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Israel–Hamas war in Gaza
Oct 7, 2023; ceasefire Oct 10, 2025· Conflict or rivalry
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
The war that began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, followed by Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
The attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Israel's air and ground offensive aimed to destroy Hamas and free the hostages. Gaza's health ministry counted over 73,000 Palestinians killed by September 2026; it does not separate fighters from civilians, and Israel disputes its figures. Most of Gaza's 2.1 million people were displaced, much of the strip was destroyed, and famine was confirmed in Gaza City in August 2025. A ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025.
Why it matters
It reshaped the region: it drew in Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran, froze Saudi–Israeli normalization, and left Israel more isolated diplomatically.
Key facts and numbers
Israeli government figures, Gaza health ministry records (which UN agencies consider broadly reliable), satellite damage surveys and reports of the IPC, the UN-backed famine monitor.
What to watch
Disputed: South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice and a 2025 UN inquiry accuse Israel of genocide; Israel rejects this, citing self-defense and Hamas's use of civilian areas.
Inside this (2)
Connections (2)
▸Gaza ceasefire, Trump's 20-point plan and Board of Peace paused Israel–Hamas war in GazaFact
The relationship
The October 10, 2025 ceasefire halted two years of large-scale fighting. Israeli forces pulled back to a 'yellow line', still holding about half the strip; hostages and prisoners were exchanged and more aid entered. Strikes and clashes continue, so it is a pause rather than an end.
Since when and why
Agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and US mediation; in effect from October 10, 2025.
How we know
The signed first-phase agreement, hostage releases on October 13, 2025, and UN data on aid trucks.
What to watch
Whether it holds: each side accuses the other of violations, and more than 1,300 Palestinians were reported killed under the truce by September 2026.
▸Arab League adopted Egypt's postwar rebuilding plan for Israel–Hamas war in GazaFact
The relationship
Responding to Trump's February 2025 idea of moving Gaza's people out and redeveloping the strip, Arab leaders adopted Egypt's roughly $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza over five years with residents in place, run by a technocratic Palestinian committee. Israel and the US first dismissed it; the committee idea resurfaced in Trump's later plan.
Since when and why
Arab League emergency summit in Cairo, March 4, 2025; the Organization of Islamic Cooperation endorsed the plan days later.
How we know
The summit's final communiqué and the published Egyptian plan.
What to watch
Who pays and who governs: Gulf donors want Hamas disarmed first, and how the plan fits with the Board of Peace is unclear.