The Gaza War began on October 7, 2023, with a surprise attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals and the taking of 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a bombing campaign and invaded Gaza on October 27, aiming to destroy Hamas and free the hostages in what has become Israel's longest-ever military conflict.

Since the Israeli offensive, over 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, nearly half of them women and children, while the war has caused unprecedented destruction, rendering large parts uninhabitable and leading to a severe humanitarian crisis, mass displacement, and confirmed famine by October 2025. The conflict has drawn immense international scrutiny, with a wide consensus of scholarship concluding Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a case being reviewed by the International Court of Justice, and both sides accused of war crimes, leading to International Criminal Court arrest warrants for figures like Benjamin Netanyahu.

Supported by the United States, the war has significantly destabilized the region, involving clashes with "Axis of Resistance" groups, an Iran–Israel war, and Israeli operations in Lebanon and Syria, while generating global protests for a ceasefire and a surge in antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism.