Israel and Hamas

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Latest stories

How much do Palestinians pay to get out of Gaza?

Middlemen are profiting from Gazans’ desperation

How Iran covered up the damage from Israel’s strikes

New images shared with The Economist show how a swap helped calm a crisis


Israel responds to Iran’s barrage with a symbolic strike

Both sides have a chance to de-escalate their conflict, at least for now


Israel should not rush to strike back at Iran

Instead it should try a novel response to Iran’s missile attack: restraint

A Middle East scholar on Israel’s escalating tit-for-tat with Iran

Both governments need to ditch dangerous policies, argues Steven Simon

A trauma surgeon on why Gaza is the worst of war zones

It is like stepping back into the 19th century, says David Nott

Iran’s attack has left Israel in a difficult position



The military campaign

Israel prepares for a long war in Gaza

But it is unclear how it will end

Israel’s current large-scale operation is the last one in Gaza

Generals prepare for a lower-intensity campaign against Hamas


Israel has just a few weeks left to destroy Hamas

Pressure from America to end the offensive is mounting


Israel is pushing into southern Gaza as the clock ticks down

The fighting in Khan Younis is the most intense yet

The battle of northern Gaza is almost over

But a dire humanitarian situation in the south is getting worse

Israeli soldiers fight to reach Hamas’s headquarters

A report from Gaza city reveals the brutal next phase of the war



Regional conflict

Iranians fear their brittle regime will drag them into war

Ultra-religious hardliners are gaining power and yearn for confrontation

Will Israel retaliate against Iran, or hold back?

America urges restraint after Iran’s large but futile bombardment of Israel


Iran and Israel’s shadow war explodes into the open

But the Islamic Republic may have miscalculated


Israel is ratcheting up its shadow war with Iran

That is partly because it is deadlocked in its conflicts in Gaza and on its northern border



Israel

The IDF is accused of military and moral failures in Gaza

Its generals botched the strategy, and discipline among troops has broken down

The short-sighted Israeli army

Force alone cannot bring security


Deposing Israel’s king

America wants Binyamin Netanyahu out. But his exit is fraught with dangers


At a moment of military might, Israel looks deeply vulnerable

America should help it find a better strategy

Binyamin Netanyahu is alienating Israel’s best friends

The meaning of Senator Chuck Schumer’s landmark speech

Can Israel afford to wage war?

As the battle continues, costs are spiralling



Hamas and Gaza

What Israel’s killing of aid workers means for Gaza

It will make it even harder to feed desperate people

The war in Gaza may topple Hamas without making Israel safer

It will end up even more deeply mired in the conflict that is the main threat to its security


Gaza is on the brink of a man-made famine

Israel and Hamas reject a ceasefire even as people starve


The real problem with the UN’s agency for Palestinians

It has perpetuated the misery of Palestinians

A new leader offers little hope for Palestinians

They fear Mohammad Mustafa will serve the president, not the people

A shadowy wartime economy has emerged in Gaza

Clans, gangs and dodgy businessmen prosper while Israel clobbers Gaza



War and diplomacy

Israel’s use of AI in Gaza is coming under closer scrutiny

Do the humans in Israel’s army have sufficient control over its technology?

Iran attacks Israel, risking a full-blown regional war

Direct drone and missile strikes cross a rubicon


America, Israel and Hamas are trapped in a dangerous impasse

The fighting has ebbed. But ceasefire talks are going nowhere


Will China’s ties with Israel survive the Gaza war?

Some Israelis are rethinking the country that refuses to call Hamas a terrorist group

The bloodshed in Gaza is set to rage through Ramadan

The Muslim holy month begins without a ceasefire

Ramadan could see respite for Gaza, or widening violence

Mediators are hopeful of a truce during the holy month



1843 magazine

1843 magazine | The biblical archaeologist finding the victims Hamas burned

Bodies have been reduced to ash. Entire families are wiped out. Dismembered limbs are jumbled together

1843 magazine | Fear and goading in the West Bank

In the aftermath of Hamas’s attack, violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians has increased


1843 magazine | Israel’s top hostage negotiator on dealing with Hamas

In 2011 David Meidan managed to get one person out of Gaza. Now he’s trying to free 240


1843 magazine | Ali Jadallah has lost four relatives in Gaza. He’s still taking pictures

Numb with grief, a photographer works to bear witness

1843 magazine | The “war schizophrenia” of Israel’s peaceniks

Many lost friends in Hamas’s attacks. They don’t want to lose more in Gaza

1843 magazine | Life in Gaza is a series of calculations. How much water do you really need?

Palestinians worry that the world will become inured to their suffering

1843 magazine | Their relatives are missing after Hamas’s attack. Now they’re tracking them down themselves





Explaining the war

Gaza could face a famine by May. What does that mean?

Some parts of the strip are already experiencing “catastrophic hunger”

Did an Israeli hospital raid breach the laws of war?

Disguising a soldier as a doctor can be an act of “perfidy”


How Israel is using drones in Gaza

They help keep troops out of the line of fire—but can pose a risk to civilians


The A to Z of the Arab-Israeli conflict

From “Abraham accords” to “Zionism”



By Invitation

A trauma surgeon on why Gaza is the worst of war zones

It is like stepping back into the 19th century, says David Nott

As a pause in fighting begins, Husam Zomlot calls for a comprehensive ceasefire

Peace can only be achieved by inverting the Oslo process, says the Palestinian ambassador to Britain


Steven Simon thinks that Israel may be able to avoid a regional escalation

But continued hard-right rule could foster dystopia, argues the academic and author


Marc Weller on what international law has to say about the Israel-Hamas conflict

Military advantage must be balanced against the risk of civilian casualties, even when vital interests are at stake, says the law professor

Mikhail Khodorkovsky says that support for Israel should not come at the expense of Ukraine

Both are fronts in an intensifying fight against global lawlessness, argues the former political prisoner

David Schenker on the risks of a wider war with Iran and its proxies

America needs to go beyond beefing up its naval presence in the region, says the former diplomat



The war in video

BBC Russian Explainer

How missiles are changing the Middle East

The proliferation of missiles with greater range and precision is altering the military landscape

BBC Russian Explainer

What is Hizbullah?

The Iran-backed militia group could get involved in the Israel-Hamas war


BBC Russian Explainer

Is Israel breaking the rules of war?

The laws of engagement are complicated—proportionality is crucial


BBC Russian Explainer

Israel and the Palestinians: a century of conflict

How wars and uprisings have changed the map of the region


BBC Russian Subscriber events

Israel and Gaza: the attacks, politics and implications

Barbaric attacks, brutal retaliation