October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict - Wikipedia
October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflictPart of the Arab–Israeli conflict
On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups[e] led by Hamas launched a large-scale invasion and offensive against Israel from the Gaza Strip, breaking through the Gaza–Israel barrierand forcing entry via the Gaza border crossings, into nearby Israeli settlements and military installations. Hamas called it Operation al-Aqsa Storm. It is the first direct conflict within Israel's boundaries since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[32][33]Hostilities were initiated in the early morning with a rocket barrage against Israel and vehicle-transported incursions into Israeli territory, with several attacks on surrounding Israeli civilian communities and Israeli military bases. Some observers have referred to these events as the beginning of a third Palestinian intifada.[f] For the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel formally declared war.[35] The operation has been called Iron Swords by the IDF.[36]
The Palestinian invasion represented a boiling point in the breakdown of relations between the strip and Israel. This followed months of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, including ones in Jenin and at Al-Aqsa mosque, that killed almost 250 Palestinians and 32 Israelis;[g] Hamas cited these events in the justification for the offensive. Mohammed Deif, the commander of its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls".[39] In an emergency meeting in the West Bank shortly after the attacks began, Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority expressed support for the Gazan infiltration, stating that Palestinians had the right to defend themselves against the Israeli occupation.[40][41] In Israel, Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid has advocated for the formation of a national unity governmentto combat the Palestinian offensive.[42]
At least 3,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip as Hamas militants broke through the border and entered Israel, killing at least 700 Israelis[43][44] and prompting Israel's government to declare a state of emergency. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahustated that Israel "is at war" in a national address following the beginning of the attacks.[45][46][47] Palestinian militants who infiltrated Israel made their way into several kibbutzim near the Gaza Strip as well as the city of Sderot.[48] The Palestinian Ministry of Health led by Hamas in Gaza reported Israel had killed at least 400 Palestinians in gunfights and by airstrikes, including civilians, 78 children and 41 women;[49][50] while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated it killed more than 400 "terrorists".[51]Both Palestinian and Israeli media sources reported that Israeli soldiers and civilians, including children, had been taken hostage by Palestinian militants;[52] several of these hostages have reportedly since been taken to the Gaza Strip. Numerous cases of violence against Israeli civilians have also been reported since the beginning of the Hamas offensive, including a massacre at a music festival in Re'im.[53][54]. Israel retaliated against the invasion by shelling civilian targets in Gaza,[55] including a hospital and ambulance, killing almost 200.[56][57]
A Hamas spokesman announced Iran supported the Palestinian offensive and claimed the attack came in response to attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.[58] Nations of the Western worldas well as its allies condemned Hamas for the violence and described the tactics used as terrorism,[59][60][61][62]while some Muslim countries blamed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the denial of Palestinian self-determination as the root cause of the escalation.[63][h] Others called for de-escalation.[66][67]
