Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present)
Israeli military operation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 27 October 2023, Israel launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated goals to destroy Hamas, a military and political movement that led an attack on Israel earlier in the month, and to free hostages it took. The effort is ongoing.[48][49] Before the invasion, dubbed Operation Swords of Iron, Israel declared war, tightened its blockade, and ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip | |||||||
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Part of the Israel–Hamas war | |||||||
Gaza Strip under Israeli control
Evacuated areas inside Israel
Maximum extent of the Gazan invasion of Israel Area of Gaza subject to Israeli evacuation orders See here for a more comprehensive map. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Israel |
Paramilitaries in the Gaza Strip (Joint Operations Room) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
Israel Defense Forces
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Strength | |||||||
~40,000[31] | Al-Qassam Brigades: 20,000–40,000[32] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Per Israel: Per Al-Qassam Brigades: |
Per the Euro-Med Monitor: Per the US: Per Israel: | ||||||
32,331 Palestinian civilians killed, 60,128 Palestinians injured (Per the Euro-Med Monitor)[37][42] 13,000-19,500+ Palestinian civilians killed (Per Israel)[43] 26,857 Palestinians killed, 58,176 injured (Per the Gaza Health Ministry)[44][45] 31–51+ Israeli hostages killed (per Israel)[46] 70+ Israeli hostages killed (per Hamas)[47] |
More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli operation,[50] including more than 13,000 children and 9,000 women,[51] with another 7,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[52][53] By mid-December, Israel had dropped 29,000 munitions on Gaza, destroying or damaging 70 percent of homes, destroying hundreds of cultural landmarks, and damaging dozens of cemeteries.[54][55][56][57] Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the severest in recent history.[58][59]
A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare in a state of collapse,[60] shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade,[61][62][63] electricity and communications blackouts,[64] and the U.N. warning of potential famine.[65] It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza", as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to.[66][67][68] The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas.[69][70] Nearly all 2.3 million Gazans have been internally displaced[71] and 250,000 to 500,000 Israelis were internally displaced,[72][73][74] while Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians[75][76][77] and said it lost 225 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 4 February 2024.[78]
As a result of the invasion, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging that Israel was committing genocide[79] and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection.