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CNN —Israel and Hamas are at war, after the Palestinian militant group launched surprise cross-border raids from Gaza on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking hostages.
In response, Israel has been pounding the territory, strikes which Palestinian authorities say have killed more than 5,000 people. Many in the already cramped and impoverished territory are in dire need of aid.
And with Israeli widely expected to launch a ground offensive, there are fears the crisis could escalate further, drawing in Israel’s neighbors.
Here’s what we know.
The bodies of Palestinians killed during the war are buried in a mass grave on January 30, in Rafah, Gaza. Mohammed Salem/Reuters Palestinians look at their neighbor's damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza, on January 27. Fatima Shbair/AP An Israeli tank takes position at the western entrance of the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza as Palestinians flee to safer areas further south on January 26. AFP/Getty Images Israeli soldiers hold Major Ilay Levy's coffin during his funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 23. Levy was one of 24 Israeli soldiers killed on the deadliest day for Israeli forces in Gaza combat. Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance/Getty Images Displaced Palestinians using eSIM cards attempt to get a signal on January 19, on a hill in Rafah, on the southern Gaza border with Egypt. AFP/Getty Images An Israeli tank patrols near the border with Gaza on January 19. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images The father of Masa Shoman carries the body of his daughter, killed during Israeli bombardment, at her funeral in Rafah, Gaza, on January 17. AFP/Getty Images Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold signs and photos of their loved ones at a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 9. Oded Balilty/AP People inspect the ruins of a civilian car after it was fatally struck by an Israeli drone in Rafah, Gaza, on January 8. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Soldiers exit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used during the October 7 attack on Israel, in northern Gaza, on January 7. Noam Galai/Getty Images People leave for Rafah in southern Gaza on January 4, after fleeing central Gaza. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Staff Sgt. Sufian Dagash during his funeral in the village of Maghar, northern Israel, on January 3. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardment take shelter in a makeshift tent in Rafah, Gaza on January 1, 2024. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images Mourners gather in grief around the grave of Israeli soldier Captain Harel Ittah during his funeral in Netanya, Israel, on December 31. Ariel Schalit/AP A girl mourns the death of her relatives who were killed by Israeli bombardment, at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 31. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images The wife of IDF soldier Sergeant Elisha Yehonatan Lober, who was killed in southern Gaza, holds their baby during his funeral at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on December 27. Maja Hitij/Getty Images A bulldozer unloads the bodies of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel and turned over by the Israeli military during a mass funeral in Rafah, Gaza, on December 26. Fatima Shbair/AP Mourners collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 24. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images Palestinians carry a casualty near the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza, on December 22. Mohammed Salem/Reuters Mourners at the grave of Lt. Yaacov Elian mourn during his funeral at Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 22. Oded Balilty/AP Palestinians converge for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza, on December 21. Fatima Shbair/AP Family and friends react during the funeral for IDF Staff Sgt. Boris Dunavetski in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 20. Amir Levy/Getty Images A wounded man bids farewell to the body of his son following overnight Israeli bombardments at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on December 19. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images A man sits with children by a fire outside one of the tents housing displaced Palestinians, in Rafah, Gaza, on December 18. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Relatives and friends of Alon Lulu Shamriz, one of the 3 Israeli hostages who were mistakenly killed by friendly fire, mourn during his funeral in Shefayim, Israel, on December 17. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/picture-alliance/AP Relatives and friends bid farewell to the body of Al Jazeera camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 16. Abu Daqqa died of wounds sustained in an Israeli attack on Khan Younis, the network said on Friday. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, on December 15. Ariel Schalit/AP Palestinians gather around the destroyed Shehada family home following Israeli bombardment of Rafah, Gaza, on December 14. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Mother and father of Israeli military commander Major Ben Shelly, who was killed in northern Gaza, embrace each other at his funeral in Kidron, Israel, on December 14. Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters A Palestinian woman reacts as she walks past makeshift tents during a rainy day at a UN relief agency logistics base in Rafah, Gaza, on December 13. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images Israeli soldiers listen to their commander as they prepare to enter the Gaza Strip, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, on December 13. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Palestinians carry an injured woman following an Israeli air strike in Rafah, Gaza, on December 12. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP A soldier reacts during a funeral for IDF Reservist Maj. Eviatar Cohen in Kfar Saba, Israel, on December 12. Amir Levy/Getty Images Israeli soldiers take positions in southern Israel near the Gaza border, on December 11. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Palestinians crowd around a truck that's distributing bottles of water in Rafah, Gaza, on December 11. Stringer/Anadolu/Getty Images An Israeli howitzer fires into Gaza from a position near Nahal Oz, Israel, on December 10. Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty Images Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza outside a morgue in Khan Younis on December 10. Mohammed Dahman/AP Palestinian firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a house after an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 9. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Israeli soldiers patrol a border area with Gaza near Nahal Oz, Israel, on December 9. Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Master Sgt. Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, who was killed in fighting in Gaza, at the military cemetery in Herzliya, Israel, on December 8. The death of Eisenkot, the son of Israeli government minister Gadi Eisenkot, has resonated across the country and drawn condolences from Israel's top leaders. Leo Correa/AP Palestinians carry a dead girl, found under the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in Gaza, on December 7. Mohammed Dahman/AP Relatives and friends of hostages held in Gaza by the Hamas militant group light torches and march as they call for their release during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Hostages Square at the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 7. Ariel Schalit/AP People search for victims amid the rubble of a smoldering building, following an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 6. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images A close-up view of spent bullet casings on the ground near the Gaza border, in southern Israel, on December 6. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images Security guards and a member of Israeli security forces pass a display of toppled toilets during a press tour of the 06:29 memorial recreating the site of the Nova music festival massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 6. Maya Alleruzzo/AP People walk past a building damaged in a rocket attack in Ashkelon, Israel, on December 5. Amir Cohen/Reuters A child sleeps in a makeshift shelter in a new camp sheltering displaced Palestinians who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 5. Mohammed Salem/Reuters A Palestinian girl holds empty bottles as she queues to collect water in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 5. Mohammed Salem/Reuters An Israeli artillery unit fires near the border with Gaza on December 5. Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian boy carrying a baby stands at a site of Israeli strikes in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 4. Mohammed Salem/Reuters An Israeli military helicopter releases flares over the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, on December 4. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Israeli soldiers sit in a military vehicle near Israel's border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on December 4. Amir Cohen/Reuters Palestinians inspect a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on December 4. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Israeli military tanks roll near the border with the Gaza on December 3. Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images Family and friends of Staff Sergeant Aschalwu Sama mourn over his grave during his funeral in Petah Tikva, Israel, on December 3. Ariel Schalit/AP Palestinians carry belongings as they flee their homes on December 2, in Khan Younis, Gaza. Fatima Shbair/AP Palestinians hold empty containers to receive food in Rafah, Gaza, on December 2. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters The Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a rocket fired from Gaza over Ashkelon, Israel, on December 1. Tsafrir Abayov/AP Smoke rises from buildings in Gaza after being hit by Israeli strikes as attacks resume between Israel and Hamas militants, on December 1. John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, walks with her mother after she was released from prison by Israel, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on early November 30. Nasser Nasser/AP Viktor and Helena Brodski mourn during a memorial service for their son, Sgt. Kiril Brodski at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 29. Ariel Schalit/AP People walk through the debris of a mosque, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 29. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters stand guard as Red Cross vehicles transport released hostages towards the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in southern Gaza, on November 28. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian prisoner reacts after being released during the truce amid between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on November 28. Ammar Awad/Reuters Protesters release balloons as they call for the release of the Bibas family, whose members are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 28. Ariel Schalit/AP An Israeli helicopter transporting hostages released by Hamas prepares to land at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 28. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images A displaced Palestinian man sits by tents sheltering people near the border between Israel and southern Gaza, in Khan Younis on November 27. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images People welcome a convoy carrying newly released hostages in Ofakim, Israel, on Sunday, November 26. Tsafrir Abayov/AP Young boys look at aid trucks entering Gaza on November 26. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Israa Jaabis, left, a Palestinian prisoner released by Israel, is hugged as she arrives home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber early November 26. Mahmoud Illean/AP A Red Cross vehicle carrying Israeli hostages enters the Rafah border crossing late Saturday, November 25. Fatima Shbair/AP People await news of hostages expected to be released by Hamas in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 25. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters Palestinians queue in front of a gas station in Khan, Younis, Gaza, to fill their kitchen cylinders after the arrival of trucks carrying aid on November 25. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images A Palestinian woman sits on debris in her damaged apartment in the Khezaa district on the outskirts of the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis on November 25. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Members of the Asher family embrace each at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel on Friday, November 24. Sisters Aviv and Raz and their mother, Doron, were released on the first day of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Schneider Children's Medical Center via AP A helicopter carrying hostages released by Hamas lands at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, on November 24. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP People in Tel Aviv, Israel, react as they hear the news of the release of 13 Israeli hostages held by Hamas on November 24. Ariel Schalit/AP Fireworks streak across the sky as Palestinian prisoners who were released from the Israeli Ofer military facility are paraded in Beitunia, in the occupied West Bank, on November 24. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images International Red Cross vehicles transport freed hostages through the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on November 24. Twenty-four people held hostage for nearly seven weeks in the Gaza Strip were released Friday as part of a truce brokered between Israel and Hamas, according to officials. The group included 10 Thai citizens, 13 Israelis and one Philippine citizen, according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images Palestinians walk through destruction in Gaza City on November 24 as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. Mohammed Hajjar/AP A Palestinian medic and civilians carry an injured man after an Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza, on Thursday, November 23. Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images Artillery shells are lined up at a position in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, bordering southern Lebanon on Wednesday, November 22. Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images Ambulances are seen on a road near an Israeli forces tank in Gaza on November 22. Victor R. Caivano/AP Soldiers react during the funeral of Captain Liron Snir, 25, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, on November 22. James Oatway/Reuters Smoke billows after an Israeli strike as flares are dropped over northern Gaza on November 22. John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images Families and friends of hostages held in Gaza call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring them home, during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, November 21. Ariel Schalit/AP Internally displaced Palestinians who fled northern Gaza sit in a makeshift shelter at a school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on November 21. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Injured Palestinians, including children, are taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment after Israeli attacks hit the school at Al Bureij Refugee Camp in Deir Al Balah, Gaza, on Monday, November 20. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu/Getty Images People hold portraits of children held hostage by Hamas as protesters rally outside the Unicef offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 20. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian woman cries in anguish following Israeli strikes on Rafah, Gaza, on November 20. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Israeli soldiers work on armored military vehicles along Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip, on November 20. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Palestinians clutching empty containers wait for food relief in Rafah, Gaza, on Sunday, November 19. Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua/Getty Images Israeli soldiers carry the casket of Major Jamal Abbas, an Israeli soldier from Israel's Druze minority who was killed in Gaza amid Israel's ongoing ground operation, at his funeral in Pekiin, Israel, on November 19. Shir Torem/Reuters A UN-provided tent camp for Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 19. Fatima Shbair/AP Foreign journalists get off a bus and take cover on the side of a road in Mavki'im, Israel, after a siren warns of a rocket fired from Gaza on November 19. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Premature newborns receive treatment after being transferred from Al-Shifa hospital to Al-Emarati hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on November 19. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa/AP Palestinians look at destruction after an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Saturday, November 18. Fatima Shbair/AP Tens of thousands of people led by the families of Hamas' hostages walk along Route 1 to enter Jerusalem on the fifth and final day of the March for the Hostages on November 18. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza, on Friday, November 17. Hatem Ali/AP Israeli military members react during the funeral of Israeli soldier Avraham Fetena in Haifa, Israel, on November 17. Shir Torem/Reuters Damaged buildings in Gaza seen from Sderot, Israel, on Thursday, November 16. Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty Images Families of hostages march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on November 16, in Beit Hashmonai, Israel. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images A Palestinian child looks through a broken window of a destroyed building, in Rafah, Gaza, on Wednesday, November 15. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images An Israeli army armored fighting vehicle returns to a staging area from the border with Gaza on November 15, in southern Israel. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images People mourn as they stand behind a metal fence before the burial of victims killed in an Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday, November 14. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Israeli soldiers form an honor guard at the funeral of Israeli reserve soldier Master Sgt. Raz Abulafia in Rishpon, Israel, on November 14. Ariel Schalit/AP Journalists report from a vantage point overlooking northern Gaza in Sderot, Israel, on Monday, November 13. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Palestinians line up for food in Rafah, Gaza, on November 13. Hatem Ali/AP Men walk along the border of Gaza in southern Israel on November 13. Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian child cries next to his mother after they were rushed to Nasser hospital, following an Israeli strike, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 13. Mohammed Salem/Reuters Family and friends attends the funeral of Israeli soldier Matan Meir on November 13 in Odem, Israel. Amir Levy/Getty Images An Israeli soldier fires his weapon in Gaza on November 13. Israel Defense Forces/Handout/Reuters Newborns are placed in a bed after being taken off incubators in Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after power outage in Gaza City on Sunday, November 12. Reuters Palestinians search for bodies and survivors among the rubble of a residential building following an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 12. Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Mourners attend the funeral of Sgt. Roni Eshel in Kfar Saba, Israel, on November 12. Eshel was killed during Hamas' attack on October 7. Ariel Schalit/AP This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip early on November 12, shows flares being fired by Israeli troops over the Gaza Strip. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images On day 35 of hostages being detained by Hamas, a woman holds the image of a hostage while sitting amongst thousands of people and families of kidnapped people taking part in a protest to demand that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secures the release of Israeli hostages, on Saturday, November 11, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Images of people's eyes adorn chairs, one for each of the 240 Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, which are placed outside The Museum of Modern Art known as the 'The Hostages and Missing Square' on November 11, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Israeli soldiers and military vehicles take a position inside Gaza in this Israel Defense Forces (IDF) handout picture obtained by Reuters, on November 11. Israel Defense Forces/Handout/Reuters Palestinians mourn relatives killed in Israeli bombardment at a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 11. Fatima Shbair/AP Cemetery attendant Sadi Berek, 63, works to maintain graves of children who were killed in the aftermath of Israeli attacks in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on Friday, November 10. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images Palestinians flee to southern Gaza on Salah al-Din Street in Bureij, Gaza, on November 10. Fatima Shbair/AP An Israeli tank rolls near Sderot, Israel, along the border with Gaza, on November 10. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images Varda Goldstein enters her house for the first time after it was burned in the October 7 Hamas attack in Kfar Aza, Israel, on November 10. Amir Levy/Getty Images A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza, as seen from Israel, on Thursday, November 9. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images On November 9, an IDF soldier from the Israeli Military Rabbinate looks for items that may help identify people killed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, in the October 7 attacks. Bernat Armangue/AP A Palestinian nurse at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza mourns after receiving news that his brother has died. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images People look at an installation called "Empty Beds" on November 9 in Tel Aviv, where beds represent around 240 hostages seized in the attack by Hamas gunmen. Tomer Appelbaum/Reuters A Palestinian woman inspects the bodies of victims outside Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital who were killed in Israeli bombardment, on November 8. Mohammad Abu Elsebah/picture alliance/Getty Images Palestinians inspect debris at the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid mosque after it was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, on November 8. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Family and friends attend the funeral of fallen Israeli soldier, Ya'akov Ozeri, in Meron, Israel on November 8. Amir Levy/Getty Images An Israeli soldier in northern Gaza on November 8. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman carries a white flag as Palestinians flee from Gaza City to the south on November 7. Mohammed Dahman/AP In Tel Aviv on November 7, people hold photos of people who were kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza. Amir Levy/Getty Images A Palestinian child receives treatment at Nasser Medical Hospital after a strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 7. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images A woman in Tel Aviv writes on a photo of people kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. Ariel Schalit/AP People hold Israeli flags in Jerusalem on November 7, one month after Hamas's attacks in Israel. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters People mourn as they wait for the bodies of members of a family killed in a strike to be removed from Rafah's al-Najjar Hospital for burial on November 7. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP A Palestinian man reacts as others check the rubble of a building in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 6. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Photographs of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas militants are projected onto the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on November 6. Leo Correa/AP A Palestinian family sits near destroyed houses following a strike in Rafah, southern Gaza, on November 6. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images A soldier takes cover as an artillery unit fires from an undisclosed location near the Israel-Gaza border on November 6. Amir Cohen/Reuters A woman looks for names on a memorial wall in Jerusalem's Old City on November 6 that lists the 1,400 people killed in the October 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Leo Correa/AP At the Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital on November 6, a man walks between the shrouded bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment in Deir Balah, central Gaza. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images A family member reacts as Palestinian cameraman Mohammed Alaloul (bottom) covers the body of a relative killed in an Israeli strike, in Gaza on Sunday, November 5. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/AP Soldiers are seen walking at a location given as Gaza, in this screengrab obtained from an Israel Defence Forces handout video released on November 5. Israel Defense Forces/Reuters Palestinians look for survivors following an Israeli bombardment in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza, on November 5. Fatima Shbair/AP Soldiers from the IDF's coed infantry battalion 'Bardelas' guard an Israeli community in Southern Israel on November 5. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Teams put out a fire that broke out among the rubble of a destroyed building during search and rescue operations after an Israeli attack in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Saturday, November 4. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images Protesters call for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during a demonstration near HaKirya base in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 4. Neil Hall/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Rockets are launched from Gaza into Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, in southern Israel, on November 4. Amir Cohen/Reuters United Nations workers in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza prepare aid for distribution to Palestinians, who have fled their homes and are sheltering in a UN-run school, on November 4. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images Blood is splattered on the side of an ambulance after an Israeli airstrike outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Friday, November 3. Saeed Jaras/APAImages/Shutterstock A relative bids farewell during the funerals of Palestine TV journalist Mohammad Abu Hattab and his eleven family members the day after they were killed in Khan Younis, Gaza on November 3. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians search for survivors following an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza on November 3. Mohammed Talatene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Neta Heiman, a peace activist, holds a photograph of her mother, Ditza Heiman, who is being held hostage by Hamas, in Haifa, Israel on Thursday, November 2. Shir Torem/Reuters Mourners gather around the coffin of Druze Israeli Lieutenant colonel Salman Habaka in the village of Yanuh Jat, northern Israel, on November 3 Ariel Schalit/AP Children wait for the return of Palestinian workers from Israel at the Rafah border in southern Gaza, on November 3. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Family and friends grieve for Capt. (Res.) Yuval Zilber at the Netaim Cemetery in Netaim, Israel, on November 3. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Pictures of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas are displayed with balloons as part of an installation in Jerusalem on November 2. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Palestinians take humanitarian aid from a truck near the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on November 2. Hatem Ali/AP An Israeli artillery unit fires during a military drill in Golan Heights, Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 2. Jalaa Merey/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians with dual citizenship show their passports while seeking permission to leave Gaza at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, on November 1. Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg/Getty Images A man sits on debris as Palestinians conduct a search and rescue operation after the second bombardment to the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, on Wednesday, November 1. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images An Israeli Apache helicopter fires flares over Gaza, seen from Sderot, Israel, on November 1. Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Palestinian families take shelter in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency refugee camp in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 1. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images Relatives react during the funeral of an Israeli soldier in Jerusalem, on November 1. Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians move through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, on November 1. Injured Palestinians and foreign nationals from Gaza have started crossing the border into Egypt, officials and Egyptian media said, in the first sanctioned exodus from the besieged enclave in weeks. Hatem Ali/AP Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza on October 31. Anas al-Shareef/Reuters Friends and family mourn Yosef Vahav, 65, who was killed following Hamas' infiltration from Gaza, at his funeral in Beit Guvrin, Israel on Tuesday, October 31. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Israeli army vehicles move along a road near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 31. Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images Relatives mourn as bodies are carried for burial from Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on October 31. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images Relatives attend the funeral of Albert Miles, 81, at the Kibbutz Revivim cemetery, south Israel, on October 30. Albert Miles was killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, in Kibbutz Be'eri near the border with Gaza. Bernat Armangue/AP A Palestinian man holds his wounded child as they receive medical attention at Al-Najjar Hospital following an Israeli airstrike on Rafah in southern Gaza on October 30. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa/AP Vehicles destroyed by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel are seen collected in a field near the Israel's border with Gaza on October 30. Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters A photo released by the IDF shows its forces continue to expand ground operations in Gaza on October 30. IDF/EyePress News/Shutterstock Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah on October 30. Fatima Shbair/AP A man holds wounded children near livestock animals amid heavily damaged buildings, following Israeli attacks at Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza City, on Sunday, October 29. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu/Getty Images Manna mourns her daughter Tamar Chaya Torpiashvili, a 9-year-old girl who died days after experiencing a cardiac attack during a siren warning of incoming rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel, at her funeral in Ashdod, southern Israel, on October 29. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters An injured man is covered in dust in the aftermath of Israeli bombing in Rafah, southern Gaza, on October 29. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Smoke and explosions are seen on the horizon in northern Gaza, amid Israel's bombardment of the enclave, on Saturday, October 28. Abed Khaled/AP Israeli armored vehicles on the move near the border with Gaza, in Sderot, Israel on the morning of October 28. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Palestinian children sit in a vehicle loaded with household items in Khan Younis refugee camp, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on October 28. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images People check the destruction following Israeli strikes on Al-Shatee camp in Gaza City on October 28. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images A man writes a message during a demonstration by family members and supporters of hostages who are being held in Gaza after they were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas gunmen, as they call for a dialogue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 28. Ammar Awad/Getty Images Palestinian lawyer Jehad Al-Kafarnah, whose pregnant wife and unborn child were killed in an Israeli strike, according to health officials, mourns over her shrouded body at a hospital in northern Gaza on Friday, October 27. Anas al-Shareef/Reuters Teddy bears with their eyes covered and showing signs of injury are displayed to highlight the young children and babies currently missing, believed to be being held hostage by Hamas, on October 27 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Israeli firefighters and rescue teams assess destruction after a rocket attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 27. Dima Vazinovich/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian man injured in an Israeli airstrike is carried on a stretcher at Nasser Medical Hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 27. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images An Israeli air force F-15 tactical fighter jet flies along the border with Gaza near Sderot, Israel, on October 27. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images People take cover as rocket sirens sound during the funeral of Sagiv Ben Zvi in Holon, Israel, on Thursday, October 26. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters Smoke and fire rise from a leveled building after an Israeli strike on Gaza on October 26. Omar El-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images A woman looks from behind a gate at the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes at a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 26. Mohammed Salem/Reuters Relatives of hostages held in Gaza demonstrate in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 26. Amir Levy/Getty Images A Palestinian child is assisted as people search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City on Wednesday, October 25. Yasser Qudih/Reuters An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel towards Gaza on October 25.Tsafrir Abayov/AP A woman with a photograph of a child who was abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel hands out yellow ribbons to passing drivers in central Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 25.
Francisco Seco/AP Palestinians mourn their loved ones killed in an Israeli strike, outside Najjar hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on October 24. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Yocheved Lifshitz speaks to the media after she was released by Hamas, outside Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 24. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Al Shifa hospital is lit up in Gaza City on October 24. Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Rescuers assist a survivor of an Israeli bombardment in Nusseirat refugee camp, Gaza, on Tuesday, October 24. Ali Mohmoud/AP Palestinians look for survivors in the rubble after Israeli strikes in Rafah in southern Gaza on October 23. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images A baby receives care inside an incubator at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on Monday, October 23. Mai Yaghi/AFP/Getty Images Mourners hold hands during the funeral of Sgt. Yam Goldstein and her father, Nadav, in Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, on October 23. Ariel Schalit/AP Israeli soldiers cry during the funeral of Sgt. Yam Goldstein and her father, Nadav, in Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, on October 23. Ariel Schalit/AP An Israeli soldier stands in an armored vehicle near the Lebanon border on October 23. Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images Khaled Joudeh mourns his young sister, Misq, at the morgue at Deir Al-Balah hospital in Gaza on October 22. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Pictures of over 1,000 people abducted, missing or killed in the Hamas attack are displayed on empty seats in the Smolarz Auditorium at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 22. Leon Neal/Getty Images Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on October 22. Hatem Moussa/AP Relatives mourn for a man killed by Hamas during his funeral in Nir Oz, Israel, on October 22. Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu/Getty Images Injured civilians are recovered from the rubble of a destroyed house following Israeli air strikes near a UNRWA school housing displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Saturday, October 21. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times/Redux A photo hangs on a refrigerator dotted with bullet holes in a home in Kibbutz Kissufim, Israel, on October 21. Francisco Seco/AP An aerial view of residential buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Zahra City, Gaza, on October 21. Shadi Tabatibi/Reuters Relatives mourn for a family killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 21. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza from Egypt at the Rafah border crossing on October 21. Belal al Sabbagh/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of hostages speak to the media during the "Lighting up the Light" campaign for the return of those held captive, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 21. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Palestinians inspect a destroyed area following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on October 21. Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Children use candles for lighting in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday, October 20. Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua/Redux Muslim Palestinians take part in Friday noon prayers as Israeli police look on in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud, on October 20. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images Women grieve at an event for the families of Israelis who are missing or being held hostage in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 20. Janis Laizans/Reuters Civil defense teams and residents continue search and rescue efforts at a Greek Orthodox church after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 20. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images A Palestinian woman mourns over the bodies of her relatives who were killed an Israeli airstrike that hit a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City on October 20. Abed Khaled/AP Rockets are fired from Gaza toward Israel on Thursday, October 19. Mohammed Dahman/AP Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets soldiers in a field near Israel's border with Gaza on October 19. Gallant told the soldiers, "You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside." Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Friends and relatives of Ofir Libstein, who served as head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and died during the Kibbutz Kfar Aza attack, mourn at his funeral in Even Yehuda, Israel, on Wednesday, October 18. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Belal Khaled/Anadolu/Getty Images A Palestinian man inspects a destroyed house belonging to the Al-Jazzar family after an airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on October 18. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photographs of people taken hostage by Hamas are seen in Tel Aviv on October 18. Leon Neal/Getty Images People mourn a family during a funeral in Hod HaSharon, Israel, on October 18. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Israeli security inspects debris from a rocket in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, on October 18. Ayal Margolin/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock From left, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US President Joe Biden join Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials as they wait for the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on October 18. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images A view shows the aftermath of a deadly blast that struck Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Palestinian officials blamed ongoing Israeli airstrikes for the incident, while a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said a Palestinian Islamic Jihad group is responsible for a "failed rocket launch" that hit the hospital. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images President Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on October 18. Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Redux Wounded Palestinians sit on the floor at the Al-Shifa Hospital after being transported from the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital following a blast there on Tuesday, October 17. Abed Khaled/AP Bodies of Palestinians killed in the blast at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital lie in front of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 17. Abed Khaled/AP Israeli security forces inspect a damaged residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza in Sderot, Israel on October 17. Ariel Schalit/AP A bakery prepares rations of bread to pass out to displaced Palestinians in the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza, on October 17. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images People lay wreaths during a funeral for the Israeli Kutz family in Gan-Yavne, Israel on October 17. The family of five were murdered in their home by Palestinian militants who infiltrated the Israeli Kibbutz of Kfar Aza last week. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/picture-alliance/AP Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operations amid destroyed buildings after an Israeli attack in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday, October 17, Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images Aid supplies are seen in North Sinai, Egypt on October 16. Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images Street vendors work on a darkened street without power in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 16. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on October 16. Fatima Shbair/AP People hold Israeli flags as friends and family mourn Dor Reder at his funeral in Beit Kama, southern Israel, on October 16. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters Palestinians carry a person wounded in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday, October 16. Fatima Shbair/AP People prepare to board a ship that will transport US nationals and their immediate family members from Haifa, Israel, to Cyprus on October 16. Shir Torem/Reuters The remains of a Palestinian house destroyed in Israeli strikes in central Gaza on October 15. Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters Israeli army soldiers patrol at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 15. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images People carry children as they flee following an Israeli strike on Rafah in southern Gaza on Sunday, October 15. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Antonio Macías' mother cries over her son's body at Pardes Haim cemetery in Kfar Saba, Israel, on October 15. Macías was killed by Hamas at an Israeli music festival earlier this month. Francisco Seco/AP Palestinians collect water from a tap on October 15 after Israel blocked supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel to Gaza. Fatima Shbair/AP Israeli army Puma armored personnel carriers move in a column near the Gaza border in southern Israel on October 14. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images People react at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Saturday, October 14. Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Eli Albag cries over the photograph of his daughter Liri, as he gathers with others during a protest demanding the release of more than 100 Israelis who were abducted during last week's Hamas attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 14. Francisco Seco/AP Leaflets dropped from Israeli army planes fall over Gaza City on Friday, October 13. Mohammed Talatene/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images An Israeli soldier looks inside a house that was overrun by Hamas militants in Be'eri, Israel, on October 13. Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians rescue a wounded man from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on October 13. Hatem Ali/AP Israeli artillery fires on the Israel-Gaza border on October 13. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters Israelis take cover after hearing warning sirens of incoming rockets fired from Gaza in Rehovot, Israel, on October 13. Dor Kedmi/AP On October 13, doctors at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, examine children injured in Israeli attacks. Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images A Palestinian child is injured during bombing in Gaza on October 13. Saher Alghorra/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to seek refuge in the south, on October 13. Hatem Moussa/AP Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Abraham Cohen at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 12. Francisco Seco/AP Israeli soldiers patrol near Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, on October 12. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images Family members of Valentin Ghnassia react during his funeral ceremony at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on October 12. Ghnassia was killed in a battle with Hamas militants in Be'eri, Israel. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images An Israeli soldier patrols near the Nova music festival grounds near Be'eri, Israel, on October 12. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images An Israeli military helicopter flies near the border between Gaza and Sderot, Israel, on October 12. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians seek shelter in Khan Younis, Gaza, after a house next door was hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 12. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 12. Ibrahim Hams/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian woman covered in dust and dirt carries a child in Gaza City on October 12. Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri on Wednesday, October 11. Baz Ratner/AP An Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images People carry bodies of Palestinians killed during an Israeli airstrike prior to their burial in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11. Abed Rahim Khatib/Picture-Alliance/Getty Images An aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City on October 11. Yahya Hassouna/AFP/Getty Images Mourners react beside the body of Mapal Adam during her funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 11. Francisco Seco/AP Palestinians run from Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11. Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Israeli soldiers load donated food into the back of a military vehicle in Sderot, Israel, on October 11. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Bullet holes are seen in a cracked window at the entrance of a kindergarten in Be'eri, Israel, on October 11. The self-sustaining farming community near Gaza was one of the first places targeted by Hamas militants on October 7. Baz Ratner/AP A mourner reacts while burying a child from the al-Agha family, who were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Itzik and Miriam Shafir, center, mourn during their son's funeral at a cemetery in Modiin Maccabim, Israel, on October 11. Their son, Dor Shafir, and his girlfriend, Savion Kiper, were killed during Hamas' attack on a music festival on Saturday. Maya Alleruzzo/AP A boy carries salvaged belongings from the wreckage of his family's home in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times/Redux Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City on Tuesday, October 10. Mohammed Salem/Reuters Israeli soldiers carry a body on October 10 in Kfar Aza, a village in Israel just across the border from Gaza. Hamas militants carried out a "massacre" in Kfar Aza during their attacks over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN. Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians mourn during the funeral of a relative killed in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City on October 10. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images People mourn at the grave of Eden Guez during her funeral in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 10. She was killed as she attended a music festival that was attacked by terrorists from Gaza. Israeli officials counted at least 260 bodies at the Nova Festival. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters Israeli soldiers take position in Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza on October 10. Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Palestinians rescue a young girl from the rubble of a destroyed residential building following an Israeli airstrike on October 10. Fatima Shbair/AP Stranded travelers wait to be booked on a flight at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on October 10. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 10. Fatima Shbair/AP Israelis in Ashkelon take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets on October 10. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP People gather around the bodies of two Palestinian reporters, Mohammed Soboh and Said al-Tawil, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 10. Fatima Shbair/AP Israelis mourn as they attend the funeral of Israel Defense Forces soldier Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg at Mount Herzel Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 10. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian man reacts as he carries the body of his cousin who was pulled from the rubble after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday, October 9. Belal Khaled/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A family takes shelter at a neighbor's house after their home was damaged in an Israeli airstrike in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux A photo from a wedding is seen on the ground of a building in Ashkelon that was hit by rockets from Gaza on October 9. Amir Cohen/Reuters People take shelter in Jerusalem on October 9. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux The ruins of the Yassin mosque are seen in the Shati refugee camp just outside Gaza City on October 9. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Friends and relatives of Ilai Bar Sade mourn next to his grave during his funeral at a military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 9. Erik Marmor/AP Six-month-old Sama Alwadia is rescued from the rubble in Gaza City on October 9. Though the child had survived the initial strike, she died later while being treated for her injuries. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Lightning strikes over Gaza City following an Israeli bombardment on October 9. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Israeli soldiers take position near the border between Gaza and Israel on October 9. Oren Ziv/AP A Palestinian man mourns over the body of his nephew killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 9. Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Israeli security and emergency officials respond after a rocket landed in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank, on October 9. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on October 9. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images Israeli soldiers work on a tank at the border between Israel and Gaza on October 9. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/picture-alliance/AP Palestinians remove a body from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Jebaliya refugee camp in Gaza on October 9. Ramez Mahmoud/AP A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son's funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on October 9. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Palestinians inspect damage from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp on October 9. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images An injured Palestinian child is pictured in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Israelis view a damaged residential building in Ashkelon after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza on October 9. Erik Marmor/AP Tali Touito reacts as she describes how Hamas gunmen attacked and took over the police station on her street, in Sderot, Israel, on Sunday, October 8. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Fire and smoke rise from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 8. Fatima Shbair/AP A relative of an Israeli missing since the attacks is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel, on October 8. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 8. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters An Israeli soldier prays standing in front of a tank on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona on October 8. Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv on October 8, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza. Oded Balilty/AP Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 8. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Palestinians search the rubble of a home in Khan Younis that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on October 8. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8. Ahmad Hasballah/Getty Images Rockets launched from Gaza are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system on October 8. Amir Cohen/Reuters Palestinian children look toward the sky at the sound of airstrikes at a United Nations-run school in Gaza on Saturday, October 7. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux A woman runs to her family's reinforced concrete shelter moments after rocket sirens sounded in Ashkelon on October 7. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux From the window of his family's apartment, a man surveys damage from a rocket that struck a parking lot in Ashkelon on October 7. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza on October 7. Fatima Shbair/AP Palestinians break into the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, after gunmen infiltrated parts of southern Israel on October 7. Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket in Ashkelon on October 7. Tsafrir Abayov/AP Israeli police take cover in Ashkelon as sirens wail while rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel on October 7. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises over Gaza during Israeli airstrikes on October 7. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images An Israeli woman reacts over the body of her relative who was killed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 7. Baz Ratner/AP Children are seen in a damaged house in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes on October 7. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Vehicles in Ashkelon burn as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7. Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters A man in Ashkelon runs after rockets were launched from Gaza on October 7. Amir Cohen/Reuters Israelis donate blood in Jerusalem on October 7. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Palestinians inspect a destroyed building as emergency responders try to contain fires after Israeli jets bombed Gaza on October 7. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Outside of a hospital in Gaza, men sit next to the covered body of a Palestinian militant killed during Saturday's clashes. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of Palestinians killed on Saturday, October 7, mourn at the morgue of a hospital in Gaza. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian militants in Sderot on October 7. Tsafrir Abayov/AP licensed A woman stands in a room damaged by rockets in Ashkelon on October 7. Amir Cohen/Reuters A building in Tel Aviv is ablaze Saturday, October 7, following rocket attacks from Gaza. Itai Ron/Reuters Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun in Gaza on October 7. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images People take cover in a bomb shelter in Rishon Lezion, Israel, as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7. Hadas Parush/Reuters Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on October 7. Fatima Shbair/AP
In pictures: Israel at war with Hamas
Prev NextWhat happened?
Militants from Gaza fired thousands of rockets towards Israeli towns on October 7, before breaking through the heavily fortified border fence with Israel and sending militants deep into Israeli territory. There, Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli authorities, in what has been described as the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
The attacks were unprecedented in tactics and scale as Israel has not faced its adversaries in street battles on its own territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It has also never faced a terror attack of this magnitude that has taken the lives of so many civilians. While Hamas has kidnapped Israelis before, it has never before taken dozens of hostages at once, including children and the elderly.
Hamas called the operation “Al-Aqsa Storm” and said that it was a response to what it described as Israeli attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and the ongoing siege of Gaza.
How has Israel responded?
Following the attack, Israel declared war and launched “Operation Swords of Iron,” striking what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. It also blocked supply lines of basic necessities to the Gaza population, including fuel and water.
Israel says it will exact a heavy price on Hamas for its attack and has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along the Gaza border for a potential ground operation.
The IDF has told more than 1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate south, according to the United Nations, but some say there is nowhere safe to go, and crossings out of Gaza have been shut. Hamas has called on Gazans not to leave their homes, accusing Israel of engaging in “psychological warfare” by calling on Palestinians to evacuate to the south.
Complicating Israel’s response are the hostages that Hamas is holding. The group has claimed that a number of hostages have been killed by Israeli bombings on the enclave. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied the claim.
Four hostages have been released by Hamas in recent days but Israeli officials have estimated that more than 200 people are still missing.
What’s the situation in Gaza now?
As the death toll from Israeli airstrikes mounts, a humanitarian crisis is rapidly spiraling amid warnings that people are at risk of starvation as Israel tightens its chokehold on the territory.
The Gaza Strip is one of most densely populated places on earth, with some 2 million people crammed in 140-square-mile territory. The enclave lies on Egypt’s western border and has been under blockade since Hamas seized control in 2007.
The Israeli air, naval and land blockade on the territory, as well as the Egyptian land blockade, continue today.
The enclave’s only power station stopped working. Hospitals are expected to run out of fuel, with the International Committee of the Red Cross warning that they “risk turning into morgues” as they lose power.
Palestinians who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes shelter at a United Nations-run school in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersHuman rights groups have warned of possible war crimes being committed in Gaza. Amnesty International has urged Israel to “immediately” lift its blockade on the enclave, saying the “collective punishment” of civilians for Hamas’ terrorism amounts to a war crime.
Since Israel shut its two crossings with Gaza, the only corridor through which Palestinians or aid can pass in and out of the territory is the Rafah crossing, which connects the south of the enclave to Egypt. A tiny trickle of aid has been allowed through but otherwise the crossing has remained shut.
What is Hamas?
Hamas is an Islamist organization with a military wing that emerged in 1987 out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group that was founded in the late 1920s in Egypt.
The group, like most Palestinian factions and political parties, insists that Israel is an occupying power and that it is trying to liberate the Palestinian territories. It considers Israel an illegitimate state and has called for its downfall.
Unlike some other Palestinian factions, Hamas refuses to engage with Israel. In 1993, it opposed the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Accords also established the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas presents itself as an alternative to the PA, which has recognized Israel and has engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it. The PA, whose credibility among Palestinians has suffered over the years, is today led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
It has over the years claimed many attacks on Israel and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel on Saturday. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty ImagesHamas rules Gaza, the small strip of land bordering Israel and Egypt that has changed hands several times over the past 70 years. The vast majority of its population are descendants of refugees who were either expelled or forced to flee their homes in 1948 in what is now Israel.
Another group involved is the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an ally to Hamas and another Muslim Brotherhood offshoot.
Considered a terrorist group by the United States, Israel and European countries, the PIJ has also conducted a number of attacks on Israel since the 1980s. It operates mainly in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
While the PIJ is much smaller than Hamas, the US estimates its membership to range from 1,000 to several thousand fighters.
How did the two sides get here?
Tensions between Israelis and the Palestinians have existed since before Israel’s founding in 1948. Thousands of people on both sides have been killed and many more injured over decades.
Violence has been particularly acute this year. The number of Palestinians – militants and civilians – killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces since the year began is the highest in nearly two decades. The same is true of Israelis and foreigners – most of them civilians – killed in Palestinian attacks.
Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 war, then withdrew its troops and settlers in 2005. The territory, home to some 2 million Palestinians, fell under Hamas’ control in 2007 after a brief civil war with Fatah, a rival Palestinian faction that is the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.
After Hamas seized control, Israel and Egypt imposed a strict siege on the territory, which is ongoing. Israel also maintains an air and naval blockade on Gaza.
Video Ad Feedback The history of Gaza in 2 minutes 02:11 - Source: CNNHuman Rights Watch has called the territory an “open-air prison.” More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, and nearly 80% of its population relies on humanitarian assistance.
Hamas and Israel have fought several wars. Before the operation on October 7, the last war between the two was in 2021, which lasted for 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
What happens next?
While Israel’s plans are unknown, it is thought to be readying a ground operation that risks both being protracted and bloody.
Israel’s defense minister has said the military is preparing for a “multilateral operation” on Hamas from the “air, ground, and sea,” with the goal of destroying the militant group.
Hamas has said that it is ready “for all options, including a war and an escalation on all levels,” including an Israeli ground operation.
Tensions are also high in the occupied West Bank, with at least 95 Palestinians killed since the October 7 attack, according to the Palestinian health ministry there.
Residents in the West Bank have told CNN they are fearful of a wave of violence from the Israeli military and security forces, as well as revenge attacks by the estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers living in the territory.
Could this lead to a wider regional conflict?
The Hamas attack brought risks of the conflict spilling across the region, given the close ties between Hamas, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, all of whom share anti-Israel policies. US officials have warned of the risk of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.
The impact of the conflict is already being felt elsewhere, on the Lebanese border with Israel and the occupied West Bank.
A man runs on a road as fire burns after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel October 7, 2023. Amir Cohen/ReutersIran-backed Hezbollah has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants. It has sponsored rallies in support of Palestinian groups and has roundly condemned Israel’s large-scale airstrikes on Gaza.
Hezbollah, which the US and Israel consider a terrorist organization, has engaged in an exchange of fire with Israel since the Gaza war began. Those altercations have however been confined to the two countries’ border areas.
Iran, which is also believed to be backing Hamas, has denied involvement in the October 7 attack and warned Israel against targeting its allies in Lebanon.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Contributions by CNN’s Hadas Gold, Richard Allen Greene, Amir Tal, Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman, Kareem Khaddar, Mostafa Salem, Hamdi Alkhshali, Mia Alberti, Elliott Gotkine, Oren Liebermann, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Eyad Kourdi, Celine Alkhaldi, Becky Anderson and Zeena Saifi
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