Israel and Hamas

All of our coverage in one place

Latest stories

Iran’s electronic confrontation with Israel

The two adversaries are engaged in an intense cyber struggle, with Israel still a click ahead

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox still won’t fight, invoking scripture

An age-old argument is making Binyamin Netanhayu face an enduring dilemma


How vulnerable is Israel to sanctions?

So far, measures have had little effect. That could change


Iran’s frightening new playbook for war

It is abandoning the restraint that has prevented open conflict with Israel

The Middle East must step back from the brink

That still means starting with a ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli strikes on Beirut and Tehran could intensify a regional war

At the very least, they will delay talks over a ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli retaliation in Lebanon seems inevitable



Israel

Israel’s northern border is ablaze

Can it fight Hamas and Hizbullah simultaneously?

The revolt against Binyamin Netanyahu

His war cabinet and generals want a new plan—and a new boss



Israel has seen arms embargoes before

But this time it will struggle without American military support


The Israeli army is caught in a doom loop in Gaza

And the refusal to plan for the day after the war is fuelling a crisis with America


Hamas and Gaza

Hamas’s pick of Yahya Sinwar as leader makes a ceasefire less likely

The appointment of the architect of October 7th ties the group closer to Iran

Optimistic plans for post-war Gaza have little basis in reality

Aid, policing, reconstruction—everything is even harder than it sounds


To see the future of urban warfare, look at Gaza

Western armies are studying the horrifying conflict for tactical lessons


Why food is piling up on the edge of Gaza

Thousands of tonnes of food and medicine are still waiting to get in

Who is responsible for feeding Gaza?

Arguments fly over Israel’s duty to maintain aid



War and diplomacy

Is a Palestinian state a fantasy?

Amid war in Gaza, the prospect is at once more relevant than ever and more distant

The ICC’s threat to arrest Binyamin Netanyahu has shocked Israel

America and Israel have reacted with outrage at the implied equivalence between Israel and Hamas


The war-crimes case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas is flawed

Politics and diplomacy, not courts, are the key to ending violence and starting two-state talks


What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?

Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so



The military campaign

Israel bombs the Hamas military mastermind behind the October 7th attack

If he is dead it could hasten the end of the Gaza war

Hamas and Israel are still far apart over a ceasefire deal

For all America’s optimism, the two sides look fundamentally irreconcilable


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


Regional conflict

The next terrifying war: Israel v Hizbullah

It would feature kamikaze drones, mass blackouts and the largest missile barrage in history

Talk of war between Israel and Lebanon is growing

Israel and Hizbullah would still prefer to avoid one, but that is getting ever harder to do


In South-East Asia, the war in Gaza is roiling emotions

The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have responded very differently


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



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

Who is Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court?

He has applied for an arrest warrant for Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister

What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?

Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so


Could the International Criminal Court indict Binyamin Netanyahu?

Rumours abound that an arrest warrant is imminent for Israel’s prime minister


What are the obligations of Israel and Hamas to protect civilians?

International Humanitarian Law creates obligations—but contains numerous caveats


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