EXPLAINER | What’s the Israel-Palestinian conflict about and how did it start?
The conflict pits Israeli demands for security against Palestinians’ aspirations for a state of their own
The war between Israel and Hamas militants who stormed Israeli towns and kibbutzes from the Gaza Strip on October 7 is the latest in seven decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has destabilised the wider Middle East. During the Hamas rampage, about 1,400 Israelis, mainly civilians, were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage. In response, Israel carried out air strikes, before troops and tanks poured into Gaza in a ground assault, with the declared aim of wiping out the Islamist militant group. Medical authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza said on November 6 that more than 9,700 Palestinians had been killed in the enclave...
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