Gaza–Israel conflict

• 1. Introduction

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  The Gaza-Israel conflict is a long run of wars over one small territory. Israel and Palestinian militant groups have fought 15 of them in the Gaza Strip since 1948. The most recent, the Gaza war that began in 2023, had killed more than 72,000 Palestinians as of May 2026. That toll is higher than the combined deaths of every other war in the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This documentary asks how a place filled by refugees became a repeated battleground. It asks who walled the territory in and who came to govern it. It asks why truces kept failing. It also asks how governments, institutions and ordinary people reacted each time the fighting returned.

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• 2. A Strip of Refugees

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  About 200,000 of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in 1948 settled in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Their arrival is where the local story of this conflict begins. War also drew the strip's outline. The Green Line of the 1949 Armistice Agreements matched the military front where the 1948 fighting had stopped.

  Operation Barak shows how that fighting reached the area. In it, the Givati Brigade of the Haganah attacked Arab villages north of Gaza, emptied them of people and demolished them. The operation belonged to Plan Dalet, an offensive meant to seize territory before the State of Israel was established. On the 22nd of December, large Israeli forces began Operation Horev. It aimed to encircle the Egyptian Army inside the strip and push Egypt to end the war. Raids toward the Nitzana area and the Sinai Peninsula drove the Egyptians into Gaza, where they were surrounded. International pressure, together with a British threat to intervene against Israel, then led Israeli forces to leave Sinai and Gaza.

  From September 1948 to 1959, the All-Palestine Protectorate existed in the territory under Egyptian control. That control passed from the Kingdom of Egypt to the Republic of Egypt after the revolution of 1952.

  In 1956, during the Suez Crisis, Israel occupied Gaza for four months. Between 930 and 1,200 Palestinians were killed, most notably in the Khan Younis massacre and the Rafah massacre. About 1% of the strip's population was killed, wounded, tortured or imprisoned. Israel withdrew in 1957 after American pressure.

  The 1967 war brought a second occupation, this time alongside Sinai, the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Between 40,000 and 45,000 civilians fled or were expelled from Gaza during and shortly after the fighting, and many were killed as they fled. On the 11th of June, a grenade killed 8 civilians and a shooting killed another 10. Israeli leaders soon began arguing over whether the old armistice lines could ever serve as permanent borders.

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• 3. Fences and Uprisings

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  In December 1969, Prime Minister Golda Meir said that accepting the pre-1967 borders "would be treasonable" for any Israeli leader. Foreign Minister Abba Eban said those borders carried "a memory of Auschwitz". Menachem Begin called a retreat to them "national suicide for Israel". Such arguments shaped how Israel thought about separating itself from the people of Gaza.

  In 1987, a major uprising against Israeli rule began and opened the era known as the First Intifada. In the Gaza Strip alone, 142 Palestinians were killed and no Israelis died. Of the dead, 77 were shot, 37 died from tear-gas inhalation and 17 died from beatings by Israeli police or soldiers.

  The 1993 Oslo Accords then brought relative calm. Israeli settler violence, suicide attacks by Palestinian militant groups, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin all disrupted it.

  Rabin was the first to propose a physical barrier between the two populations, in 1992. Construction of the Israel-Gaza barrier began in 1994, and it is in fact a wire fence equipped with sensors. After an attack at Bet Lid, near Netanya, Rabin explained his aim. "This path must lead to a separation, though not according to the borders prior to 1967," he said. He added, "We want to reach a separation between us and them." Israel completed the initial barrier in 1996. It reduced infiltration from Gaza, but special medical permits to enter Israel were also cut sharply, which made travel hard for Palestinians. Daniel Schueftan's 1999 book on separation favored the "hard separation" positions of Rabin and Ehud Barak.

  The Second Intifada, also called the al-Aqsa Intifada, began in September 2000. Many Palestinians saw it as a struggle for national liberation against the occupation that followed the 1967 war. Many Israelis saw it as a terrorist campaign. Palestinian tactics ranged from mass protests and general strikes to suicide bombings and Qassam rockets fired at residential areas in southeastern Israel. Israeli tactics included mass arrests, administrative detention, checkpoints and assassinations of militants and leaders. Israel also built barriers around Gaza and the West Bank. Between 2000 and 2007, an estimated 4,300 or more Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis were killed. So were 64 foreign citizens, 54 of them by Palestinians and 10 by Israeli security forces.

  In August and September 2005, Israel carried out its Disengagement Plan and withdrew its civilian and military presence from Gaza. It kept control of the airspace, maritime access and the borders, even with Egypt. Qassam rockets had been fired regularly before the pullout, and the attacks became more frequent after it.

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• 4. Hamas and the Blockade

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  In January 2006, the Islamic party Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and tension with Israel rose at once. Israel sealed its border with Gaza, which largely stopped the free flow of people and many imports and exports. Qassam rockets kept landing near the border, and militants staged raids to kill or capture Israeli soldiers.

  An explosion on a beach near Beit Lahia on the 9th of June 2006 killed eight Palestinians. They included nearly the whole family of seven-year-old Huda Ghaliya. News media around the world covered it, and blame for the blast was fiercely disputed for weeks.

  On the 25th of June 2006, Palestinians captured the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Israel launched Operation Summer Rains on the 28th of June, its first major mobilization inside the strip since the 2005 disengagement. Israel said it would withdraw once Shalit was released. Palestinians said they would return him in exchange for some Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Palestinians and others also said the real aim was to topple the elected Hamas-led government. They pointed to strikes on a power station and the capture of government and parliament members.

  Operation Autumn Clouds began on the 1st of November 2006. A day after Israeli forces withdrew, shells that missed their target, possibly through a "technical malfunction", hit houses in Beit Hanoun. They killed 19 Palestinians and wounded more than 40. The Israeli military investigated and later apologized, and Ehud Olmert offered humanitarian assistance. A ceasefire was signed on the 26th of November, yet more than 60 Qassam rockets were fired afterward.

  Fighting among Palestinians changed everything in June 2007. Between the 7th and the 15th of June, Hamas and Fatah fought the Battle of Gaza. It killed 118 Palestinians and wounded more than 550. Hamas took full control of the strip. Israel responded by sharply restricting the movement of people and goods. About 70% of Gaza's workforce lost work or pay, and about 80% of residents lived in poverty.

  In September 2007, Israel declared Gaza "hostile territory". The historian Jean-Pierre Filiu called the label "absurd", since Israel had already fought nine wars against Gaza. The declaration allowed Israel to block electricity, fuel and other supplies. Israel said it wanted to pressure Hamas to stop Qassam attacks. Hamas considered it a declaration of war. The European Union and others condemned the fuel cuts as "collective punishment".

  By January 2008, a United Nations study found that the blockade's economic effects had reached a critical threshold. Israel sealed the border completely on the 17th of January. Six days later, gunmen set off an explosion near the Rafah Border Crossing and destroyed part of the old barrier. The United Nations estimated that as many as half of Gaza's 1.5 million people crossed into Egypt to find food and supplies.

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• 5. Truce and Cast Lead

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  On the 29th of February 2008, Israel launched Operation Hot Winter in response to Qassam rockets fired by Hamas. Israeli forces killed 112 Palestinians, and Palestinian militants killed three Israelis. The European Union and the United Nations criticized what they called Israel's "disproportionate use of force". On the 3rd of March, President Mahmoud Abbas suspended all contact with Israel.

  A truce followed. On the 19th of June 2008, an Egyptian-brokered six-month lull, called a Tahdia, took effect between Hamas and Israel. Hamas had to stop rocket fire. Israel had to stop attacks and gradually ease its blockade, raising goods entering Gaza by 30 percent within 72 hours. In the first five months, only 19 rockets and 18 mortar shells were launched from Gaza. Before the 19th of June, the year's total was 1,199 rockets and 1,072 mortar shells, so fire dropped by 98%. Aid supplies did rise, but only to about 20 percent of normal levels. Israel told American officials in 2008 that it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse".

  On the 4th of November 2008, Israel attacked Gaza. Its military said the target was a tunnel Hamas planned to use to seize soldiers stationed 250m away at the border fence. Hamas officials said the tunnel was defensive, and Hamas answered with a barrage of rocket fire. The truce expired on the 19th of December. Over the next three days, Hamas fired 50 to more than 70 rockets and mortars, and no Israelis were injured. On the 21st of December, Hamas said it would renew the truce if Israel ended its "aggression" and opened the crossings. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said, "We warned Hamas repeatedly that rejecting the truce would push Israel to aggression against Gaza".

  On the 27th of December 2008, Israel began Operation Cast Lead, aimed, it said, at stopping rocket fire and arms smuggling. The campaign opened with an intense bombardment of Hamas bases, police camps and offices. Mosques, houses, medical facilities and schools were also hit, and Israel said combatants used many of them to store weapons. Hamas fired at previously untargeted cities such as Beersheba and Ashdod. The ground invasion began on the 3rd of January 2009. During the war, Hamas also executed many Palestinians and Fatah members. Human rights groups accused both Hamas and Israel of war crimes.

  Between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died. Unilateral ceasefires by Israel and then Hamas ended the fighting on the 18th of January, and Israel finished withdrawing on the 21st. On the 2nd of March, donors pledged $4.5 billion in aid, mainly to rebuild Gaza. In the Arab world, the war is also called the Gaza massacre.

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• 6. Rounds of War

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  On the 26th of March 2010, two Israeli soldiers and two Hamas militants died in clashes near Khan Younis. They were the first Israeli soldiers killed by hostile fire in or around Gaza since the January 2009 offensive. In March 2012, Operation Returning Echo brought the worst violence in the region since Cast Lead.

  Late October 2012 saw a far larger round. An Israeli air strike killed Ahmed Jabari, chief of Hamas's military wing in Gaza. Palestinian rocket fire killed four Israeli civilians and one soldier. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights counted 158 Palestinians dead, including 102 civilians and 55 militants. The Israeli military counted 177 dead, 120 of them militants. Rockets reached Tel Aviv, Beersheva and Ashdod. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany backed Israel's right to defend itself, while Iran, Egypt, Turkey and North Korea condemned the Israeli operation.

  On the 8th of July 2014, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge after Hamas rocket fire that followed an Israeli air strike. Troops entered Gaza on the 17th of July. A ceasefire on the 26th of August ended 50 days of fighting. The United Nations office OCHA reported 2,205 Palestinians dead, at least 1,483 of them civilians. It reported 71 Israelis dead, 66 of them soldiers, plus one foreign national in Israel. Roughly 520,000 people, 30% of Gaza's population, were displaced. About 25% of homes in Gaza City and 70% in Beit Hanoun were damaged.

  During the 2018 Land Day protests, 168 Palestinians were killed and thousands were injured at the border. On the 11th of November 2018, a botched Israeli raid killed seven militants and an Israeli officer. A ceasefire came two days later. A rocket destroyed a home in Mishmeret in March 2019 and wounded seven people. In May 2019, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper wounded two Israeli soldiers, and hundreds of rockets followed. In November 2019, the killing of the commander Baha Abu al-Ata set off Operation Black Belt, and a ceasefire arrived after 48 hours.

  In May 2021, Hamas demanded that Israel withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque by 6 p.m. on the 10th of May. Minutes after the deadline, it fired more than 150 rockets into Israel. The 2021 crisis killed 256 Palestinians and 15 Israelis. On the 5th of August 2022, Israel struck Gaza after the arrest of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant in the West Bank. On the 9th of May 2023, Operation Shield and Arrow began, and a ceasefire held from the 13th of May.

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• 7. Voices From Abroad

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  In July 2014, Bolivia declared Israel a "terrorist state" and tightened visa rules for Israelis. Relations were restored in 2019 after a political crisis. On the 1st of November 2023, Bolivia cut diplomatic ties again. Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani called Israel's response "disproportionate", and President Luis Arce described the actions as "war crimes".

  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the Qassam attacks "completely unacceptable". He also said he was "deeply concerned by the mounting number of civilian casualties from Israeli military operations in Gaza". His envoy Michael Williams said he was troubled when he saw Israeli soldiers arresting Palestinian legislators and the education minister. Later, UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for an independent investigation. He wanted it to examine the intentional killing of civilians by the Israeli military, after mass graves were found.

  Washington's stance centered on self-defense. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Israel must avoid civilian casualties and undue damage to Palestinian infrastructure. Israel has received more military assistance from the United States than any other nation since World War II, with aid exceeding $124bn.

  Elsewhere, reactions varied. On the 31st of July 2014, Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan spoke out. He condemned both the civilian toll caused by Israeli military action and the rocket fire by Hamas. On the 5th of August 2014, a member of the British cabinet resigned over the government's approach. Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Israel would face international courts if it continued. Indonesia built a hospital in Gaza that opened in 2015, and Israel bombed it three years later. Egypt closed its border with Gaza but let humanitarian aid through during the Gaza war. President el-Sisi refused a refugee camp in Sinai, saying it would let attacks on Israel be launched from there and bring blame on Egypt.

  During the 2016 campaign, Bernie Sanders said "over 10,000 innocent people were killed" in 2014. The Anti-Defamation League objected, and Sanders accepted a corrected figure of 2,300.

  Opinion inside Israel was recorded after the 7th of October 2023. Between the 23rd and the 28th of October, iPanel and Tel Aviv University ran a poll. It found that 57.5% of Israeli Jews thought the military used too little firepower. Only 1.8% said too much. Among Israeli Arabs, 50.5% said too much. In December 2023, the Israel Democracy Institute found 87% of Jewish Israelis supported the war.

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• 8. Siege and Hunger

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  On the 7th of October 2023, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups attacked Israel from Gaza. The groups included the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The attack combined rocket barrages with vehicle-borne assaults on communities and forces, and 1,195 people were killed, mostly civilians. Israel declared a state of emergency and war, then answered with a counteroffensive, heavy bombing and an invasion.

  Gaza's supplies ran short within days. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said that "the noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening". On the 13th of October, UNRWA commissioner Philippe Lazzarini called the speed of the crisis "bone-chilling". On the 16th of October, the World Health Organization warned that only "24 hours of water, electricity and fuel left" remained. Doctors that day feared disease from overcrowded hospitals and unburied bodies.

  On the 18th of October, the United States vetoed a UN resolution urging humanitarian aid to Gaza. On the 22nd of October, UNRWA said it would run out of fuel within three days. It warned of "no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries".

  Since the attack, the Israeli military has been accused of killing unarmed detainees, doctors and workers, and of torture. It has also been accused of excessive force against dozens of schools and hospitals. The Israeli television channel Channel 14 kept a running tally of destroyed buildings and killed terrorists, labeling every Palestinian casualty a terrorist. Inside Israel, the government built fortifications and developed an alarm system called Red Color.

  After the October 2025 ceasefire, the World Food Programme reported that an average of 560 tonnes of food entered Gaza each day. Aid still did not reach famine-stricken northern areas, because the Zikim and Aruz crossings stayed closed. UN Women estimated that more than one million women and girls faced food insecurity, with around 250,000 in urgent need of nutritional support. The UN humanitarian coordinator warned that thousands of trucks per week would be needed to stabilize food supplies.

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