Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip

This article is about the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war. For other uses, see Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (disambiguation).

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
Part of the Israel–Hamas war

  Gaza Strip under Palestinian control
  Gaza Strip under Israeli control
  Furthest Israeli advance in Gaza Strip
  Evacuated areas inside Israel
  Maximum extent of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel
  Area of Gaza subject to Israeli evacuation orders

See here for a more detailed map.
Date27 October 2023[b] – present
(1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Gaza Strip with spillover into Israel[8]
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
 Israel  Hamas[1]
Allies:
Commanders and leaders
Killed senior commanders:
Killed senior commanders:
Units involved
Show units:
Show units:
Strength
Israel 40,000+[27] Hamas 20,000–40,000+[28]
Casualties and losses

Per Israel:

Per Al-Qassam Brigades:

  • 1,600+ killed[33]
  • 3,400+ wounded[34]
  • At least 1 captured[35]
  • 750+ armored vehicles disabled[34]

Per Yedioth Ahronoth:

  • 10,000 Israeli soldiers killed, wounded, or mentally affected[36]

Per the US:

  • 9,000–12,000 Hamas fighters killed[37]
  • 10,500–11,700 wounded (as of January 2024)[38]

Per Israel:

  • 18,000+ militants killed[39][40]
  • ~2,500 militants captured[41]
  • ~15,000 militants wounded[42]
32,331 Palestinian civilians killed, 60,128 Palestinians injured (Per Euro-Med Monitor)[43][44]
~16,000 Palestinian civilians killed (Per Israel)[45]
35,303 Palestinians killed, 60,294 injured (Per the Gaza Health Ministry)[46][47]
Indirect deaths[d] likely to be several times higher than those killed by violence, with estimates for total Palestinian deaths in the Israel–Hamas war at 186,000[49] or 335,500[e]
64 Israeli hostages killed (per Israel)[51]
70+ Israeli hostages killed (per Hamas)[52]

The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Israel–Hamas war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, it began bombing the Gaza Strip; on 13 October, Israel began ground operations in Gaza, and on 27 October, a full-scale invasion was launched. Israel's campaign, called Operation Swords of Iron, has four stated goals: to destroy Hamas, to free the hostages, to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and to return displaced residents of Northern Israel.[53][54][55] More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began,[56] including more than 7,800 children and 4,900 women, with another 10,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[57] There are allegations that Israel has committed war crimes and genocide during the invasion.

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.[58][59][60][61] Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the most severe in recent history.[62][63] A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare on the brink of collapse,[64] shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade,[65][66][67] electricity and communications blackouts,[68] and the UN warning of potential famine.[69] It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza", as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to.[70][71][72] Nearly all 2.3 million Gazans have been internally displaced[73] and 250,000 to 500,000 Israelis were internally displaced,[74][75][76] while Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians[77][78][79] and said it lost 353 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 13 October 2024.[80]

The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas.[81][82] 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[83] and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection. Other accusations include the deliberate targeting of civilians and starving the population of Gaza by Israel, and the use of human shields and holding of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

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