What happened during the two years of conflict between Israel and Palestine. The main thing

On October 7, 2023, Israel experienced a massive attack by Hamas. As a result of a sudden attack on civilians in settlements and at a major music festival, about 1.2 thousand people were killed and 251 hostages were taken. Since then, the two-year-old standoff in Gaza has become an event that has significantly affected the political and military situation throughout the Middle East. What you need to know about the two—year war is in the Izvestia article.

Escalation of the conflict

• The confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militias, which reached a new level on October 7, 2023, has become one of the largest and longest-running conflicts in the recent history of the Middle East region. On that day, armed Hamas units carried out a surprise attack on the southern regions of Israel, breaking through the defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip. The militants infiltrated dozens of settlements, staged mass attacks on civilians, including at a major music festival, took hostages and caused significant damage to infrastructure.

• Israel declared martial law and launched a large-scale retaliatory operation, dubbed "Iron Swords." The main goal of the first stage was the destruction of Hamas combat units, as well as the elimination of their command centers and the restoration of control over the Israeli territory under attack.

• After the initial fighting, the Israeli army focused on launching airstrikes against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. The blockade of the region began, which caused famine and a large-scale humanitarian crisis. At the end of October 2023, Israeli ground forces began a ground operation, gradually advancing towards the north of Gaza. During the street fighting, numerous tunnels, weapons depots and militant headquarters were destroyed, but a significant number of civilians were injured.

On the verge of rupture: Israel is ready to return to strikes on Gaza

In the meantime, negotiations in Egypt are starting — Hamas has handed over the list of surviving hostages to the mediators.

Failed negotiations

• During the same period, diplomatic negotiations were intensified with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, aimed at a temporary truce and prisoner exchange. However, most of the agreements were quickly violated.

In the spring of 2024, the Israeli army expanded its operation to southern Gaza, where the main crossing point to the Egyptian border was located. The fighting was accompanied by significant destruction and massive displacement of the Palestinian population. At the same time, international organizations began to actively seek the admission of humanitarian aid to Gaza, but supplies remained unstable due to the ongoing shelling and fighting.

The attack on the neighbors

• Gradually, the confrontation spread beyond the Gaza Strip and covered almost the entire Middle East. Israel characterizes what is happening as a struggle in seven directions at once. We are talking about the confrontation with Hamas in Gaza, Iran, the Hezbollah movement (which is considered a "proxy" of Iran) in Lebanon, the Yemeni Houthis, militant groups in the West Bank of Jordan, Shiite units in Iraq, as well as with Sunni organizations in Syria.

• The head of the Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut. As a result of the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, the country is still experiencing political turmoil. Against this background, Israel has managed to strengthen its position in the Middle East.

Departure of the battle: Hamas is losing credibility among Palestinians

More and more Gazans are thinking about leaving the exclave

• In the fall of 2024, the situation remained extremely tense. The Israeli authorities announced the continuation of the campaign until the complete destruction of the military potential of Hamas. At the same time, the Palestinians demanded a cease-fire and international guarantees of security for the people of Gaza.

The return of the hostages

• To date, 148 of the 251 Israeli prisoners have been returned alive. At the same time, only eight hostages were released during the military operations of the Israeli army. The remaining 140 people were released after the exchange, when Hamas handed them over to Israel instead of a significant number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

• In addition to those released alive, Israel also received the bodies of several dozen dead prisoners. According to official information from the Israeli authorities, Hamas is still holding 47 people. Of this number, about 20 hostages are believed to be alive.

What has it all come to

• By the beginning of 2025, the conflict had finally turned into a protracted low-intensity war. Regular combat operations are combined with humanitarian missions and diplomatic negotiations.

• The war had a profound impact on the political and social situation in the region. Israel has increased its military presence on its borders and strengthened internal security, but has faced increasing international criticism for the scale of destruction and civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

• The Gaza Strip was virtually destroyed. Residential areas, industrial zones, transport infrastructure and life support systems have been destroyed. This has led to massive unemployment, a humanitarian crisis, and the population's dependence on external aid. In addition, the escalation of the conflict has caused an increase in energy and food prices in the region, which has affected many countries.

• In 2023, there were 137 States in the world that officially recognized the existence of an independent Palestine. Two years later, about twenty more countries joined this list. Among them were major global players, including the UK, France, Canada, Spain and Australia. The representatives of these States emphasized that they consider the recognition of Palestinian statehood as an important step towards the real realization of the concept of the coexistence of two peoples within the framework of separate States.

• Currently, Israel retains control of the West Bank of the Jordan River, while the Gaza Strip remains under blockade, which continues to cause food shortages and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Against this background, new diplomatic negotiations are taking place in Egypt aimed at implementing the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump for a possible settlement of the conflict.