with utmost precision, civilian casualties in war would remain, and the goal of a proportionality analysis is to decide whether they are excessive.[799] Israeli security officials state that their proportionality criteria in this conflict are unchanged and that they receive legal advice in relation to strikes.[796] Other Israeli officials, speaking anonymously, acknowledged that Israel has struck "private residences and public structures, like the Gaza Parliament and
the Islamic University", which would not previously have been considered valuable enough to justify the risk to civilian life.[796]
Independent United Nations experts[w] condemned the IDF's actions in Gaza, saying Israel had resorted to "indiscriminate military attacks" and "
collective punishment".[802] Israeli authorities said that the airstrikes are intended to degrade the military infrastructure that is frequently constructed in close proximity to residential areas and civilian establishments.[803] They also denounced the "deliberate and widespread killing and hostage-taking of innocent civilians" by Hamas, calling them "heinous violations of international law and international crimes".[801] Israel's
forced evacuation of northern Gaza also drew international condemnation. On 13 October, Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of
internally displaced persons, called it a "crime against humanity".[369] On 14 October,
Francesca Albanese, the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, characterized it as a "repeat of the 1948
Nakba", noting Israeli public officials' open advocacy for another Nakba.[804] On 16 November, UN experts reported that "grave violations" committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinians of Gaza "point to a genocide in the making" and called on the international community to prevent this unfolding genocide.[805] The
OHCHR expressed concern regarding reports of "mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of possibly thousands of Palestinians" in the north of Gaza.[457][806] On 23 February, the OHCHR stated that any transfer of weapons to Israel must be halted immediately as their use in Gaza is "likely to violate international humanitarian law".[807] On 27 March, Albanese stated that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza through the use of unlawful weaponry, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and man made starvation, which has been accompanied by "a pervasive anti-Palestinian narrative and dehumanization emanating from the uppermost tiers of Israeli society."[808]
According to
UNRWA, its staff faced "torture, ill-treatment, abuse, and sexual exploitation" at the hands of Israeli authorities. The organization also accused Israel of extracting forced confessions from its staff of being involved with Hamas through torture.[809][810][811]
Looting
Israeli soldiers posted videos of their looting Palestinian property on social media, with soldiers reporting that the practice was widespread and that commanders on the ground were largely allowing it to happen.[812][813] The
Military Advocate General wrote in a letter to IDF commanders that several incidents were under investigation, with some of the incidents potentially meriting criminal charges.[814][815]
Ecocide
The size and lasting impact of the environmental destruction have led to calls for the Israeli Government to be investigated for the war crime for
ecocide under the
Rome Statute for “widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”.[164][165]
On 24 October, US President
Joe Biden stated, "We should have those hostages released and then we can talk",[819] and said that a ceasefire would allow Hamas to attack Israel again.[820] On 2 November 2023, Hamas chairman
Ismail Haniyeh stated that if Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to bring more aid into Gaza, Hamas is "ready for political negotiations for a two-state solution with
Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine".[821][x] This followed the 1 November statement by Hamas official Ghazi Hamad that Hamas would repeat the 7 October attack time and again until Israel is annihilated.[824] On 3 November, Benjamin Netanyahu stated Israel would not agree to a ceasefire unless Hamas releases all hostages.[825] On 6 November, both Israel and Hamas rejected calls for a ceasefire.[826] On 15 November, Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq stated Israel was "stalling to continue its aggression and war against defenceless civilians".[827]
A truce was in place between 24 November and 1 December 2023, during which Hamas released hostages and Israel released prisoners.[434]
By 13 December 2023, Israel and the United States were becoming increasingly isolated amid growing global calls for a ceasefire.[828][829][830][831] In December, new negotiations mediated by Egypt led to proposals of a multi-phase plan that would see the release of hostages, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and creation of a technocratic Palestinian government.[832] Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rejected a permanent ceasefire offer which would have Hamas and the PIJ relinquish their control over Gaza and hold democratic elections.[833][834]
The ceasefire talks continued in Cairo in February and March 2024. The Israeli delegation said that the key issue was Hamas's refusal to hand over the list of hostages that are alive.[835]
On 25 April, Hamas leader
Khalil al-Hayya told the
Associated Press that the group would be willing to disarm and dissolve its military wing
Al-Qassam if an independent Palestinian state was established along pre-1967 borders. He also said that there would need to be a
right to return for Palestinian refugees in accordance with
international resolutions for the deal to take place and that Hamas would transform into a political party provided such a deal is reached.[836]
The talks between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages started almost immediately after the start of the war with Qatar and Egypt serving as mediators.[837][838][353][839] The hostage negotiations were linked to ceasefire negotiations, with different factions in the Israeli government holding different positions.[840]
The
Abducted and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli group representing the families of those taken hostage in Gaza, said that they supported a blanket release of all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the return of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza.[841] The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, said the group was prepared to release all Israeli hostages in return for the release of all Palestinian prisoners. The IDF spokesman dismissed the report as "psychological terror cynically used by Hamas to create pressure".[842]
On 8 October 2023, the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held a closed-door meeting on the conflict, which concluded without a joint statement being agreed.[844] The Council passed a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause on 15 November.[845] Israel's ambassador to the UN called the resolution "disconnected from reality" and said Israel would "continue acting according to [international] law while the Hamas terrorists will not even read the resolution ... let alone abide by it".[846] On 6 December, UN secretary-general
António Guterres invoked
Article 99 of the
Charter of the United Nations for the first time, which allows him to address matters that threaten "international peace and security" before the
UN Security Council.[847][848]
Diplomats, concerned that Israel had no post-war plan and looking to limit the humanitarian crisis as well as any regional expansion of the war, urged delay of a full-scale land invasion of Gaza.[849] Russia requested a UNSC vote on 15 October on a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire.[850] The Russian draft was rejected while negotiations continued on a Brazilian draft.[851]
On 18 October 2023, the US
vetoed a UNSC resolution drafted by Brazil that "condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, called for humanitarian pauses in all attacks to allow the delivery of lifesaving aid to civilians, and called for Israel to withdraw its directive for civilians to evacuate the northern part of the Gaza Strip". The draft was supported by 12 of the 15 Council members; the UK and Russia abstained.[852][853] Louis Charbonneau at
Human Rights Watch said the US had again "cynically used their veto to prevent the UNSC from acting on Israel and Palestine at a time of unprecedented carnage". The US Ambassador to the UN,
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, explained that the US wanted more time to let American on-the-ground diplomacy "play out", and criticized the text for failing to mention Israel's right to self-defense, in line with the
UN Charter – a point echoed by UK Ambassador to the UN
Barbara Woodward.[854][855][856] Subsequently, on 25 October, China and Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution, and a Russian drafted resolution was vetoed by the UK and US.[857] Hamas issued a statement praising Russia and China's position and thanking all the countries who demanded an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza.[858][859]
On 15 November 2023, the UNSC passed a resolution focusing on the humanitarian situation, calling for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and for humanitarian corridors to save and protect civilian lives.[860]Malta drafted the resolution; twelve members voted in favor, none against and three abstained. The UK and US abstained; while they supported the emphasis on humanitarian relief, the resolution contained no explicit criticism of Hamas. Russia abstained because it did not call for an immediate ceasefire. The resolution followed a
United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities on 27 October.[861][862]
On 8 December 2023, world leaders, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN officials criticized the US for its veto of another UNSC resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The UK abstained, while the other 13 council members voted in favor.[863][864][865] In response to the US veto, Egypt invoked Resolution 377A, which allows the UN General Assembly to address an issue threatening global security neglected by the UNSC.[866]
On 20 February 2024, the United States
vetoed a UNSC resolution proposed by Algeria demanding "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza", "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" and "unhindered humanitarian access", supported by 13 council members including permanent members France, China, and Russia; the UK abstained. The US representative said, "Sometimes hard diplomacy takes more time ... [it is] the only path available towards a longer durable peace"; the Algerian representative emphasized that "silence is not a viable option".[867][868]
On 22 March 2024, the United States put forward a draft resolution that stated the "imperative" for "an immediate and sustained ceasefire", facilitating aid delivery and supporting ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas, linked to the release of hostages. It was vetoed by Russia and China with Algeria also voting against it. The resolution was supported by 11 other council members; Guyana abstained.[869][870] A key point of criticism was the draft's unusual language – Russia and China said it was not a straightforward "call" or "demand" to halt hostilities, and implied the ceasefire would be conditional on a release of all hostages.[870][871] Critics argued this would leave innocent civilians exposed to continued Israeli attacks until Hamas and Israel agreed a hostage deal.[870][872] Another point of criticism was that the final draft no longer contained clear opposition to a ground offensive in Rafah.[871] While the original draft said Israel's offensive in Rafah "should not proceed under current circumstances", the version presented for the vote only expressed concern that a ground offensive into Rafah "would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, potentially into neighboring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security."[871] China criticized this backtracking, saying it "would send an utterly wrong signal and lead to severe consequences."[871]
On 25 March 2024,
UNSC resolution 2728 sponsored by Algeria passed demanding an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages for the month of
Ramadan. The resolution passed with 14 votes in favor and the United States abstaining. US ambassador
Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that the US abstained from the vote since "We did not agree with everything with the resolution ... Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas" and stated that the release of captives will lead to the increase in humanitarian aid. Amar Bendjama, the representative of Algeria was quoted saying "Finally, the Security Council is shouldering its responsibility ... The bloodbath has continued for far too long."[873][874]
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
two-state solution, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security. The Council urged all States to adopt measures as required to promote the realization of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.[877][878]
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.[879][880]
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
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 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.[881][882]
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
UNRWA 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.[883][884][885]
With the adopted resolutions, the Council demanded Israel be held accountable for possible war crimes and demanded the halt of arms sales to Israel.[886][887][888]
Ambassador recalls
On the afternoon of
Israel's 31 October airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp, Bolivia
severed all diplomatic ties with Israel, with ambassador recalls by Chile, Colombia, Jordan, Bahrain, Honduras, Turkey, Chad, South Africa, and Belize following over the next two weeks. Bolivia's
minister of the presidency demanded an end to the attacks on Gaza,
Chilean PresidentGabriel Boric cited Israel's "collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population", and Colombian President
Gustavo Petro cited the "massacre of the Palestinian people".[889][890] Jordan's Foreign Minister cited an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" and condemned the "Israeli war that is killing innocent people in Gaza".[465][891]Bahrain's National Assembly additionally cut off all economic relations,[892] citing a "solid and historical stance that supports the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people".[893][894] This decision does not appear to have been implemented.[895]Honduras' Minister of Foreign Affairs cited Israel's violations of international humanitarian law.[896] Turkey cited "the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel's refusal (to accept) a ceasefire".[897][898] Turkey was criticized for still maintaining economic and military relations with Israel.[899][900][901] Turkey started a restriction of exports to Israel on 9 April, after facing this criticism.[902] Chad cited the "unprecedented tide of deadly violence".[903] South Africa recalled its entire diplomatic mission and criticized Israel's ambassador for disparaging those "opposing the atrocities and genocide of the Israeli government".[904] Belize suspended diplomatic relations with Israel, citing the "unceasing, indiscriminate bombing in Gaza" and its violations of
international humanitarian law.[905]
Willingness to take refugees from third countries
Both Jordan and Egypt have rejected the idea of hosting Palestinian refugees fleeing from Gaza,[906][907] with King
Abdullah II of Jordan warning against pushing Palestinians to seek refuge in Jordan, and emphasizing the need to address the humanitarian situation within Gaza and the West Bank.[908] Both countries have expressed serious concern that Israel may seek to permanently expel Palestinians, a statement that Israel disputes.[909] On 2 November, however, Egypt said it will help around 7,000 foreigners and Palestinians with dual-nationalities through the
Rafah Border Crossing.[910]
Scotland's First Minister
Humza Yousaf who has family in Gaza, urged the international community to establish a refugee program for those fleeing violence in Gaza and said that Scotland was ready to offer sanctuary to refugees arriving in the UK.[911] European countries are wary of a refugee influx due to recent pro-Palestinian protests.[912]
In the United States, Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the problem of refugees be solved by "the region's partners", but emphasized the "historical role" of the US in accepting refugees, while Representative
Jamaal Bowman said that the US should welcome refugees who are not affiliated with Hamas. Both former president
Donald Trump and
FloridagovernorRon DeSantis voiced their opposition to accepting any Palestinian refugees.[907]
Reactions
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Significant geopolitical divisions emerged. Much of the
Western world provided "strong" support to Israel militarily and diplomatically,[913] including the
United States,[914]United Kingdom,[915] and
Germany[916] although the strong support is "at odds with the attitudes of Western publics which continue to shift away from Israel", according to Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the
European Council on Foreign Relations. Lovatt says that during the Cold War, Israel sided with the West against the Arab countries supported by the Soviets, and Western leaders generally see Israel "as a fellow member of the
liberal democratic club" and that this partially "explains the continued strong Western support for Israel – which has now largely become reflexive".[913] In contrast, the
Islamic world and much of the
Global South denounced the actions of Israel and its allies, criticizing the "moral authority of the West" and alleging that it holds
double standards surrounding
human rights.[913][889] The double standards, in their view, is condemning an illegal occupation in Ukraine while standing firmly behind Israel that has occupied Palestinian lands.[917]
The United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have supplied Israel with substantial military and medical aid.[915][918][919]
A public opinion poll conducted on 23–28 October by the polling company iPanel in collaboration with
Tel Aviv University found that 57.5% of
Israeli Jews believed the IDF was using "too little" firepower in Gaza, while 36.6% thought the amount of firepower was "appropriate", 4.2% were not sure, and only 1.8% thought the IDF was using "too much" firepower. In contrast, 50.5% of
Israeli Arabs believed that the IDF was using "too much" firepower in Gaza.[920] According to a survey by the
Israel Democracy Institute, only 10% of Israeli Jews would support a pause in the war in Gaza to allow an exchange of Israeli hostages.[920] A public opinion poll conducted in December 2023 by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 87% of Jewish Israelis supported the war in Gaza.[921] 75% of Jewish Israelis rejected the Biden administration's calls to change the IDF's strategy to one that "reduces the heavy bombing of densely populated areas."[922]
According to a survey carried out by the
Hebrew University on 7–9 December on the post-war handling of Gaza, 56% of Israelis opposed the annexation of Gaza with 33% in favor. When questioned on who should administer Gaza in the immediate post-war period, 23% supported a coalition of moderate Arab states, 22% Israeli military rule, 18% an international force, 18% Israeli annexation and 11% the Palestinian Authority.[923] The Direct Polls survey found that 83% of Israelis supported encouraging the voluntary emigration of residents of the Gaza Strip.[924] According to a poll published by the
Israel Democracy Institute, 91% of Israeli Jews and 24% of Israeli Arabs believe that the IDF is making an effort to follow international law.[925]
In an
Israel Democracy Institute survey of 510 Israeli citizens in early February 2024, 68% of survey respondents supported preventing all international aid from entering Gaza.[926]
Around 170 Palestinian citizens of Israel were arrested for posts supporting Palestinians in Gaza, which featured quoting
Quran verses, "prayers for the people of Gaza, and political analysis of Israeli military operations".[927] Between 1 October and 1 November, the number of Palestinians held in administrative detention, without charge or trial, rose from 1,319 to 2,070.[928][929][930] Prisoners have been subject to torture and at least four prisoners have died in Israeli custody.[928][929][931] The ethics panel of the
Knesset voted to suspend politician
Ofer Cassif for 45 days over anti-Israel statements in interviews he made after the war broke out. Following a rally in support of Gaza in Haifa, police commissioner Kobi Shabtai threatened to send antiwar protesters to the Gaza Strip. As of 18 October 63 people have been arrested in Israel on suspicion of supporting or inciting "terror" since the start of the conflict, according to Israeli police.[932]
On 11 October, an emergency unity government was formally announced between Likud and National Unity following a joint statement from the latter party, with Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and military chief of staff, joining a war cabinet also consisting of Netanyahu as Prime Minister and Yoav Gallant as Defence Minister. The statement said the unity government would not promote any policy or laws except those related to the ongoing fighting with Hamas.[937][938] It significantly reduces the influence of Netanyahu's previous far-right coalition partners over the conduct of the war, which was one of Gantz's demands.[939]Haaretz reported that former IDF chief of staff
Gadi Eizenkot and Strategic Affairs Minister
Ron Dermer would join the war cabinet as observers.[937][940][938]
On 29 October, Netanyahu blamed security chiefs for Hamas's attack in a post on X (formerly Twitter); this was later deleted following criticism.[941]
Sources identified as IDF officials have spoken to the press under the condition of anonymity regarding military strategies and culture resulting in unprecedented human losses. Among the concerns are
applications of artificial intelligence, such as the programs Habsora ("the Gospel"), Lavender, and "Where's Daddy?" that identify and track targets potentially linked to Hamas with minimal human oversight. Policy changes include expanding the threshold of acceptable civilian casualties and deliberately hitting targets in their homes, often killing entire family lines.[942]
A senior official expressed concern about soldiers "shooting first and asking questions later,", particularly in the cases of IDF killing of hostages and the
World Central Kitchen drone strikes.[943]
Palestinian territories
Popularity of Hamas
Before the war, Hamas was deeply unpopular in Gaza, with 52 percent of Palestinians stating they had no trust at all in the organization.[944][945] Hamas was even more unpopular in the West Bank, with only around twelve percent support.[946] During the war and Israel's bombardment of Gaza, Hamas's popularity among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank increased, while Palestinian support for
peaceful coexistence with Israel declined significantly.[947][948] According to a survey of 668 respondents carried out by Palestinian research firm AWRAD in the beginning of November 2023, 47 percent of Gazans strongly supported the 7 October attack.[949] The overwhelming majority of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank said they would never forget or forgive Israel's behavior in Gaza during the war.[947] Another survey released on 13 December found that 57% of respondents in the Gaza Strip and 82% in the West Bank believed Hamas was correct in launching the 7 October attack, while only 10% said they believed Hamas committed war crimes during the conflict. The survey also found that nearly 60% of respondents in the Palestinian territories agreed with the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority, while 88% supported the resignation of President Mahmoud Abbas.[950] In response to a critical social media video, Hamas issued a public statement warning against the publication of "any pictures, videos or materials that are offensive to the image of the steadfastness and unity of our people in Gaza".[951]
Among Gaza residents to criticize Hamas' actions and their outcome, journalist Muhammad Mansour said: "May Allah curse you, Hamas leadership. Sinwar, you are the offspring of a despicable creature. Allah will avenge the destruction you have inflicted upon us".[952] In early November, hundreds of people at a UN shelter in Gaza city shouted insults against Hamas and cried out that they wanted the war to end, in reaction to Hamas rocket launches at Israel.[953] A spokesman for a Hamas ministry was interrupted during a televised speech by a man with a wounded hand shouting: "May God hold you to account, Hamas!"[953] On Al Jazeera, an elderly woman complained that "aid does not reach the nation and the entire people; Everything goes to their houses; they take it, they will even shoot me and do whatever they want to me."[952]
The Wall Street Journal reported on 21 December that since 7 October, "quiet criticism has begun spreading" against Hamas, with Gazans "blaming the militants for having provoked Israel's wrath and for their inability to shield the population from a devastating war and a humanitarian crisis that deepens by the day". The Journal said that such opposition was unlikely to break out into the open, but that the "simmering opposition raises questions about the group's long-term hold over the strip".[951]
Gaza
Reactions in Gaza ranged from anger at the international community's response to fear.[954][955] The territory faced numerous major crises. The Israeli blockade caused significant difficulties, including a lack of food, medicine, and water.[956] A pediatrics doctor at Kamal Edwan Hospital described the situation in Gaza as "really dangerous",[957] stating that, as a result of Israel's denial of clean water, babies in his ward were experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.[958] Schools in the Gaza Strip were closed until further notice.[292] Yahya al-Sarraj, the mayor of
Gaza City, commented that the Israeli siege was a violation of international law and urged the international community to "support the victims".[959]
West Bank
Initially, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted the Palestinians' right to self-defense against the "terror of settlers and occupation troops"[960] and condemned the orders by Israel for residents to evacuate north Gaza, labeling it a "second Nakba".[961] Later, Abbas rejected the killing of civilians on both sides, and said that the Palestinian Liberation Organization was the sole representative of the Palestinians.[962]
Following the attack, celebrations occurred in
Nablus.[963]France 24 reported "Hamas called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" to join the battle.[964] Neighborhood watches were established in 50 locations amid fears of reprisals by
Israeli settlers, while a general strike was called for 8 October.[288] Seven Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces on 7 October,[964] while 126 others were injured.[288] As of 19 October, Al Jazeera reported that 76 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and Jerusalem, eight of them by armed Israeli settlers;[965] the Palestinian Health Ministry said that 61 people have been killed and 1,250 injured in the West Bank.[966] The Palestinian Prisoners Club said that 850 Palestinians, including lawmakers, prominent figures, journalists, and former detainees have been arrested by Israeli authorities since the start of the war.[546]
In contrast to previous Palestinian–Israeli wars, many Arab governments such as Egypt and Jordan had strongly negative views on Hamas,[967] they restrained their official reactions to neutral press statements. Public reaction in the Arab world was much more positive towards Hamas, being strongly influenced by Hamas-produced social media videos that were viewed millions of times.[968] The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, originally blamed on an Israeli airstrike, further damaged diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states keen to avoid antagonizing their public.[969]
Whereas
Al Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar, gave airtime to Hamas officials, news channels in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, such as
Al Arabiya and
Sky News Arabia, interviewed mainly Arabic-speaking Jews. News anchors in these countries did not refer to the IDF as an "occupation army", and referred to Palestinian casualties as "victims" rather than "martyrs";[970] however, as the war progressed, these channels increasingly adopted an anti-Israel and pro-Hamas stance.[968] Many in Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt also fear that they may unwillingly be drawn into the conflict through the actions of Hezbollah and Iran. In Egypt, populist pro-government talk show hosts opined against Hamas, asking why Egyptians should suffer to help Palestinians.[970] Egypt, despite having been pressed by the United States, refused to accept refugees from Gaza.[971]
A
joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh on 11 November 2023 called for the International Criminal Court to investigate "war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing" in the Palestinian territories and for an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza.[972] The summit was attended by dozens of leaders including Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Qatar's Emir
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, who had been welcomed back into the Arab League earlier in 2023.[972]Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed "condemnation and categorical rejection of this barbaric war against our brothers in Palestine".[972]
Many across the Middle East, particularly among the younger population, have been
boycotting US brands for perceived complicity in the destruction in Gaza since the start of the war.[973]
Hezbollah
Hezbollah denied knowledge of the attacks and warned the United States not to invade Lebanon, saying that they were prepared to face the US military.[974][975] In a speech on 3 November, Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah said Americans had threatened to bomb Iran,[976] and emphasized that Hezbollah had entered the war the day after Hamas's attack and that it would not stop its ongoing skirmishes with Israel.[977] He stated that the United States was fully responsible for the current war against Gaza and its people and that Israel was merely the "instrument of execution". He also said that anyone who wants to prevent a regional war must immediately stop the aggression against Gaza.[978][979]
Iran
Iran has praised the attack while being cautious to distance itself from its planning and execution.[980] Hamas spokesman
Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that Hamas had direct backing for the attack from Iran;[981][982] European, Iranian and Syrian officers corroborated Iran's involvement,[983][984] while senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mirdawi said the group planned the attacks on its own.[390] The Israeli army and the United States say that there is no evidence that Iran is connected with the attack by Hamas.[985] American intelligence appeared to show that Hamas's attack on Israel caught Iranian authorities by surprise.[986]
According to a report by
Al-Monitor, since the start of the war between Israel and the Gaza militias, Iran has tried to show a face of disinterest in the spillover of the conflict, and on the other hand, it has pursued an active diplomatic campaign to isolate Israel. Supporting the cause of Palestine has been one of the ideological principles of Iran's
Shia Islamic theocracy after the
1979 revolution,[987] with Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of Iran, announcing the last Friday of every Ramadan as "
Quds Day"[988] and inviting all the Muslims of the world to express solidarity with the legitimate rights of the Palestinian Muslim people.[989]
The Iranian government opened an account for people to deliver charitable aid.[990] It also opened a website and reported that more than six million volunteered to fight.[991] Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei threatened that Islamic resistance was going to become unstoppable should the war continue.[992] His spokesperson later said that the
2015 Iran nuclear deal would have delayed it but Israel would have collapsed within five years.[993]
Khamenei pointed to foreign visits to Israel and said that the fall of Israel was imminent.[994]
On 1 November, the Iranian government criminalized expressions of support for Israel and making contact with its people.[995][996] That same day, Khamenei called on Muslim states to impose a food and fuel blockade on Israel.[997]
Khamenei however conveyed to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that Iran would not directly intervene in the conflict with Israel, citing lack of prior warning about the 7 October attack. Despite this, Iran pledged to continue providing political and moral support to Hamas, urging restraint against calls for direct involvement by Iran and its ally Hezbollah.[998][999] The IRGC's
Quds Force promised it would continue supporting Hamas,[1000] while the IRGC's commander General
Hossein Salami said that the war would bring about a political and economic decline of the US.[1001][1002]
Polling has indicated a divide between government policy on the Israel-Hamas war and the views of the general public.[1003] A March 2024 Gallup poll found that a strong majority of Americans disapproved of Israeli conduct during the war.[1004] It found that 36% approved "of the military action Israel has taken in Gaza" while 55% disapproved.[1004] A November 2023 poll had 68% of Americans agreeing with a statement that "Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate". 43% opposed
military aid to Israel and 39% said that the U.S. should be a neutral mediator.[1003] A February 2024 Associated Press poll found that 44% saw Israel as "a partner that the U.S. should cooperate with, but doesn't share its interests and values", while 35% saw Israel "as an ally that shares U.S. interests and values". 50% of Americans believed Israel had "gone too far" in its response, 31% thought Israel had "been about right" and 15% thought Israel had "not gone far enough".[1005] Young Americans have been significantly less supportive of Israel than older generations.[1006][1007] On 25 February 2024, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the United States Air Force,
fatally self-immolated outside the front gate of the
Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. in protest of the ongoing military support of the war.[1008][1009]
Hours after Hamas's attack, US President Biden promised "rock-solid and unwavering" support to Israel and called Hamas's attack "unadulterated evil", comparing the group to
ISIS.[914] Biden said the attack on Israel was intended in part to scuttle an Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization agreement.[1010] To replenish Israel's stockpiles, the US said it would send
Iron Dome missiles, small bombs, and
JDAM conversion kits, in addition to fulfilling previous contracts to deliver
F-35 fighter jets,
CH-53 helicopters, and
KC-46 air refueling tankers.[1011] Biden also called on Congress to pass $14.3 billion in emergency military aid to Israel.[1011][1012] Details of weapons sent to Israel, which have been arriving daily, have been kept secret. Leaked details have shown that the US has sent laser-guided missiles, 155mm shells, new army vehicles, among others, at Israel's request.[1013] Early in the war, the
Pentagon said it would impose no limits on Israel's use of American weapons.[1011]
Foreign Policy reported on a "groundswell of opposition" among US diplomats and national security officials, against what they saw as Biden's "blank check" for the Israeli counterattack.[1018] In early November, "more than 630 employees" of the
US Agency for International Development signed a letter calling for an "immediate ceasefire".[1019]
The House of Representatives on 5 December passed a resolution that included language that said the House "clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism" and which condemned the slogan "
From the river to the sea".[1020]
As the war went on, the US government became more critical of Israel, and their relations became strained.[1021][1022] US Vice-President
Kamala Harris said on 2 December that "too many innocent Palestinians have been killed" and that "international humanitarian law must be respected". She said that at the end of the conflict, there must be "No forcible displacement, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, no reduction in territory, and no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism".[1023] Ten days later, US President Biden warned that Israel was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza.[1024] Biden criticized Israel's war cabinet and called on Netanyahu to replace it.[1025]
In February 2024, Biden called Israel's actions in Gaza "over the top",[1026] and issued a
national security directive requiring written assurances from Israel (and other countries) that it was using US-supplied weapons in line with international law.[1027]
On 4 March, US Vice-President Harris called for "an immediate ceasefire" because of "the immense scale of suffering in Gaza". She said Israel must let more aid into Gaza and was imposing "unnecessary restrictions".[1028] In a speech on 14 March, the US
Senate majority leader,
Chuck Schumer, berated Israeli PM Netanyahu as an "obstacle to peace". He said that Netanyahu "has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza" and that "Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah".[1029] Schumer called for
new Israeli elections.[1030] President Biden praised the speech and said Schumer's "serious concerns" are shared by many Americans.[1029]
Mounting criticism of Israel's actions has not led to a change in US policy regarding the sale of weapons to Israel. As of March 2024, Washington has approved more than 100 military sales to Israel. The Biden administration has bypassed congressional and public scrutiny by separating arms transfers into sales below the dollar amount where an official public notification is required.[1031] On 29 March the Washington Post reported that the US approved billions of dollars in additional weapons transfers.[1032]
On 2 April 2024, it was reported the
Biden administration put pressure on
Congress to approve the large-scale sale of
F-15 fighters to Israel in a deal worth 18 billion dollars.[1033]
On 25 October, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ceasefire, during a speech in which he stated that the attacks by Hamas "did not happen in a vacuum" and needed to be understood in the context of 56 years of Israel's "suffocating occupation" of Palestinians, further stating, "the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."[1035][1036] Israel responded by saying it would ban UN representatives from Israel to "teach them a lesson", and called for the Secretary-General's resignation.[1037][1038] The Secretary-General rejected the Israeli accusations.[1039]
On 27 October, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution ES-10/21 calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce and cessation of hostilities and condemned "all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terror and
indiscriminate attacks", adopted by a vote of 121 states to 14, with 44 abstentions.[1040]
In remarks to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep concern at "clear violations of
international humanitarian law" in Gaza and also said, "It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation", leading the Israeli ambassador
Gilad Erdan to call for Guterres's resignation.[1041][1042][1036] Following this, Guterres said that he was "shocked by the misrepresentations" of his statement, pointing out he had also said "... the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas".[1043][1044]
On 12 December, the UN General Assembly voted to demand "immediate humanitarian ceasefire". The
resolution passed overwhelmingly with 153 votes for, 23 neutral and 10 against.[1045]
On 26 March, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages. Under Chapter V, Article 25, of the UN Charter, the resolution is binding, however, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that "Ultimately, implementation is a question of international will."[1046]
On 5 April, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel for the high number of aid workers killed in the conflict.[1047]
Other
Solidarity with Israelis in
Berlin, Germany on 8 October
Solidarity with Palestinians in
Melbourne on 15 October
International leaders from Argentina,[1048] India,[1049] Philippines,[1050] the United States, and European countries condemned the attacks by Hamas. They expressed solidarity with Israel, affirmed Israel's right to defend itself from armed attacks, and described Hamas's tactics as terrorism.[1051][1052] South Korea condemned Hamas and called the attack "indiscriminate", expressing worries that despite missile interceptor defense systems it would remain vulnerable if
North Korea attempted a similar attack on South Korea.[1053] Most Latin American governments condemned Hamas's attacks in Israel, while some, such as Colombia, also expressed solidarity with Palestinians.[1054] The European Union announced it would review aid to Palestinian authorities to ensure the aid was not funding terrorism, and subsequently announced that immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza would be tripled.[1055][1056]
Austria, Germany, and Sweden suspended development aid to Palestine in response to Hamas's attack and said that they would review other projects and aid given.[1057][1058][1059] Germany sent two
Heron TP drones to Israel.[1060][1061] On 8 November 2023, the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs announced that the German government had authorized a tenfold increase in arms exports to Israel; the export of military equipment to Israel would be treated and approved as a priority. Exports worth around 32 million euros in all of 2022 rose to almost 303 million euros in 2023, most of which was authorized after the start of the war.[1062] Heads of the
World Uyghur Congress[1063] and the
Uyghur Human Rights Project condemned Hamas while
East Turkistan Government-in-Exile minister
Salih Hudayar declared support for Israel.[1064] Croatia's president
Zoran Milanović publicly stated that Israel had lost his sympathy due to its humanitarian crimes and "reprisal actions" in Gaza.[1065] Colombian president Gustavo Petro likened IDF attacks against Palestinians to Nazis and asked the Israeli ambassador to "apologize and leave the country".[1066] Spain's deputy prime minister
Yolanda Díaz called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop what she called a massacre in Gaza.[1067] On multiple occasions,
Pope Francis referred to Israel's actions in Gaza as "terror" and "terrorism".[1068]
Responses from African governments varied, showing division about the source of the conflict and who was to blame. However, most expressed grief and deep concerns about the outbreak of violence, with condemnations of attacks against civilians and calls for restraint and de-escalation to prevent further loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives.[1069]
As many as 20,000 Thai workers (around half of Israel's migrant workforce) live all over Israel, including areas close to Gaza.[1070]Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said their stance towards "the deadly Hamas-led attack against Israel is one of neutrality, and the Kingdom promotes a solution that would allow Palestine and Israel to coexist".[1071]
Queen Rania of Jordan said leaders of Western countries had double standards and were "complicit" in civilian suffering in Gaza.[1072]
A summit in
Amman hosted by
King Abdullah II that was also to be attended by leaders of the Palestinian Authority, US and Egypt was cancelled by Jordan on 18 October, in response to the
Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion.[1073] On the same day, China said Palestinians had been forced to move south because of Israel's evacuation order "only to suffer from air strikes in the south as well" and called the hospital explosion a "heinous attack"[1074] while Russia labeled the explosion as a war crime, saying that the US was ultimately responsible.[1075]
On 31 October, Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel due to what the deputy foreign minister called "the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive".[1076] Several other countries followed suit in severing relations with Israel.[1077] South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti submitted a referral to the International Criminal Court asking for an investigation into possible war crimes by Israel in the Palestinian territories.[1078]
Brazil announced a rescue operation of nationals using an air force transport aircraft.[1079]Poland announced that it would deploy two C-130 transport planes to evacuate 200 of its nationals from Ben-Gurion airport.[1080] Hungary evacuated 215 of its nationals from Israel using two aircraft on 9 October, while Romania evacuated 245 of its citizens, including two pilgrimage groups, on two
TAROM planes and two private aircraft on the same day.[1081] Australia also announced repatriation flights.[1082] 300 Nigerian pilgrims in Israel fled to Jordan before being airlifted home.[1083]
On 12 October, the United Kingdom arranged flights for its citizens in Israel; the first plane departed Ben Gurion Airport that day. The government had said before that it would not be evacuating its nationals due to available commercial flights. However, most commercial flights were suspended.[1084] Nepal arranged a flight to evacuate at least 254 of its citizens who were studying in Israel.[1085] India launched
Operation Ajay to evacuate its citizens from Israel.[1086] Ukraine has facilitated the evacuation of around 450 of its citizens from Israel as of 18 October, with additional evacuation flights in the planning for the near future.[1087]
According to
Daniel Byman and Alexander Palmer, the attack showcased the decline of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the rise of Hamas as a power center in
Palestinian politics. They predicted the PLO's further decline if the status quo held.[1088] Laith Alajlouni wrote that the immediate effect of the Hamas offensive was to unite Hamas and PLO. However, it may soon lead to conflict between them, possibly leading the PLO to lose control of the security situation in the West Bank, if more militant groups there begin to launch their independent attacks.[1089]
Political journalist
Peter Beaumont described the attack as "an intelligence failure for the ages" on the part of the Israeli government.[1090] The
Jewish News Syndicate deemed it a "
failure of imagination".[1091] A BBC report on the intelligence failure commented that "it must have taken extraordinary levels of operational security by Hamas".[1092] US officials expressed shock at how Israeli intelligence appeared to be unaware of any preparations by Hamas.[1093] Israeli officials later anonymously reported to Axios that the IDF and Shin Bet had detected abnormal movements by Hamas the day before the attack, but decided to wait for additional intelligence before raising the military's alert level. They also did not inform political leaders of the intelligence reports.[1094]
Amit Segal, chief political commentator for Israel's
Channel 12, said that the conflict would test Benjamin Netanyahu's survival as
prime minister, noting that
past wars had toppled the governments of several of his predecessors such as that of
Golda Meir following the 1973 Yom Kippur War,
Menachem Begin following the
1982 Lebanon War, and
Ehud Olmert following the
2006 Lebanon War.[1095] Prior to the formation of an emergency unity government on 11 October, Politico described the then-potential move as Netanyahu's opportunity to correct his course and save his political legacy.[1096] Citing the Israeli intelligence failure, which some observers attributed to
the incumbent government focusing more on internal dissent, the
judicial reform, and efforts to deepen Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories,[1097] some commentators criticized Netanyahu for putting aside the PLO and propping up Hamas,[249] and described him as a liability.[273][1098]
In an analysis by The Times of Israel, the newspaper wrote, "Hamas has violently shifted the world's eyes back to the Palestinians and dealt a severe blow to the momentum for securing a landmark US-brokered deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia."[1099] Andreas Kluth wrote in his
Bloomberg News column that Hamas "torched Biden's deal to remake the Middle East", arguing that the deal that was being discussed between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States would have left Palestinians in the cold, so the group decided to "blow the whole thing up". He added that viewed from Gaza, things were only going to get worse, considering that Netanyahu's coalition partners opposed a two-state solution for the conflict. He suggested they would prefer to annex the entirety of the West Bank, even at the expense of turning Israel into an apartheid state.[1100]
On 9 November, the Bank of Israel reported that the drop in labor supply caused by the war was costing the Israeli economy $600 million a week, or 6% of weekly GDP. The bank also stated that the estimate does not reflect total damage and did not include damages caused by the absence of Palestinian and foreign workers.[1101] In the final quarter of 2023, the Israeli economy shrank by 5.2% quarter-to-quarter due to labour shortages in construction and from the mobilization of 300,000 reservists.[1102] While Israel did still see economic growth of 2%, this was down from 6.5% growth in the year before the war. Further consequences of the war were that consumer spending declined by 27%, imports declined by 42% and exports were reported to decline by 18%.
Israel's high-tech factories reported on 25 December that they had been having trouble with electronic imports from China due to recent bureaucratic obstacles, leading to higher import costs and delayed delivery times.[1103] Israeli officials also reported that China had refused to send workers to their country during the war against the backdrop of a worker shortage in Israel's construction and farming sectors.[1104] China's actions were described as a de facto
sanction.[1105][1103]
The Water Transport Workers Federation of India, a trade union representing 11 major Indian ports and 3,500 workers, said it would refuse to operate shipments carrying weapons to Israel.[1106] The declaration came a few months after one Indian company halted production of Israeli police uniforms due to the war in Gaza.[1107]
Over 750 journalists signed an open letter condemning "Israel's killing of reporters in Gaza and criticizing Western media's coverage of the war". The letter said newsrooms are "accountable for dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify ethnic cleansing of Palestinians". Signers of the letter were criticized for potentially impeding their organizations' ability to gather news and could face management backlash,[1108]Semafor reported that Los Angeles Times journalists who signed the letter were barred from covering the Gaza war "in any way" for at least three months.[1109]
On 13 November 11 international news organizations sent a letter to Israel and Egypt, asking for access to the Gaza Strip to cover the war.[1110]
CBS reported on 14 December a statement of the
International Federation of Journalists noting that "the number of journalists killed in the past two months in the war in Gaza has surpassed the amount killed in the
Vietnam War, which lasted two decades".[1111] More than 50 Palestinian journalists lost their lives.[1111] Various dangerous facts such as airstrikes, but also starvation due to lack of food, risks linking for having no clean water available and shelter made that "Palestine is one of the most dangerous places for a journalist to do their job".[1111]Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with the
International Criminal Court, under section 8.2.b of the
Rome Statute accusing Israel of committing war crimes against 8 journalists.[1112][1113] It also lodged a complaint against Hamas, under section 8.2.a of the Rome Statute for the killing of a reporter covering the 7 October attack.[1112]
The
Committee to Protect Journalists has accused Israel of targeting journalists reporting from Gaza and their families, saying that in at least two cases, "journalists reported receiving threats from Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers before their family members were killed".[1114]
Unsubstantiated reports of certain 7 October atrocities
In the aftermath of the initial Hamas assault, witnesses from the IDF and the Israeli organization
ZAKA reported on various media outlets that they had seen bodies of beheaded infants and children at the site of the
Kfar Aza massacre.[1115][1116][1117] This claim was repeated by the US President Biden and by Secretary of State Blinken with the White House subsequently saying that the President was referring to the reports of beheadings.[1118][1119]
However, these stories were later found to be untrue or unverified.[1120][1119][1121] In reality, only two babies were known to have died on 7 October, one from a bullet and the other due to complications after birth.[1120]
Embedded journalists with Israel
Foreign media such as CNN, ABC, NBC, The New York Times, and Fox News, have limited access to Gaza only in the presence of Israeli soldiers. Vox reported that the news organizations "have to submit all materials and footage to the IDF for review before publication".[1113]
Censorship by social media companies
On 20 December,
Human Rights Watch issued a 51-page report documenting
Meta's pattern of removal and suppression of speech on
Facebook and
Instagram including peaceful expression in support of Palestine and public debate about Palestinian human rights.[1122]
^
abcIn the Gaza Strip, smaller Palestinian groups fighting in the war include:
Palestinian Freedom Movement (Al-Ansar Brigades),[6][7] Palestinian Mujahideen Movement[4][6][7]Jaysh al-Ummah,[8] and various minor
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades splinter groups (several of which possibly rejoined the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades just before the war).[7] Furthermore, a number of Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank have involved themselves in the conflict, including:
Lions' Den,[9] and various
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades sub-groups such as Hornets' Nest,[10] Jenin Battalion,[11] Qalqilya Battalion, etc.[11]
^Including 169,500 active personnel[84] and 360,000 reservists[85]
^At the same time the vote was being held at the
United Nations headquarters in New York, Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza.[719]
^Jhaveri, Ashka; Parry, Andie; Ganzeveld, Annika; Braverman, Alexandra; Soltani, Amin; Mills, Peter; Moore, Johanna; Carter, Brian (3 January 2024).
"IRAN UPDATE, JANUARY 3, 2024". Iran Update. Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
^Parry, Andie; Soltani, Amin; Carter, Brian; Braverman, Alexandra (29 December 2023).
"IRAN UPDATE, DECEMBER 29, 2023". Iran Update. Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
^Jhaveri, Ashka; Carter, Brian; Ganzeveld, Annika; Soltani, Amin; Braverman, Alexandra; Mills, Peter; Carl, Nicholas (2 January 2024).
"Institute for the Study of War". Iran Update. Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
^Abu Shahma, Mohammad; Asrar, Shakeeb; Antonopoulos, Konstantinos.
"Under the rubble: The missing in Gaza". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera.
Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
^Jhaveri, Ashka; Soltani, Amin; Moore, Johanna; Tyson, Kathryn; Braverman, Alexandra; Carl, Nicholas (7 January 2024).
"Iran Update, January 7, 2024". Institute for the Study of War.
Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
^
ab"Data on casualties". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory (
OCHAoPt).
Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
^* Nebehay, Stephanie (13 September 2011). Graff, Peter (ed.).
"U.N. experts say Israel's blockade of Gaza illegal". Reuters.
Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2023. A panel of five independent U.N. rights experts [said] the blockade had subjected Gazans to collective punishment in 'flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.'
"Hamas hardliner Yahya Sinwar elected as Gaza leader".
BBC News. 13 February 2017.
Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023. Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade around Gaza aimed at preventing attacks by militants there, though the measure has been condemned by rights groups as a form of collective punishment.
^Ackerman, Seth (4 January 2024).
"There was an Iron Wall in Gaza". Jacobin.
Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024. The unemployment rate soared to "probably the highest in the world", four-fifths of the population were forced to rely on humanitarian assistance, three-quarters became dependent on food aid, more than half faced "acute food insecurity", one in ten children were stunted by malnutrition, and over 96 percent of potable water became unsafe for human consumption.
^Kane, Alex; Cohen, Mari; Shamir, Jonathan; Scher, Isaac (10 October 2023).
"The Hamas Attacks and Israeli Response: An Explainer". Jewish Currents.
ISSN0362-4331.
Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023. Since Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2006... Hamas has sometimes used rocket fire to exact concessions from Israel... Israel has frequently reacted to Hamas rocket attacks with bombing campaigns, an approach Israeli strategists have referred to as 'mowing the grass'...
^"Where We Work. Gaza Strip". United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (
UNRWA).
Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
^Freedman, Robert O. (2013).
"Russia". In Peters, Joel; Newman, David (eds.). The Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Routledge. pp. 325–333 [331].
ISBN9780415778626. Archived from
the original on 16 November 2023.
^Hamed, Qossay (2023). Hamas in Power: The Question of Transformation. IGI Global. p. 161.
^Spitka, Timea (2023). National and International Civilian Protection Strategies in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Springer International Publishing. pp. 88–89.
^Heer, Jeet (11 December 2023).
"Why Netanyahu Bolstered Hamas". thenation.com. The Nation.
Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
^"A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid". B'Tselem. 12 January 2021.
Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023. A regime that uses laws, practices and organized violence to cement the supremacy of one group over another is an apartheid regime. Israeli apartheid, which promotes the supremacy of Jews over Palestinians, was not born in one day or of a single speech. It is a process that has gradually grown more institutionalized and explicit, with mechanisms introduced over time in law and practice to promote Jewish supremacy. These accumulated measures, their pervasiveness in legislation and political practice, and the public and judicial support they receive – all form the basis for our conclusion that the bar for labeling the Israeli regime as apartheid has been met.
^Boxerman, Aaron; Odenheimer, Natan; Bergman, Ronen (27 December 2023).
"A General's Account of Oct. 7 Battle for Be'eri Stirs Debate in Israel". The New York Times.
ISSN0362-4331.
Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024. ... the Israeli commander who led the fight detailed how he had authorized tank fire to end what was already an hourslong standoff — 'even at the cost of civilian casualties.' Those remarks have been picked up by the Israeli news media and prompted some public debate about the conduct of the commander, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram. Only two out of the 14 hostages in the house survived that day; it was not clear how many died by tank fire.
^Zitun, Yoav (12 December 2023).
"One-fifth of troop fatalities in Gaza due to friendly fire or accidents, IDF reports". Ynetnews.
Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023. Casualties fell as a result of friendly fire on October 7, but the IDF believes that beyond the operational investigations of the events, it would not be morally sound to investigate these incidents due to the immense and complex quantity of them that took place in the kibbutzim and southern Israeli communities due to the challenging situations the soldiers were in at the time.
^Jhaveri, Ashka; Moore, Johanna; Tyson, Kathryn; Carter, Brian; Ganzeveld, Annika; Carl, Nicholas (31 October 2023).
"Iran Update, October 31, 2023".
Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 1 November 2023. The al Quds Brigades and the Tulkarm Battalion of the al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades conducted a combined small arms attack on Israeli forces in Shuweika near Tulkarm, indicating growing coordination between the two groups. This was the first combined attack between the al Quds Brigades and al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the West Bank since October 19.
^Fabian, Emanuel.
"Authorities name 347 soldiers, 58 police officers killed in Gaza war". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 November 2023. Six soldiers have also been killed in attacks claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Hezbollah terror group on the border with Lebanon since the fighting started. One soldier was killed in a West Bank terror attack. The military's list also includes a soldier killed by friendly fire in the West Bank, a soldier killed due to malfunctioning ammunition on the Lebanon border, and two soldiers killed in a tank accident in northern Israel.
^Fabian, Emanuel.
"Authorities name 347 soldiers, 58 police officers killed in Gaza war". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 November 2023. Six soldiers have also been killed in attacks claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Hezbollah terror group on the border with Lebanon since the fighting started. One soldier was killed in a West Bank terror attack. The military's list also includes a soldier killed by friendly fire in the West Bank, a soldier killed due to malfunctioning ammunition on the Lebanon border, and two soldiers killed in a tank accident in northern Israel.
^Julia Frankel,
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in recent history, experts say Associated Press 11 January 2024:'Between 1942 and 1945, the allies attacked 51 major German cities and towns, destroying about 40-50% of their urban areas, said Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian. Pape said this amounted to 10% of buildings across Germany, compared to over 33% across Gaza, a densely populated territory of just 140 square miles (360 square kilometers).“Gaza is one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history,” said Pape. “It now sits comfortably in the top quartile of the most devastating bombing campaigns ever”.'
^Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Williams, Dan; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (14 November 2023).
"Israeli forces outside main Gaza hospital, offer to send in incubators".
Reuters. Retrieved 14 November 2023. The Israeli military said it was coordinating the transfer of incubators into Gaza, in a possible measure to enable the evacuation of newborn babies from the hospital.
^"Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people". OHCHR. 16 November 2023. Archived from
the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023. Grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making, UN experts said today. They illustrated evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to "destroy the Palestinian people under occupation", loud calls for a 'second Nakba' in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure.
^"Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people". OHCHR. 16 November 2023. Archived from
the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023. Grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making, UN experts said today. They illustrated evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to "destroy the Palestinian people under occupation", loud calls for a 'second Nakba' in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure.
^Fassihi, Farnaz (24 October 2023).
"Cease-fire Calls Dominate Fiery U.N. Security Council Session". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2023. While condemning Hamas's "appalling" attacks, he emphasized that these actions could not "justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people" and acknowledged the historical grievances of Palestinians. Israeli officials criticized Guterres, with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen canceling a meeting and demanding Guterres's resignation.
^"Israel and U.S. Face Growing Isolation as Deadly War in Gaza Continues With No End in Sight". Time. 12 December 2023. Archived from
the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023. Israel and the United States were increasingly isolated as they faced global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, including a non-binding vote expected to pass at the United Nations later on Tuesday. Israel has pressed ahead with an offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months.
^"U.S. and Israel increasingly isolated amid growing calls for a cease-fire". NBC News. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023. As the Israeli military expands its military operations in Gaza, NBC News' Hala Gorani reports on the Israel Defense Forces latest offensive against Hamas and how the U.S. and Israel are becoming increasingly isolated internationally amid growing calls for a cease-fire.
^MEMANAS! Rusia dan China KEROYOK AS, Pentagon Dinilai Dukung Pembunuhan oleh Zionis di Gaza (in Indonesian),
Tribunnews.com, 26 October 2023,
archived from the original on 24 February 2024, retrieved 24 February 2024 – via Youtube, Kepala biro politik gerakan perlawanan Islam Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh memuji posisi Rusia dan Cina. Ia mengapresiasi dan berterima kasih kepada seluruh negara anggota dan non-anggota Dewan Keamanan PBB yang menuntut segera dihentikannya serangan dan kejahatan rezim Zionis terhadap masyarakat Gaza.
^Özdemir, Ronî (14 November 2023).
"Erdoğan's 'Solidarity' With Palestine Is Just a Vehicle for His Own Nationalism". Novara Media.
Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024. What's more, while Turkey has joined other nations such as Bolivia and South Africa in severing diplomatic ties with Israel, this is yet to be met with a commitment to economic and military divestment. Despite calls from Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei for a total boycott of oil exports to Israel, Turkey has continued to allow oil exports from its close ally, Azerbaijan – which provides around 40% of Israel's oil – to pass through the port of Ceyhan, where it is then shipped to Israel's Eilat Port.
^"Bayik: The real solution to problems in Middle East lies in policy of the democratic nation". Firat News Agency. 24 November 2023.
Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024. When the attacks on Gaza began, Tayyip Erdoğan said, "I was going to go to Israel, but now I have given up on this plan." However, there are military, commercial and economic agreements worth billions of dollars between Turkey and Israel and these agreements continue as they are.
^
abcBusari, Stephanie; Ebrahim, Nadeen; Al Lawati, Abbas (19 January 2024).
"Israel's war in Gaza has exposed a deepening global divide". CNN.
Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024. Beyond the courtroom drama, experts say divisions over the war in Gaza symbolize a widening gap between Israel and its traditional Western allies, notably the United States and Europe, and a group of nations known as the Global South — countries located primarily in the southern hemisphere, often characterized by lower income levels and developing economies... Israel sided with the West against Soviet-backed Arab regimes during the Cold War, and Western countries largely view it "as a fellow member of the liberal democratic club", he added. "Some of this explains the continued strong Western support for Israel – which has now largely become reflexive."
^"Germany stands firmly alongside Israel". Bundesregierung. 22 December 2023.
Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024. The Federal Government is also supporting Israel by providing military and medical equipment.
^Tianshe CHEN (2010) Support or Hostility: the Relationship between Arab Countries and Hamas, Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia), 4:2, 100–120, DOI: 10.1080/19370679.2010.12023158
^Ewing, Giselle Ruhiyyih (7 October 2023).
"Iran praises Hamas as attack reverberates around Middle East". The Politico. Retrieved 14 October 2023. top military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, pledged Iranian support to the Hamas operation against Israel
^Said, Summer; Faucon, Benoit; Kalin, Stephen (8 October 2023).
"Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 October 2023. Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas's Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah [...] Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers [...] A European official and an adviser to the Syrian government, however, gave the same account of Iran's involvement in the lead-up to the attack as the senior Hamas and Hezbollah members
^Fassihi, Farnaz; Bergman, Ronen (13 October 2023).
"Hamas Attack on Israel Brings New Scrutiny of Group's Ties to Iran". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2023. leaders from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas helped plan the attack starting over a year ago, trained militants and had advanced knowledge of it. That account is based on interviews with three Iranians affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, one Iranian connected to senior leadership and a Syrian affiliated with Hezbollah
^
abZomer, Navit (25 December 2023).
"Israeli high-tech factories have difficulties importing components from China". Ynetnews.
Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024. The Chinese are imposing a kind of sanction on us. They don't officially declare it, but they are delaying shipments to Israel," a senior figure in one of the factories told Ynet. "They have various excuses and pretexts, such as requiring suppliers from China to obtain export licenses to Israel that did not exist before. Additionally, they demand that we fill out numerous forms, causing significant delays. This has never happened to us before.