The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when Palestinian militant group Hamas led an attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Since the start of the Israeli offensive that followed, over 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed; several studies in The Lancet indicate this figure is likely a significant undercount. Many scholarly sources and international organizations—including UN bodies, NGOs, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars—have concluded that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide under international law. Several countries have also stated that genocide is occurring and have supported legal proceedings before the International Court of Justice. Israel and its supporters, including the United States, deny that genocide has occurred. Following the 7 October attacks, Israel launched a bombing campaign and later invaded Gaza on 27 October after clearing militants from its territory. Israeli forces launched several campaigns, including the Rafah offensive, three battles fought around Khan Yunis, and the siege of North Gaza, culminating in a 2025 offensive in Gaza City. They have assassinated Hamas leaders inside and outside of Gaza. A 2023 ceasefire broke down, and a second ceasefire in January 2025 ended with a surprise attack by Israel in March. A third ceasefire came into effect on 10 October after Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of a US-backed peace plan. As part of the peace plan, the Hamas civil administration in Gaza resigned on 6 July 2026, and an agreement was reached on 31 July for Hamas and other militant organisations in Gaza to disarm, contingent on reconstruction progress and Israel's military withdrawal. The war has resulted in significant humanitarian costs. A tightened blockade by Israel cut off basic necessities, which led to a partial famine. Around 90% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure has been destroyed and essential services, including water, electricity, and sanitation, have been severely disrupted; large parts are uninhabitable, with most hospitals, religious and cultural landmarks, and educational facilities destroyed. Gazan journalists, health workers, aid workers and other members of civil society have been detained, tortured, and killed. Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank since the start of the war. Nearly all of the strip's 2.3 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced. Over 100,000 Israelis were internally displaced at the height of the conflict. The first day was the deadliest in Israel's history, and the war is the deadliest for Palestinians in the broader conflict. In September 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that four of the five acts of genocide as defined by the Genocide Convention had been committed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. A case accusing Israel of genocide is being reviewed by the International Court of Justice. Experts and human rights organizations have also stated that Israel and Hamas have committed other war crimes. Some have described the 7 October attacks as a genocide or genocidal massacre of Israelis. Torture and sexual violence have been committed both by Palestinian militant groups and by Israeli forces. Israel has received extensive military and diplomatic support from the United States. The war has reverberated regionally, with "Axis of Resistance" groups across several Arab countries and Iran clashing with the US and Israel, including in the Twelve-Day War in 2025, and the 2026 Iran war. A year of strikes between Israel and Hezbollah led to wars in Lebanon in 2024 and in 2026, as well as ongoing Israeli operations in Syria, which contributed to the fall of the Assad regime. The war continues to have regional and international repercussions, with large protests worldwide as well as a surge of antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism.
== Names == Palestinian militant groups refer to the conflict as the "battle of al-Aqsa Flood" (Arabic: معركة طوفان الأقصى), in reference to Operation al-Aqsa Flood. The government of Israel referred to it as the "Iron Swords war" (Hebrew: מִלְחֲמֹת חַרְבוֹת בַּרְזֶל) until October 2025, when it began using "War of Redemption". Within Israel, it is popularly referred to as the "October 7 war". It has also been referred to as the "Simchat Torah war" because Hamas's attack began on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. Media outlets have variably described it as the "Israel–Hamas war", "war on Gaza", "October 7 war", and the "second Nakba".
Background
The Gaza war is part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In the 1948 Palestine war, over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled and the State of Israel was established over most of what had been Mandatory Palestine, with the exception of two separated territories that became known as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied both Palestinian territories. The upcoming period witnessed two popular uprisings by Palestinians against the Israeli occupation: the First and Second Intifadas in 1987 and 2000, with the latter's end seeing Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, an Islamist militant group, while the West Bank remained under the control of the Palestinian Authority. After Hamas's takeover, Israel imposed a blockade that significantly damaged Gaza's economy. Israel justified the blockade by citing security concerns, but international rights groups have characterized it as collective punishment. By 2023, UNRWA reported that 81% of people were living below the poverty level, with 63% being food insecure and dependent on international assistance. Since 2007, Israel and Hamas, along with other Palestinian militant groups based in Gaza, have engaged in conflict, including four wars, in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021. Combined, these conflicts killed approximately 6,400 Palestinians and 300 Israelis. In 2018–2019, there was the Great March of Return, a series of large organized protests near the Gaza-Israel border to call for Palestinian refugees' right to return. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) violently suppressed the protests, killing hundreds and injuring thousands of Palestinians by sniper fire. Soon after a short 2021 conflict, Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, started planning an operation against Israel, which became the 7 October attacks. According to diplomats, Hamas had repeatedly said in the months leading up to October 2023 that it did not want another military escalation in Gaza as it would worsen the humanitarian crisis. Hamas officials stated that the attack was a response to Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, citing specifically the blockade of the Gaza Strip, desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, and the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, whom Hamas sought to release by taking Israeli hostages. Numerous commentators have identified the broader context of Israeli occupation as a cause of the war. Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch have likened the Israeli occupation to apartheid, although supporters of Israel dispute this characterization. The Netanyahu government has been criticized within Israel for granting work permits to Gazan residents, facilitating the transfer of funds to Hamas and pursuing relative calm. These actions have been criticized as having backfired in light of the attacks on 7 October 2023. At the time of the attack, Israel and Saudi Arabia were conducting negotiations to normalize relations. Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh cited disrupting this "normalization train" as a motive for the October 7 attacks.
War in Israel and Gaza
October 7 attacks
On the morning of 7 October 2023, during the Jewish holidays of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret on Shabbat, Hamas announced the start of "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", firing between 3,000 and 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes, killing at least five people. In the evening, Hamas launched another barrage of 150 rockets. Simultaneously, around 3,000 Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders. They took over checkpoints at Kerem Shalom and Erez, and created openings in the border fence in five other places. Militants massacred civilians in several kibbutzim, where they took hostages and set fire to homes. In a massacre at an outdoor music festival near Re'im, at least 325 people were killed, with more injured or taken hostage. In total, 251 people, mostly civilians, were taken hostage, including children, elderly people, and soldiers. Hamas militants also reportedly engaged in mutilation, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence. The attack was not entirely unexpected; but "Israeli officials received Hamas' battle plans" but deemed them aspirational and dismissed specific warnings. The 7 October attacks were described as "an intelligence failure for the ages" and a "failure of imagination" on the part of the Israeli government. It later emerged that abnormal Hamas movements had been detected the previous day by Israeli intelligence, but the military's alert level was not raised and political leaders were not informed. The Economist noted that "the assault dwarf[ed] all other mass murders of Israeli civilians", and that "the last time before October 7th that this many Jews were murdered on a single day was during the Holocaust." According to both Hamas officials and external observers, the attack was a calculated effort to create a "permanent" state of war and revive the Palestinian cause.
Initial Israeli counter-operation (October 2023)
The IDF began Israel's counter-attack several hours after the Hamas-led invasion. The first helicopters sent to support the military reached the Israeli areas surrounding the Gaza Strip an hour after the fighting began. Their crews encountered difficulties in determining which places were occupied by invading militants, and distinguishing between Israeli civilians, IDF soldiers, and Palestinian militants on the ground. A June 2024 UN report and a July 2024 Haaretz investigation revealed that the IDF ordered the Hannibal Directive to be used, killing an unknown number of Israeli civilians and soldiers. In a televised broadcast, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, announced that the country was at war. 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. 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". The Israel Electric Corporation, which supplies 80% of Gaza's electricity, cut off power to the area. The IDF declared a "state of readiness for war", mobilized tens of thousands of army reservists, and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of Gaza. While Ben Gurion Airport and Ramon Airport remained operational, multiple airlines cancelled flights. On 9 or 10 October, Hamas offered to release all civilian hostages held in Gaza if Israel would call off its planned invasion of the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli government rejected the offer.
Following the surprise attack, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes that they said targeted Hamas targets, employing its artificial intelligence Habsora ("The Gospel") software. These airstrikes killed, on average, 350 persons per day during the first 20 days. Israel rescued two hostages before declaring a state of war for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. On 9 October, Defense Minister Gallant announced a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip, cutting off electricity and blocking the entry of food and fuel. Gallant backed down under pressure from US President Joe Biden, and a deal was struck ten days later to allow aid into Gaza. The first such aid convoy entered Gaza on 21 October, while fuel did not arrive until November. On 13 October, the IDF ordered all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate to areas south of the Wadi Gaza within 24 hours. The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs told residents in northern Gaza to defy those orders. The Israeli order was widely condemned as "outrageous" and "impossible", and calls were made for it to be reversed. As a part of the order, the IDF outlined a six-hour window on 13 October for refugees to flee south along specified routes. An explosion along one of the safe routes killed 70 Palestinians. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the attack. The IDF said Hamas set up roadblocks to keep Gaza residents from evacuating. Israeli officials, foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations condemned Hamas's alleged use of hospitals and civilians as human shields, which Hamas contested. On 17 October, Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza. 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 ongoing conflict prevented independent on-site analysis. 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, who denied any involvement.
Initial invasion and first ceasefire (October–November 2023)
On 27 October, after building up an invasion force of over 100,000 soldiers, the IDF launched a large-scale ground incursion into parts of northern Gaza. Israeli airstrikes targeted the area around al-Quds hospital, where around 14,000 civilians were believed to be sheltering. The following day, the IDF struck Jabalia refugee camp, killing 50 and wounding 150 Palestinians. Israel said the attack killed a senior Hamas commander, whose presence Hamas denied, and dozens of militants. The attack resulted in several ambassador recalls.
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". On 1 November, the first group of evacuees left Gaza for Egypt. Five hundred evacuees, comprising critically wounded and foreign nationals, were evacuated over several days. On 22 November, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, providing for a four-day pause in hostilities, the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza, and the release of approximately 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated by Israel.
Following the introduction of a Qatari-brokered truce on 24 November 2023, active fighting in Gaza ceased. Hamas exchanged some hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel arrested almost as many Palestinians as it released during the truce. Prisoner exchanges continued until 28 November, when both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce. On 30 November, in a "last-minute agreement", Hamas released eight hostages in exchange for the release of 30 imprisoned Palestinians and a one-day truce extension. The truce expired on 1 December, as Israel and Hamas blamed each other for failing to agree on an extension.
Strategy
When Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip and began to maintain a persistent physical presence in the region beginning on 27 October 2023, Israel's military adopted a communications strategy designed to preserve operational flexibility and security. The United States urged Israel to avoid a full-scale invasion and to instead conduct "surgical" operations to avoid casualties and a regional escalation. When the IDF initiated Operation Gideon's Chariots in May 2025, the systematic destruction of infrastructure became an explicit component of official military policy and was implemented with increased intensity. Notably, private contractors were engaged in the operation. The military strategies employed by Hamas have historically encompassed a blend of conventional and insurgent tactics. As a result of the war, the group has shifted "back into a guerrilla fighting force", employing the use of hit-and-run operations and operating in smaller cells of fighters, aiming to demonstrate that they are capable of continuing to fight a prolonged war. Hamas's strategy also relies on the underground tunnel system, which can be used as shelter for Hamas militants and leaders, storing weapons, and detaining hostages. Sources close to Hamas leadership said that they counted on the international pressure for Israel to end the siege due to mounting civilian casualties and achieve a ceasefire. Hamas believed that together with strikes by Hezbollah and Iran and the uprising in the West Bank, they would cause Israel to collapse, while Israeli retaliation against Gaza would kill many civilians but undermine their crucial international support. Some, including Israel, have accused Hamas of deliberately using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Such claims have been disputed. In February 2024, Forensic Architecture (FA) examined the evidence that Israel provided at the ICJ regarding Hamas's alleged use of civilian facilities for military use. FA said that much of the Israeli evidence was misleading or false.
Resumption of hostilities (December 2023 – January 2024)
Israel adopted a grid system to order precise evacuations within Gaza. It was criticized as confusing and inaccessible, due to the lack of electricity and internet connectivity in Gaza. Some evacuation instructions were vague or contradictory, and Israel sometimes struck areas it had told people to evacuate to. Law experts called these warnings ineffective. Amnesty International found no evidence of Hamas targets at the sites of some strikes, and requested that they be investigated as possible war crimes. On 6 December, Refaat Alareer, a prominent writer in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli airstrike, after which his poem "If I Must Die" was widely circulated.
By December, IDF troops had reached the centers of Khan Yunis, Jabalia, and Shuja'iyya. Intensified bombing pushed Palestinian civilians south to Rafah. Between 7 and 10 December, Israel detained more than 150 men; according to Israel, they surrendered en masse, but this account was disputed by several publications. On 15 December, the IDF killed three Israeli hostages in a friendly fire incident. On 1 January 2024, Israel withdrew from neighborhoods in North Gaza. On 15 January, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the most intense fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip had ended, and a new phase of low-intensity fighting was about to begin. By 18 January, the IDF, who had previously stated that Hamas control over North Gaza was "dismantled", reported that Hamas had significantly rebuilt its fighting strength in North Gaza. On 22 January, 24 IDF soldiers died in the deadliest day for the IDF since the invasion began. Of these, 21 died when Palestinian militants fired an RPG at a tank, causing adjacent buildings to collapse. On 29 January, Israeli forces killed Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl, and six of her family members when the car they were driving was struck by Israeli tank and machine gun fire; two rescue workers attempting to retrieve Rajab were also killed. The Red Crescent released the audio from Rajab's phone call with rescue workers, causing international outrage over her death.
Build-up to the Rafah offensive (February–April 2024)
Between February and May 2024, preparations to invade Rafah became a dominant theme in Israeli officials' public rhetoric. On 12 February, Israel conducted a hostage rescue operation in Rafah along with a bombing campaign. Food supplies increasingly became an issue. On 5 February, Israeli shelling damaged a marked UNRWA convoy, forcing UNRWA to suspend its operations for almost three weeks, affecting 200,000 people. On 29 February, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians that swarmed aid trucks in southwest of Gaza City, killing 100 and wounding 750. Some of the victims were run over by trucks as panic spread. Survivors described it as an intentional ambush. On 1 March, the United States announced it would begin to airdrop food aid into Gaza. Some experts called the initiative performative, saying it would not alleviate the food situation. During his State of the Union Address, Biden announced that a temporary port on Gaza's coast would be constructed for aid delivery. Al-Shifa Hospital, previously besieged in November 2023, was raided again between 18 March and 1 April. Israeli forces killed Faiq al-Mabhouh, who they said was head of the operations directorate of Hamas's internal security service. Hamas said al-Mabhouh was in charge of civil law enforcement and had been coordinating aid deliveries to north Gaza. The IDF said it killed 200 militants in the hospital fighting, including senior Hamas leaders, while also arresting 500 confirmed militants; this account was disputed. Survivors denied that militants had organized on the hospital grounds. Israeli forces were accused of leaving the hospital with blown out walls and blackened frame, and of killing 400 Palestinians. A March UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan was ignored by the IDF. On 1 April, seven international aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Deir al-Balah. WCK, who said their vehicles were clearly marked and their location known to Israel, subsequently withdrew from Gaza alongside ANERA and Project HOPE. On 4 April, Israel opened the Erez Crossing for the first time since 7 October after US pressure. By 6 March, Israel had completed a new east–west road in Gaza. It was intended to mobilize troops and supplies, to connect and defend IDF positions on al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, and prevent people in the south of Gaza from returning to the north. On 7 April, Israel withdrew from the south Gaza Strip, with only one brigade remaining in the Netzarim Corridor in the north. Displaced Palestinians began to return. Israel planned to initiate its ground offensive in Rafah around mid-April, but postponed to consider its response to the Iranian strikes on Israel. On 25 April, Israel intensified strikes on Rafah ahead of its threatened invasion.
Beginning of the Rafah offensive (May–July 2024)
On 6 May, the IDF ordered 100,000 civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis. Later that day, Hamas announced that it had accepted the terms of a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar. The deal included a 6-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners. However, Israel rejected this deal, saying it would continue to negotiate while the military operation on Rafah was ongoing to "exert military pressure on Hamas". On 31 May, the United States announced a ceasefire framework. The same day, the IDF entered the outskirts of Rafah, seizing control of the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing to Egypt the following day. By 15 May, an estimated 600,000 had fled Rafah and another 100,000 from the north, according to the United Nations.
On 24 May, the United Nations said only 906 aid truckloads had reached Gaza since Israel's Rafah operation began. Israel bombed the Tel al-Sultan displacement camp in Rafah on 26 May, killing at least 45 people, allegedly including two senior Hamas officials. This provoked a skirmish between Egyptian and Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border in which one Egyptian soldier was killed. Less than 48 hours afterwards, another evacuation zone, the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, was bombed, killing at least 21. The IDF denied involvement. On 6 June, Israel bombed a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing dozens. Two days later, Israel attacked Nuseirat refugee camp which resulted in the rescue of four hostages and the deaths of 274 Palestinians. On 27 June, Israeli forces re-invaded the al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood. According to Middle East Monitor and ReliefWeb, between 4 July and 10 August, Israel attacked 21 schools in Gaza, killing 274 people.
Rafah, Khan Yunis, and general bombardment (July–September 2024)
On 22 July, the IDF began a second invasion of Khan Yunis. Israel ordered the evacuation of the eastern part of Khan Yunis; the Gaza health ministry said that 73 people were killed during the first day of the attack. Footage from an Israeli drone surfaced showing the destruction of the Grand Mosque in Khan Yunis. A third, month-long battle ended on 30 August when the IDF withdrew its 98th battalion from Khan Yunis and Deir el-Balah, stating it had killed over 250 Palestinian militants. On 13 July, at least 90 were killed and 300 injured in an Israeli strike on Al-Mawasi, and 22 were killed in an Israeli strike targeting people gathered to pray in the Al-Shati refugee camp. On 10 August, at least 80 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Al-Tabaeen school. The IDF said it had killed 200 militants and discovered dozens of weapons in Tel al-Sultan. On 10 September, Israeli missile strikes on a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi killed 19 to 40 people.
Continued operations throughout Gaza (October–December 2024)
In October, Israeli airstrikes on Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque in Deir el-Balah and a school in central Gaza killed at least 26 Palestinians and injured over 93. An Israeli strike on Rufaida school, which was serving as a shelter for displaced people in Deir el-Balah, killed at least 28 people and injured 54. On 8 October, the IDF began to encircle Jabalia camp, killing several Palestinian militants and civilians in air strikes and street battles. The IDF's operations in Jabalia continued for the rest of October. During that month and November, strikes on Jabalia killed hundreds of people. The IDF was accused of blocking aid delivery to the Gaza Strip by allowing looting gangs to target aid convoys. On 16 November 98 out of 109 food trucks carrying UN aid from Kerem Shalom crossing were looted in Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza. The Abu Shabab clan, a rival of Hamas, was widely blamed for the attacks. On 1 December, the UN suspended its aid shipments through the crossing, blaming Israel for failing to "ensure safe conditions for delivering relief supplies." On 16 October, IDF ground forces killed Yahya Sinwar in a shootout in Tal as-Sultan. Biden urged Israel to end the war after Sinwar's death.
Siege of northern Gaza
On 13 October, senior IDF officials told Haaretz that the government was not seeking to revive hostage talks and that political leadership was pushing for the annexation of parts of the Gaza Strip. In later October, Israel's siege of North Gaza intensified and daily aid shipments dropped significantly. Eyewitnesses reported the shelling of hospitals, razing of shelters, and abductions of men and boys, leading to speculation that Israel had decided to implement the "generals' plan": turning the northern Strip into a closed military zone and declaring all who remained to be combatants. The IDF continued its encirclement of Jabalia by sending tanks to Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun and issuing evacuation orders. On 24 October, an IDF attack destroyed at least 10 residential buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to an assessment by Gaza Civil Defense, 150 people were killed or injured. Food aid to Gaza reached a new low in October at an average of 30 trucks per day, or less than 6% of the daily pre-war average. The UN warned that the situation had become "apocalyptic" and that "the entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence". On 24 November, Israel issued new evacuation orders, triggering another round of displacements in Jabalia. UNRWA said in November that Israel had rejected nine attempts and obstructed an additional 82 to deliver aid to the 60,000 to 70,000 civilians remaining in north Gaza. On 5 December, Israeli Army Radio announced that 18,000 Palestinians had been evacuated from Beit Lahia.
Second ceasefire (January–March 2025)
On 15 January 2025, an agreement was announced, through Qatari mediation, in which Hamas agreed to release a number of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Hamas militants and other Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The two parties also agreed to a ceasefire, which went into effect on the morning of 19 January 2025. On 27 January, tens of thousands of Palestinians began a mass return to northern Gaza after Israel opened a corridor for civilian movement. Hamas said that Israel had violated the terms of the ceasefire, and announced the suspension of the release of Israeli hostages on 10 February. After Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump threatened to restart fighting in Gaza, Hamas relented on 13 February, allowing the release of hostages to begin again two days later.
Negotiations for implementing the second phase of the ceasefire, intended to see the release of all remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and a permanent end to the war, were supposed to begin in February, but never happened. Israel endorsed a US plan to extend the Gaza truce for the Ramadan and Passover periods, but Hamas refused and demanded the second phase be implemented; Netanyahu ceased the entry of aid to Gaza the next day. This was condemned by Egypt as a violation of the ceasefire, which stipulated that phase one would automatically be extended as long as phase two negotiations were in progress. On 9 March, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen ordered a halt to supply of Israeli electricity to Gaza. In January, Hamas said it had recruited thousands of new fighters during the war. Then U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken estimated that "Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost." Reuters reported the number of new recruits, based on U.S. intelligence, was 10,000 to 15,000.
Israeli attacks resume (March–April 2025)
On 18 March, Israel ended the ceasefire by launching a surprise attack, killing over 400 people. Both sides blamed the other; internationally, the strikes stymied hopes for a lasting ceasefire. Israel chose to launch the attack on the day Netanyahu would testify in his corruption trial, forcing the legal proceedings to be postponed. Multiple senior members of Gaza's government and the Hamas political bureau were killed during this round of fighting, including Issam al-Da'alis and Salah al-Bardawil. Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza was also killed. On 25 March, hundreds to thousands of Gazan Palestinians protested against Hamas and the war. The protests were caused by war-weariness and dissatisfaction with Hamas's abuse of civilians, and suppression of freedom of speech and of the press. On 19 March, the IDF said that it had created a "partial buffer" and partially recaptured the center of the Netzarim Corridor. On 23 March, IDF troops fired on humanitarian vehicles, in southern Rafah, killing 15 medics; their bodies were found one week later. On 9 April, Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building in Shuja'iyya, killing over 35 Palestinians and wounding at least 70. On 12 April, the IDF announced that it had encircled Rafah, and planned to seize portions of it while ordering large-scale evacuations of its population.
Renewed Israeli offensive (May–September 2025)
In early May, Israel announced plans to expand the Gaza offensive and mobilized thousands of reservists. On 8 May, two Israeli airstrikes on the last restaurant in Gaza City and a simultaneous strike on a crowded nearby market killed at least 33 people. On 13 May, Israeli airstrikes struck the compound of the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis, killing Mohammed Sinwar and Muhammad Shabana who were in underground tunnels. At least 143 people were killed in Gaza on 15 May, making it the deadliest day since the end of the ceasefire in March. The following day, Israel announced the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots, a military offensive aimed at taking control of the entire Gaza Strip. The move was condemned by several of Israel's allies, a number of whom threatened sanctions. On 25 May, an Israeli airstrike on the Fahmi al-Jawjawi school in Daraj, Gaza City, killed at least 36 people and injured over 55. In late May a new militia in Gaza, the Popular Forces, began operating under the authority of the Abu Shabab clan in opposition to Hamas. Avigdor Lieberman accused Netanyahu and the Israeli government of funding and arming this militia. On 27 May, the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations in Tel al-Sultan to deliver humanitarian aid. As thousands of starving Palestinians overwhelmed the distribution center, Israeli forces fired into the crowd, killing ten and injuring at least 62 Palestinians. In a series of subsequent attacks on aid seekers, more than 1,300 were killed. On 30 June, an Israeli airstrike on al-Baqa cafeteria killed at least 41 Palestinians—including photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab—and injured another 75. On 20 July, the IDF issued evacuation orders for the city of Deir al-Balah, where it had not launched a ground offensive since the start of the war. On the following day, Israeli forces advanced into the outskirts of Deir al-Balah as airstrikes hit the city. In early August 2025, the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to occupy Gaza City. The plan drew condemnation from the UN, the European Council president, and several countries. On 10 August, Israeli forces struck a press tent outside al-Shifa Hospital, killing six Al-Jazeera journalists including Anas Al-Sharif, bringing the number of journalists killed by Israel during the war to 192. On 20 August, Israel began the first stages of the offensive, calling up 60,000 reservists for the beginning of September. On 25 August, an Israeli double tap strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza killed 22 people, including five journalists. Subsequently, Netanyahu said he "deeply regretted" the strike, describing it as a "mishap". On 9 September, Israel ordered the full evacuation of Gaza City, citing plans for intensified operation. Six days later, the IDF launched the full offensive, deploying units from two armored and infantry divisions.
Third ceasefire (September 2025 – present)
On 29 September, US President Donald Trump proposed a 20-point peace plan, which included the release of all hostages, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israel and the disarmament of Hamas, and a temporary transitional government. Israel accepted the deal, as did Arab and Muslim states who urged Hamas to agree to it. On 3 October, under pressure from Trump, Hamas agreed to release all hostages, end the war, and hand over administration of the Gaza Strip, though it wanted to continue negotiating. The IDF halted the offensive in Gaza City on 4 October. Both sides agreed to phase one of the peace plan on 9 October. The following day, the IDF began a withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip; the ceasefire formally came into effect when this was completed at noon local time. A peace summit on 13 October in Sharm El Sheikh was attended by representatives of over 30 countries and organizations. A prisoner exchange took place, with Hamas releasing the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages, while Israel released 1,718 Palestinian detainees held without charge and an additional 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of crimes in Israeli courts. Two IDF soldiers were killed in Rafah on 19 October; al-Qassam Brigades denied responsibility. Israel resumed bombardment of Gaza in response, killing at least 29 Palestinians before reaffirming the ceasefire the same day. On 28 October, one Israeli soldier was killed in Rafah; al-Qassam Brigades denied involvement. Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to immediately conduct "powerful strikes" in Gaza: the attacks killed at least 104 people. The IDF said it targeted dozens of Hamas targets, including 21 commanders and militants who participated in the 7 October attacks. On 13 December, an Israeli attack west of Gaza City killed five people and injured at least 25 others. It targeted the al-Qassam Brigades commander Ra'ad Sa'ad, who was killed. On 15 May 2026, Israeli strikes hit an apartment in Rimal area of Gaza City and a vehicle on a street in its vicinity, killing Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Medics in Gaza said seven people were killed and at least 50 others were wounded. An Israeli strike hit a building in Rimal area of Gaza City on 26 May, killing three people including Mohammed Odeh, who had succeeded al-Haddad. On 31 July, Trump said that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement to disarm Hamas and other militant organisations in Gaza. Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad stated that disarmament would be dependent on Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and progress on reconstruction, and that Hamas will not implement any part of the agreement unless Israeli forces fulfilled the terms of the agreement. The al-Quds Brigades agreed to the disarmament plan on 2 August. Israel's political echelon ordered the IDF not to launch strikes in Gaza without the authorization of IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, following a US request to limit operations in Gaza. In the run up to the 2026 Israeli elections, Netanyahu rejected the Board of Peace agreement.
