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Israel · Gaza · Lebanon

Active IsraelHamasHezbollah since 2023-10-07

Understand

The current conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel. About 1,195 people in Israel were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas, which had governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, and launched an air campaign and ground offensive across the territory. Hamas, its armed wing and other groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad fought Israeli forces inside Gaza and fired rockets into Israel.

The war spread north on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese movement, began firing on Israeli positions in solidarity with Gaza. Cross-border exchanges grew into a full Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon in late 2024. A US- and French-brokered ceasefire took effect on November 27, 2024. It required Hezbollah to withdraw from the border area and the Lebanese army to deploy in the south. Israeli troops kept five positions inside Lebanon and continued strikes on targets it linked to Hezbollah.

Gaza saw two earlier truces. One began on January 19, 2025 and brought exchanges of hostages and prisoners; Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, 2025. A US-backed plan announced on September 29, 2025 led to a ceasefire on October 10, 2025. Hamas released the last 20 living hostages on October 13, 2025, and the remains of the final hostage held in Gaza were returned on January 26, 2026. Israel released Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return.

The plan created new bodies to run postwar Gaza. The UN Security Council endorsed it in Resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025. A Board of Peace chaired by US President Donald Trump oversees the transition. A committee of Palestinian technocrats, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, is meant to run civil affairs. An International Stabilization Force under a US commander is meant to secure the Strip and train a new Palestinian police force.

The occupied West Bank forms a third arena. Israeli military raids, armed clashes and settler attacks have continued throughout the war. Israel launched a large operation in northern West Bank refugee camps in January 2025, and settlement planning has expanded. The core disputes are old ones: Israeli security demands, Palestinian statehood, the future of Hamas and Hezbollah weapons, and control of land.

Parties

  • Israel Fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and holding ground in both; map colors here are not a judgment.
  • Hamas Palestinian movement that governed Gaza and led the October 7, 2023 attack, designated a terrorist organization by the US; colors are not a judgment.
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad Smaller Gaza-based armed group that fought alongside Hamas; colors are not a judgment.
  • Hezbollah Iran-backed Lebanese movement that rejoined the war on March 2, 2026 and rejects disarmament while Israeli troops remain; colors are not a judgment.
  • Government of Lebanon Negotiating directly with Israel since April 2026 and tasked its army with bringing weapons under state control; colors are not a judgment.
  • Palestinian Authority Governs parts of the West Bank and is expected to take over Gaza later under the peace plan; colors are not a judgment.
  • United States Israel's main backer, author of the Gaza plan, chair of the Board of Peace and host of the Israel-Lebanon talks; colors are not a judgment.
  • Egypt, Qatar and Turkey Mediators of the Gaza ceasefire and the disarmament roadmap; colors are not a judgment.
  • Iran Backer of Hezbollah and Palestinian armed groups, at war with the US and Israel since February 2026; colors are not a judgment.

Analysis

As of early October 2026, the Gaza ceasefire is nearly a year old and has not collapsed, but its second phase has stalled. Israeli forces hold a large share of the Strip behind the so-called yellow line, which marked roughly half of Gaza at the start of the truce. In May 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed forces to expand that control to about 70 percent. Israeli strikes continue. Israel says they respond to Hamas violations; Hamas and Gaza officials say they are Israeli breaches of the truce.

On governance, Hamas announced in early July 2026 that it would dissolve its civil administration in Gaza. Israel's foreign minister called the move a trick. The technocratic committee remains based in Cairo because Israel has not let its members enter Gaza. On July 31, 2026, the Board of Peace said Hamas had accepted a 15-point roadmap for staged disarmament tied to Israeli withdrawal. Israel is not a signatory, and Netanyahu reportedly ruled the document out in August. The stabilization force has pledges from Morocco, Kosovo and others, and Israel approved an initial entry of up to 200 troops, but it had not deployed as of late September 2026.

The February 2026 US-Israeli war on Iran reopened the northern front. Hezbollah resumed fire on March 2, 2026, and Israel answered with heavy strikes and a ground push that took it beyond the Litani River and created a security zone in southern Lebanon. A ceasefire has formally held since April 16, 2026, and Israel and Lebanon opened direct US-hosted talks. A framework announced on June 26, 2026 links Israeli withdrawal from pilot zones to Lebanese army deployment and Hezbollah disarmament. Hezbollah rejected disarmament while Israeli troops remain. Strikes and drone attacks increased again in September 2026 as US-Iran hostilities resumed.

In the West Bank, settler attacks have reached their highest recorded rate, and displacement from demolitions and attacks has risen. Israel published tenders in August 2026 for housing in the E1 area between East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. Canada, France and the United Kingdom announced bans on settlement goods on September 8, 2026. Israel holds a general election on October 27, 2026, and progress on the Gaza roadmap is widely expected to wait until after the vote.

What to watch

  • Whether the International Stabilization Force deploys its first troops inside Gaza
  • Whether Israel accepts any part of the Hamas disarmament roadmap after the October 27, 2026 election
  • Whether the Israel-Lebanon military talks set for around October 20, 2026 produce further Israeli withdrawals
  • Whether US-Iran hostilities pull Hezbollah back into sustained fire on Israel
  • Whether E1 tenders are awarded and further annexation steps advance in the West Bank

Data

Parties
Israel; Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups; Hezbollah
Began
October 7, 2023 (Gaza); Lebanon front from October 8, 2023, renewed March 2, 2026
Gaza ceasefire
In effect since October 10, 2025; second phase stalled
Lebanon ceasefire
November 27, 2024; renewed truce since April 16, 2026
Killed in Gaza
Gaza Health Ministry: more than 73,900 since October 2023, about 1,400 of them since the October 2025 ceasefire (late September 2026)
West Bank settler attacks
UN OCHA: more than 1,600 incidents in 2026 through mid-September, about 6.7 a day
Israeli election
October 27, 2026

Territorial control for this theatre is derived from openly licensed settlement-control data and rebuilt daily (10 snapshots held). Download: control.json (GeoJSON inside; CC BY-SA 4.0).

Timeline

  1. 2023-10-07Hamas-led fighters attack southern Israel, killing about 1,195 people and taking 251 hostages.
  2. 2023-10-08Hezbollah begins firing on Israeli positions from Lebanon.
  3. 2024-11-27A US- and French-brokered Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect.
  4. 2025-01-19A Gaza ceasefire begins with exchanges of hostages and prisoners.
  5. 2025-03-18Israel resumes its offensive in Gaza, ending the January truce.
  6. 2025-10-10A ceasefire under the US-backed Gaza plan takes effect.
  7. 2025-11-17The UN Security Council endorses the plan in Resolution 2803.
  8. 2026-01-22The Board of Peace is launched at a signing ceremony in Davos.
  9. 2026-01-26The remains of the last hostage held in Gaza are returned to Israel.
  10. 2026-03-02Hezbollah resumes attacks on Israel after US-Israeli strikes on Iran, reopening the Lebanon front.
  11. 2026-04-16Israel and Lebanon agree to a ceasefire, later extended, after direct talks open in Washington.
  12. 2026-06-26A US-brokered Israel-Lebanon framework links Israeli withdrawal to Lebanese army deployment and Hezbollah disarmament.
  13. 2026-07Hamas announces it will dissolve its civil administration in Gaza.
  14. 2026-07-31The Board of Peace says Hamas has accepted a staged disarmament roadmap; Israel does not sign it.

Live events, aircraft and thermal anomalies for every theatre are published as GeoJSON on the data endpoints page.