Palestine

Background reviewed 2026-10-23 · Background as of 2026-10

Background

This page covers the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 7 October 2023 Hamas-led armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing and abducting many people and taking hostages into Gaza. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza that lasted two years and caused widespread destruction.

A ceasefire based on a US-proposed framework took effect in October 2025. Its first stage included the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, increased aid deliveries and a partial Israeli pull-back. In January 2026 the United States announced the start of a second stage, involving a Board of Peace, a Palestinian technocratic committee for Gaza and a planned international stabilisation force. Violations of the ceasefire have been reported by both sides.

In the West Bank, raids, settlement expansion and settler violence have been reported throughout the period, alongside attacks on Israelis.

History

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict has its roots in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods, when Jewish and Arab national movements made competing claims to the same land. The 1947 UN partition plan was followed by the 1948 war, in which Israel was established and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled, an event Palestinians call the Nakba.

Israel took control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war. The 1993 and 1995 Oslo Accords created the Palestinian Authority with limited self-rule, but final-status talks on borders, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements did not reach an agreement. Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005; Hamas won legislative elections in 2006 and took full control of Gaza in 2007, after which Israel and Egypt tightened restrictions on the territory. Several rounds of war took place in Gaza before 2023.

Main parties

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — Conducted the military campaign in Gaza and operate in the West Bank.
Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza — Including Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hamas governed Gaza from 2007.
Palestinian Authority — Administers parts of the West Bank under the Oslo agreements.
Mediators — Egypt, Qatar and the United States mediated ceasefire talks; Türkiye joined them as a guarantor of the October 2025 agreement.

Key dates

1993-09-13 — First Oslo Accord signed, creating the Palestinian Authority.
2005-09 — Israel withdraws its settlers and troops from inside Gaza.
2007-06 — Hamas takes control of Gaza after fighting with Fatah; Israel and Egypt tighten a blockade.
2023-10-07 — Hamas-led attack on southern Israel; Israel declares war.
2023-11-24 — A week-long truce allows the first exchange of hostages and prisoners.
2025-01-19 — A ceasefire begins; it collapses when large-scale Israeli strikes resume on 18 March 2025.
2025-10-10 — A ceasefire under the US-proposed framework takes effect.
2025-11-17 — The UN Security Council endorses the framework, including a Board of Peace and an international stabilisation force.
2026-01-14 — The United States announces the start of the ceasefire’s second stage.

Humanitarian situation

UN agencies have described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as catastrophic: most of the population has been displaced, often several times, and much of the housing, health and water infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. In August 2025 the UN-backed IPC food security analysis confirmed famine conditions in Gaza Governorate.

Aid deliveries increased after the October 2025 ceasefire, but humanitarian organisations continue to report restrictions on the entry of goods and the movement of people.

How to read reports about Palestine

Casualty figures are reported by different authorities and are not shown on the map; follow the linked reports for numbers and their sources.
Access for international journalists to Gaza has been heavily restricted, so many reports rely on local journalists and agencies.

Recent events

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