The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has plagued the Middle East for decades. Hamas militants have killed at least 1,200 people in Israel since Saturday, according to Israeli authorities. Palestinian authorities said at least 1,100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
More than 100 Israelis are believed to be held captive in Gaza, and President Biden has said some of the hostages are Americans. The roots of conflict and distrust are deep and complex, predating the founding of Israel in 1948.
Both Palestinians and Israelis view the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea as their own, and Christians, Jews, and Muslims all consider parts of the land sacred. The past 70 years have seen wars, uprisings, and sometimes dim hopes of compromise.
Israel-Palestine Conflict Explained
Here is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict outlines the calendar for 2023, including recent violence in the Gaza Strip.
January 2023: Israeli airstrikes on Jenin.
Israeli forces launched an airstrike on the Palestinian city of Jenin, resulting in a shootout that left nine people dead. The next day, a Palestinian gunman killed seven people, including a child, while praying in an East Jerusalem synagogue.
Israelis gathered at the scene of a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem's Neve Yaakov neighborhood the day before, January 28.
Summer 2023: Retaliatory attacks surge.
Israel carried out surprise airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in May, killing three senior militants and 10 people, including women and children, health authorities said. It marks five days of violence that has killed at least 33 people in Gaza and two in Israel.
On June 19, Israeli forces raided Jenin, deploying gunship helicopters to the West Bank for the first time since the Second Intifada. The next day, two Hamas gunmen opened fire at a hummus restaurant in an Israeli settlement, killing four Israelis.
Hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian villages, setting fire to houses and cars and shooting residents, according to local officials. Israel also carried out its first drone strike in the West Bank since 2006, killing three suspected militants.
In July, Israel, along with 1,000 soldiers, struck a refugee camp in Jenin in a drone strike that killed 12 people. The operation marks the beginning of a “broad counter-terrorism effort” that the Israel Defense Forces says will continue indefinitely.
October 2023: Israel says it is 'at war' after Hamas attack.
Netanyahu officially declared war on Hamas on October 8, following a surprise attack by Hamas militants on the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
In October 7:
The Israeli Air Force has begun attacking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants "infiltrated" Israeli territory from the Strip via paragliders and by sea, Israeli military leaders said. Israel says at least 1,200 Israelis were killed in the surprise attack, which saw gunmen hunting Israeli civilians from homes around the border area.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in massive Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Three days after fighting began, Israeli commanders said they had gained control of the border around the Gaza Strip and were preparing large-scale military action "to change the reality" there. The United States pledges full support for the upcoming Israeli offensive.
