On May 26, 2025, the Gaza Strip remains divided and overrun by a humanitarian crisis. Over seven months after Hamas launched its unexpected attack on the south of Israel, the war has become all-out, and Israel now apparently controls 77% of Gaza. Beneath this military victory, though, hides a catastrophic human cost, tens of thousands killed, nearly two million displaced, and a territory crumbling beneath the brunt of blockade, rockets, and starvation.
This article offers an in-depth analysis of the conflict between Israel and Gaza: its origins, political nature, and the current situation of unparalleled crisis.
Historical Context:
Religious and Ethnic Roots:
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
Zionism and the Establishment of Israel
In the late 19th century, the movement to create a Jewish homeland was a response to increasing European antisemitism. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants arrived after the Balfour Declaration of 1917, when Britain declared its support for a Jewish national home in Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations recommended a partition plan for the establishment of a Jewish and an Arab state. Jewish leadership agreed; Arab leaders refused. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed, sparking the first Arab-Israeli war and the forced relocation of some 700,000 Palestinians, a disaster Palestinians refer to as the Nakba (“catastrophe”).
Occupation and Resistance
After the 1967 Six-Day War, Gaza and the West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem, were occupied by Israel. Whilst Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it has continued to control its borders, airspace, and sea approaches. The 2006 Hamas electoral victory and 2007 takeover of Gaza by Hamas produced an Israeli and Egyptian blockade to contain the militant group, but it served to create a protracted humanitarian emergency among civilians.
The Road to October 7, 2023
Tensions had been simmering for decades, sporadic skirmishes, unsuccessful attempts at peace, and a cycle of violence. On October 7, 2023, Hamas unleashed its bloodiest attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 and taking 251 hostages. To Israel, the attack was a national trauma and a war declaration. To the Palestinians, the retaliatory strikes opened the doors to what would end up being the bloodiest period in the enclave’s contemporary history.
The Israeli Advance and the Collapse of Gaza
Operation Might and Sword
Israel launched a sudden offensive in March 2025, which de facto ended a short-lived ceasefire, code-named Operation Might and Sword. On one day, more than 400 Palestinians were killed, 263 of whom were women and children. Today, a total of 77% of Gaza, including major urban centers such as Khan Younis and parts of Gaza City, are controlled by the Israeli military. The declared goal: to dismantle Hamas’s military.
Casualties and Displacement
The human toll has been enormous. Since October 2023:
- More than 53,600 Palestinians were killed, 16,500 of them children.
- 1.9 million Gazans, 90% of the population, have been displaced, often repeatedly.
- Whole neighborhoods have been flattened, and vital infrastructure—hospitals, schools, shelters—have been reduced to rubble.
On the Israeli side, the opening Hamas attack killed an estimated 1,200 and left a country traumatized. Ongoing efforts at hostage recovery and fears of broader regional escalation exist.
Starvation as a Weapon
The UN states all 2.3 million Gazans are now in danger of famine. Over 66,000 children suffer from acute malnutrition. Aid deliveries are reduced to a trickle, the UN states, with barely a handful of the 500-600 trucks per day allowed to enter. Even when deliveries do reach Gaza, looting, security concerns, and curbs imposed by the Israelis usually keep aid from the targeted groups.
Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid has been widely condemned around the world. The World Health Organization has blamed Israel for weaponizing starvation.
The War on Information
This war has been additionally one of competing narratives and propaganda. Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of distorting facts and limiting media coverage. Reporters and aid workers have had a steep price to pay:
- A minimum of 220 reporters were killed.
- More than 310 UN personnel—predominantly from UNRWA, have been killed, the UN’s greatest ever toll.
- Among the latest to be killed in the airstrikes were two Red Cross workers and the head of Gaza’s Civil Defense.
Global Responses
With the rising death toll, the world becomes increasingly outraged:
- Spain has called for EU sanctions on Israel and the suspension of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement.
- Australia called Israel’s aid restrictions “utterly unacceptable.”
- The UN experts characterize the situation as an “unfolding genocide” and demand immediate intervention.
Major powers are still divided, and the UN Security Council has not yet imposed binding resolutions to bring an end to the war.
The Core Issues
Territorial disputes
Israel’s settlement and territorial expansions in contested areas are major issues of contention.
Security and Sovereignty
Israel claims self-preservation over Hamas rocket fire. Palestinians link their resistance to decades of occupation and dispossession.
Political Divisions
Hamas (in Gaza) and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (West Bank) are divided, undermining national unity and adding to the difficulty of diplomacy.
Global Politics
Foreign powers influence the conflict, U.S. military assistance, Iranian aid to Hamas, Arab normalization accords with the Israelis, and European diplomacy.
What Comes Next?
Ceasefire and Humanitarian Access
The first priority now must be an immediate ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access. Humanitarian organizations warn that each delayed day leads to avoidable mortality.
Accountability
The demands for independent probes into the war crimes and violations of international law committed by both sides grow louder.
A Way to Peace?
The two-state solution—long the cornerstone of peace initiatives, now looks further away than ever. Without, however, a political solution to solve core grievances, the cycle of violence will probably persist.
Last Word
77% War is a war not just over territory, it’s a war over stories, identities, and the right to be. Behind the military charts and media briefings lie living human beings: children with no schooling, hospitals with no medicine, and families with no shelter.
The world must decide: passive observation or intervention. Because Gaza isn’t merely falling apart. It’s being entombed.
Sources & Citations
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Regional analysis
Historical Context:
United Nations (UN) Partition Plan, 1947 – UN Archives
Balfour Declaration, 1917 – UK National Archives
The Nakba – Institute for Palestine Studies
Casualty Figures & Humanitarian Impact:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Situation Reports
World Health Organization (WHO) Press Briefings (May 2025)
Territorial Control & Military Operations:
Wall Street Journal, “Israel aims to control 75% of Gaza” (May 2025)
Al Jazeera, Live Conflict Tracker (May 2025)
Reuters, “Israeli airstrikes in Gaza” (May 2025)
Civilian Deaths & Attacks on Aid Workers:
Associated Press (AP) & Al Jazeera, reporting on Red Cross deaths
UNRWA, “Staff Death Toll Has Passed 300” – Official Statement
El País, “Journalist casualties in Gaza conflict”
International Response & Sanctions:
The Guardian, reporting on Spanish foreign policy (May 2025)
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
The Times of Israel, coverage on EU-Israel diplomacy
Famine and Malnutrition Reports:
WHO: “People in Gaza starving, sick and dying” (May 2025)
Oxfam & Save the Children briefings on famine conditions
October 7, 2023 Hamas Attack:
BBC, Reuters, The Washington Post – Coordinated coverage
Israeli Government Press Office and IDF press briefings
Analytical Context:
Brookings Institution: Israel-Palestine policy papers
International Crisis Group: Gaza Conflict Timelines
