On the morning of October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Hamas fighters infiltrated border areas, opening fire on military and civilians, and took more than 250 hostages.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which included strikes on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine were stopped.
Hopes for a quick end to the conflict were not justified — Israel stated that the war would not end until its initially stated goals were achieved — the release of all hostages, the complete elimination of Hamas and guarantees that there would no longer be a threat to Israel from Gaza.
Almost three weeks after the start of the conflict, Israel began a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts. In May, the Israeli military began an operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, which is considered the last stronghold of Hamas. During it, Israel established control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint and the Philadelphi corridor, which caused discontent in Egypt.
Casualties and Destruction
According to the Israeli authorities, as a result of the Hamas invasion of the border areas of the country, about 1,200 people were killed. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 42,000 residents of the Palestinian enclave have fallen victim to the Israeli military's actions. The statistics do not include those who could not be pulled out from under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The United Nations Satellite Center said in late September that about 66% of all buildings in the Gaza Strip, or more than 163,000, had been destroyed or damaged during the conflict in the enclave since October 7 last year.
Attempts to Settlement
From the very beginning of the armed conflict, there have been countless calls for negotiations and a ceasefire. A large number of relevant resolutions have been submitted to the UN Security Council, but many of them have been blocked by the United States, which supports Israel.
A relative success was the ceasefire at the end of November 2023, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States and lasting a week. During it, some Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinians held in Israel.
In December, hostilities resumed. Israel continues to regularly strike the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian groups periodically launch rockets in the direction of Israeli cities and settlements. All subsequent attempts by mediators to reach an agreement have failed, despite repeated negotiations and consultations in Cairo and Doha. In particular, Israel did not agree to a ceasefire during Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims.
The negotiations are currently at an impasse, as the parties are not demonstrating sufficient flexibility and willingness to make any serious compromises and accuse each other of disrupting the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of hostages and detainees.
One of the stumbling blocks is Israel's demand to maintain control over the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The Hamas leadership considers such conditions unacceptable and demands a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
The prospect of continuing the negotiations looks dim against the backdrop of the escalation between Israel and Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, which began shelling Israeli troops on the second day of the conflict in Gaza.
Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and Fate of Hostages
Humanitarian and medical aid began to arrive in the Gaza Strip at the end of October through the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, but it was not enough to meet the needs of the enclave's population. Israel has been criticized for its complicated procedures for checking trucks delivering aid to Gaza. The situation with the delivery became much more complicated after the Israeli military established control over the Palestinian side of the border crossing.
According to media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that half of the 97 hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are alive. The Israel Defense Forces has officially confirmed the death of only 33 people. The Palestinian movement has repeatedly claimed that Israeli hostages were dying during Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Deputy head of the movement's political bureau Musa Abu Marzouk told Sputnik that Hamas was ready to release the two remaining Israeli hostages with Russian citizenship as a matter of priority, but for this it was necessary to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.