The 7 October Hamas attack and the Israel–Gaza war
- Date
- 7 October 2023
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Israel, Gaza, Middle East
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
On 7 October 2023 the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise assault from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, breaching the border barrier and attacking military bases and civilian communities.
Around 1,200 people, the majority civilians, were killed and some 250 were taken hostage — the deadliest day for Israel since its founding. Israel declared war and launched a massive military campaign in Gaza, combining air strikes with a ground invasion aimed at dismantling Hamas and recovering hostages. The ensuing war caused catastrophic destruction and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians were reported killed and most of the population was displaced amid severe shortages of food, water and medical care. The conflict drew in regional actors — including Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran — fuelled global protests and deep diplomatic divisions, and disrupted Red Sea shipping. It became the most consequential escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in decades.
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Further reading
The wider story
A History of the Modern Middle East
The go-to survey of the region from the late Ottoman era to the present.
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