Israel and Hamas October 2023 Conflict: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

"On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) led surprise attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air. The assault came on a Jewish holiday, 50 years after the Egypt-Syria surprise attack that sparked the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The attacks’ scope and lethality against Israel have no precedent in the 16 years Hamas has controlled Gaza, and the nature of the violence stunned Israelis. The apparent intelligence and operational failures in preventing the assault will be a subject of analysis for Israeli and U.S. officials. Iran reportedly provides material support to Hamas, and according to U.S. officials may be complicit in a broad sense, but President Biden has said “there is no evidence” that Iran helped plan the attack.

In response to the attacks, Israel’s cabinet formally declared war on Hamas. Israel has initiated efforts to recover hostages, begun an aerial bombardment campaign against militants in Gaza, mobilized hundreds of thousands of reserve troops, and repositioned ground forces close to Gaza. Israel’s government almost completely halted the supply of electricity, food, water, and fuel to Gaza, which before the conflict had already faced crisis-level economic and humanitarian conditions.

Israeli officials have said that they aim to change the status quo in Gaza, and are contemplating a major ground invasion that may seek to end Hamas’s rule there. The Israel Defense Forces has said it “calls for” all civilians residing in northern Gaza to evacuate southward. Hamas called on people to remain in place. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed concern for the effects Israeli actions regarding Gaza may have on civilian well-being. An estimated 1 million Gazans (nearly half the territory’s population) have been displaced from their homes.

On October 16, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable international humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza. On October 18 during a visit to Israel, President Biden confirmed this plan and announced $100 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank..."
Israel and Hamas 

Israel and Hamas October 2023 Conflict: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

"On October 7, 2023, Gaza Strip-based militants led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) engaged in a series of surprise attacks by land, sea, and air against Israel. The assault targeted Israeli military bases and civilian areas during the final Jewish high holiday, just over 50 years after the Egypt-Syria surprise attack that sparked the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Hamas reportedly receives much of its funding, weapons, and training from Iran. The Biden Administration has stated publicly that it does not have evidence that the Iranian government had a planning role. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has described Iran as “complicit in this attack in a broad sense” given the level of support it has provided Hamas for years. The attacks’ scope and lethality against Israel have no precedent in the 16 years Hamas has controlled Gaza. The nature of the violence stunned Israelis; apparent intelligence and operational failures in preventing the assault surprised Israeli, U.S., and other Western officials.
 

In response, Israel’s cabinet formally declared war on Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that Israel will win a long and difficult campaign. As it seeks to keep militants out of Israeli territory, target them in densely populated Gaza, and recover hostages, the Israeli government has halted the supply of electricity, food, water, and fuel to Gaza. Israeli officials have said that fundamental changes to the status quo are necessary to reestablish security for Israel, but have not specified whether they intend to attempt to end Hamas’s rule in Gaza. Following the attacks, Israel has initiated an aerial bombardment campaign in Gaza, mobilized hundreds of thousands of reserve troops, and repositioned ground forces close to Gaza. On October 13, the Israel Defense Forces called for the evacuation of all civilians in Gaza City “from their homes southward for their own safety and protection.” Hamas called on people to remain in place. U.N. officials expressed concern about potentially grave humanitarian consequences.
 

On October 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed an emergency unity government that has brought former Defense Minister Benny Gantz into the existing coalition, supposedly for the duration of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu, Gantz, and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are to comprise a cabinet to manage war-related efforts, and have agreed that no unrelated legislation or government resolutions—including on Israel’s judicial system—will be advanced during that time. .."Israel and Hamas   

Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After Surprise Attacks

"Overview

On October 7, 2023, Gaza Strip-based militants led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) engaged in a series of surprise attacks by land, sea, and air against Israel (see Figure 1). The assault targeted Israeli military bases and civilian areas during the final Jewish high holiday, almost exactly 50 years after the Egypt-Syria surprise attack that sparked the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Biden Administration and Israel have stated publicly that they do not have evidence that the Iranian government had a planning role, but are looking at the question. Some figures from Hamas and the Iran-backed Shia Islamist group Lebanese Hezbollah (also an FTO) haveclaimed that Hamas received support for the attacks from Iran, though a senior Hamas official has denied an Iranian planning role. Iranian officials have praised the assault publicly. The attacks’scope and lethality against Israel have no precedent in the 16 years Hamas has controlled Gaza. The nature of the violence stunned Israelis; apparent intelligence and operational failures in preventing the assault surprised Israeli, U.S., and other Western officials..."
Israel and Hamas 

Israel and the Palestinians: Chronology of a Two-State Solution

"The idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict developed gradually in the years after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 ArabIsraeli war. This product highlights the evolution of this idea. In 2002, U.S. policy became explicitly supportive of creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Since then, unsuccessful negotiating efforts and other developments have led many observers to doubt the viability of a twostate solution. These doubts have grown during the Trump Administration amid speculation that the plan the Administration has pledged to release may use economic measures to elicit Palestinian concessions on core issues of dispute with Israelis (security, borders, settlements, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees), without specifically calling for an independent Palestinian state.

From U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 to Oslo Process (1967-1995)

Shortly after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which supported future negotiations involving the Israeli return of captured territories in exchange for peace with Arab states (the “land-for-peace” principle). The U.S.-brokered 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt had provisions addressing Palestinian aspirations for self-rule. The Accords anticipated transitional Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza accompanied by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations..."
Israel and Palestinians

Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief

"For decades, strong bilateral relations have fueled and reinforced significant U.S.-Israel cooperation in many areas, including regional security. Nonetheless, at various points throughout the relationship, U.S. and Israeli policies have diverged on some important issues. Significant differences regarding regional issues—notably Iran and the Palestinians—have arisen or intensified since 2009, during the tenures of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Since the 2016 U.S. election, a number of developments involving President-elect Donald Trump, the Obama Administration, Israeli leaders, and various other actors (including Members of Congress) have arisen. These developments have already affected U.S. policy in relation to Israel or may affect it following Trump’s inauguration; they include the following.
 Several controversies regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2334 (UNSCR 2334) on December 23, 2016, by a vote of 14 in favor, zero against, and one abstention by the United States.
 Principles advanced as a possible basis for future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by Secretary of State John Kerry on December 28, 2016, and other statements and actions related to issues of Israeli-Palestinian dispute as the U.S. presidential transition approaches.
 The possibility that the incoming Administration could move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Public efforts by Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to influence the incoming Administration’s stance on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA)..."
Israel - U.S. relations