October 7 attacks

On the morning of 7 October 2023, Hamas and allied factions including Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched a large-scale surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. The operation, named "Al-Aqsa Flood" by Hamas, combined a barrage of rockets fired into Israeli territory with a ground incursion in which fighters breached the Gaza perimeter fence at multiple points using bulldozers, pickup trucks, motorcycles, and motorised paragliders.

Attackers struck Israeli military posts, more than 20 communities in the Gaza envelope (including the kibbutzim of Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, and Re'im), and the Supernova open-air music festival near Re'im. According to Israeli government figures, roughly 1,200 people were killed — the majority civilians — and about 250 hostages, including foreign nationals, were taken into Gaza. It was the deadliest single day for Jewish civilians since the Holocaust and the deadliest day in Israel's history.

Within hours, Israel declared a state of war under a cabinet decision invoking Article 40 of Basic Law: The Government, and launched a sustained military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The attacks triggered the broader 2023–2024 Israel–Hamas war, regional escalation involving Hezbollah on the Lebanese front, Houthi strikes on Red Sea shipping, and exchanges with Iran.

The events generated significant international legal activity. South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023 (South Africa v. Israel). In November 2024 the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif (whom Israel said it had killed). Investigations by the UN Human Rights Office and Israeli commissions have documented widespread killings of civilians, sexual violence, and intelligence failures by Israeli security services preceding the attack.