The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the longest-running and most controversial in the world. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza, it has been in one of the bloodiest periods of its already-bloody history.
Everything you need to know about Israel-Palestine
A comprehensive guide to the basics of the world’s most controversial conflict.
![A timeline of Israel and Palestine’s complicated history](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25015287/GettyImages_154318306_2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.871618298082%2C0%2C66.256763403837%2C100&w=2400)
To understand the Israel-Hamas war, you have to understand how we got here.
![A timeline of Israel and Palestine’s complicated history](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25015287/GettyImages_154318306_2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.30742744712248%2C0%2C99.385145105755%2C100&w=2400)
To understand the Israel-Hamas war, you have to understand how we got here.
At its heart, the conflict is between two self-determination movements — the Jewish Zionist project and the Palestinian nationalist project — that lay claim to the same territory. But it is so, so much more complicated than that, with seemingly every fact and historical detail small and large litigated by the two sides and their defenders.
This guide is designed to give you an entry point into understanding this immensely complicated conflict. If you’re wondering about the basics — like how the conflict got started or the role the city of Jerusalem plays in it — then you’ve come to the right place.
My hope is that, regardless of your view of who’s right, you can read this and feel like you’ve gotten an honest, clear guide to the key elements of the situation. And if you don’t know anything about it, then you can come away feeling like you can basically make sense of what’s happening today.
Editor’s note: A version of this guide was originally published in 2018. Since then, some existing stories in the guide have been updated and new stories have been added to reflect the developing situation.
![What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456013/GettyImages_1030621044.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=19.75%2C0%2C60.5%2C100&w=2400)
![What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456013/GettyImages_1030621044.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=4.625%2C0%2C90.75%2C100&w=2400)
![A timeline of Israel and Palestine’s complicated history](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25015287/GettyImages_154318306_2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.871618298082%2C0%2C66.256763403837%2C100&w=2400)
![A timeline of Israel and Palestine’s complicated history](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25015287/GettyImages_154318306_2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.30742744712248%2C0%2C99.385145105755%2C100&w=2400)
![How did Israel become a country in the first place?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456037/GettyImages_925833754.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=29.0625%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![How did Israel become a country in the first place?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456037/GettyImages_925833754.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
![What is Zionism?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456024/zionism.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![What is Zionism?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456024/zionism.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
![What is the Nakba?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456172/GettyImages_490059025.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=13.492063492063%2C0%2C73.015873015873%2C100&w=2400)
![What is the Nakba?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456172/GettyImages_490059025.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C4.3478260869565%2C100%2C91.304347826087&w=2400)
![What is the West Bank?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456049/GettyImages_926628826.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.631370888042%2C0%2C66.737258223916%2C100&w=2400)
![What is the West Bank?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456049/GettyImages_926628826.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.052887666596149%2C100%2C99.894224666808&w=2400)
![What is Gaza?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456089/GettyImages_958322944.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=17.391304347826%2C0%2C65.217391304348%2C100&w=2400)
![What is Gaza?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456089/GettyImages_958322944.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=1.0869565217391%2C0%2C97.826086956522%2C100&w=2400)
![What is Jerusalem?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456077/GettyImages_1026667510.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.622340425532%2C0%2C66.755319148936%2C100&w=2400)
![What is Jerusalem?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456077/GettyImages_1026667510.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.066401062417%2C100%2C99.867197875166&w=2400)
![What were the intifadas?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456148/GettyImages_495327018.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
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![How the US became Israel’s closest ally](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25001093/97586900.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=13.4%2C0%2C70.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![How the US became Israel’s closest ally](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25001093/97586900.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.8301886792453%2C100%2C94.339622641509&w=2400)
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![What are settlements, and why are they such a big deal?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456109/GettyImages_81338157.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=2.1673234313428%2C0%2C95.665353137314%2C100&w=2400)
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![The argument that Israel practices apartheid, explained](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25016371/1725904479.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
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![Occupation, annexation, and other terms you should know related to the Israel-Hamas war](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25027450/1742207756.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
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![The boycott movement against Israel, explained](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25038633/GettyImages_1727389262.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.024402147388969%2C100%2C99.951195705222&w=2400)
![How the Arab world sees the Israel-Palestine conflict](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24998374/894039384.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![How the Arab world sees the Israel-Palestine conflict](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24998374/894039384.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
![Hezbollah’s role in the Israel-Hamas war, explained](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25038543/GettyImages_1240642535.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![Hezbollah’s role in the Israel-Hamas war, explained](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25038543/GettyImages_1240642535.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
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![What is the Palestinian Liberation Organization? How about Fatah and the Palestinian Authority?](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13456122/GettyImages_946461460.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)