What’s Happening in Israel and Gaza? What Is Hamas? A Really Simple Guide
BBCWe explain the background to the militant group, the scale of their attack on Israel and what could happen next.
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Updated: 10/11/23, 5 p.m. ET.
On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched the largest attack on Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, killing more than 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, and taking more than 100 hostage. Israel has responded by ordering a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas controls, launching massive airstrikes on one of the most densely-populated areas on Earth and cutting off the territory from from food, water, and electricity. So far, Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians and displaced more than 263,000 people, the vast majority of them also civilians.
Deepen your understanding of the ongoing crisis with this guide to the best explainers and high-level analysis of the conflict, including a look at the key players, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and what the fighting could mean for the future of the Middle East, and the world.
Image by Amir Levy / Stringer / Getty Images News
We explain the background to the militant group, the scale of their attack on Israel and what could happen next.
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