Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip crossed over and infiltrated into southern Israel on October 7, and fired thousands of rockets into the country, as the ruling Hamas militants announced the beginning of a new operation called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood .
Operation ‘Iron Swords’
- The Israeli military also launched a counter operation ‘Iron Swords’ in the Gaza Strip. Operation Iron Swords is Israel’s retaliation for a surprise attack by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant organisation, on Israel.
Yom Kippur war
- The attack has brought back memories of the Yom Kippur war, which started 50 years and a day ago, and reset equations in the Middle East forever.
- This has been the deadliest attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur war of 1973.
- The Yom Kippur war, or the October war, or the Ramadan war, was fought between Israel on one side and Egypt and Syria on the other, from October 6 to 25, 1973.
- It is also called the Fourth Arab-Israeli war, coming after three wars in 1949, 1956, and 1967.
- Under the 1978 Camp David Accords, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. The 1979 Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty was the first instance of an Arab country recognising Israel as a state.
Hamas
- Hamas is a Palestinian militant group. It rules the Gaza Strip. It is sworn to Israel’s destruction and wants to replace it with an Islamic state.
- It has fought several wars with Israel since it took power in Gaza in 2007.
- Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, the European Union and the UK, as well as other powers.
Gaza Strip
- The Gaza Strip is a 41km long and 10km-wide territory between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
- It has one of the highest population densities in the world.
- Israel controls the air space over Gaza and its shoreline and restricts who and what goods are allowed in and out through its border crossings. Similarly, Egypt controls who passes in and out through its border with Gaza.
Palestinian territories
- The West Bank and Gaza, which are known as the Palestinian territories, as well as East Jerusalem and Israel all formed part of land known as Palestine since Roman times.
- Israel was declared a state in 1948, though the land is still referred to as Palestine by those who do not recognise Israel’s right to exist.
- Palestinians also use the name Palestine as an umbrella term for the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
