[77][78] After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched an intensive bombing campaign[79][80] and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.

[81][82] Israeli forces launched numerous campaigns during the invasion, including the Rafah offensive from May 2024, three battles fought around Khan Yunis, and the Siege of North Gaza from October 2024.

Flashpoints attracting global attention included the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, the Flour massacre, the Tel al-Sultan attack, and the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab.

[88][89] By early 2025, Israel had caused unprecedented destruction in Gaza and made large parts of it uninhabitable,[90] leveling entire cities[91] and destroying the healthcare system, agricultural land,[92] religious and cultural landmarks,[93] educational facilities,[94][95] and cemeteries.

[135][49][119] In 2018–2019, there were large weekly organized protests near the Gaza-Israel border, which were violently suppressed by Israel, whose forces killed hundreds and injured thousands of Palestinians by sniper fire.

[156] In the morning of 7 October 2023,[157] during the Jewish holidays of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret on Shabbat,[158] Hamas announced the start of what it called "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", firing between 3,000 and 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes, killing at least five people.

[229][230][231] On 31 October, Israel bombed a six-story apartment building in central Gaza, killing at least 106 civilians including 54 children in what Human Rights Watch called an "apparent war crime".

It was intended to mobilize of troops and supplies, to connect and defend IDF positions on al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, and prevent people in the south Gaza Strip from returning to the north.

[355][356][357] On 1 December, the UN suspended its aid shipments to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, blaming Israel for failing to "ensure safe conditions for delivering relief supplies.

[371] On 13 October, senior IDF officials told Haaretz that the government was not seeking to revive hostage talks and that political leadership was pushing for the annexation of parts of the Gaza Strip.

[376] On 25 October, the WHO said it had lost contact with Kamal Adwan hospital, and UN human rights chief Volker Türk called recent developments in North Gaza the "darkest moment" in the war so far.

[396][397][396] On 31 July, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, where he had traveled to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian,[398] and on 1 October, Iran fired approximately 200 missiles at Israel.

[439][440] On 13 November, Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that with Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election, Israel was "a step away" from "sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

[459] In March, Israeli forces abducted Khaled Alser, lead author of the first Lancet paper on trauma among Gazan ER patients and doctors, from Nasser Hospital.

[454] Supporters of the arrested soldiers including Ben Gvir, Amihai Eliyahu, Zvi Sukkot, and Nissim Vaturi stormed Sde Teiman that night in protest.

It also noted that its findings "underestimate the full impact of the military operation in Gaza, as they do not account for non-trauma-related deaths resulting from health service disruption, food insecurity, and inadequate water and sanitation.

Direct attacks on telecommunications infrastructure by Israel, electricity blockades, and fuel shortages caused the near-total collapse of Gaza's largest cell network providers.

[516][517][518] Lack of internet access has obstructed Gazan citizens from communicating with loved ones, learning of IDF operations, and identifying both the areas most exposed to bombing and possible escape routes.

[553] A UN Commission to the Israel–Palestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable.

"[554][555][556] On 27 October, a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides.

[557] The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed that its mandate to investigate alleged war crimes committed since June 2014 in the State of Palestine extends to the current conflict.

[563][564][565] On 7 June 2024, both Israel and Hamas were added to the list of shame, an annex attached to an annual report submitted by the UN Secretary-General documenting rights violations against children in armed conflict.

[570][571] The June report found that the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or willful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying or seizing the property, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.

[574][575][576] The commission said that they had submitted 7,000 pieces of evidence to the ICC related to crimes committed by Israel and Hamas, as part of the International Criminal Court investigation in Palestine.

The report also addressed the detention of Palestinians in Israeli military camps and facilities, finding that thousands of child and adult detainees, many arbitrarily detained, faced widespread abuse, including physical and psychological violence, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, and conditions amounting to torture, highlighting that deaths resulting from such abuse or neglect constituted war crimes and violations of the right to life.

[590] Following talks mediated by China, on 23 July 2024, Palestinian groups including Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement to end their divisions and form a unity government for Gaza, which they announced in the Beijing Declaration.

[614] In contrast, the Islamic world and much of the Global South denounced the actions of Israel and its allies, criticizing the "moral authority of the West" and alleging that it holds double standards surrounding human rights.

[628] According to Daniel Byman and Alexander Palmer, the attack showcased the decline of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the rise of Hamas as a power center in Palestinian politics.

[631] Citing the Israeli intelligence failure, which some observers attributed to the incumbent government focusing more on internal dissent, the judicial reform, and efforts to deepen Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories,[632] some commentators criticized Netanyahu for putting aside the PLO and propping up Hamas,[153] and described him as a liability.

[649] Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court under section 8.2.b of the Rome Statute, accusing Israel of committing war crimes against 8 journalists.