SUMMARY
Israel has been one of the conflict hotspots in the Middle East since the creation of the state in 1948. The main issue that has triggered organized violence is the question of which state should exist in the territories that are either recognized as parts of the state of Israel today or occupied by Israel. While various states in the region have contested Israel from time to time, non-state actors' engagements have primarily carried the armed conflict to the 21st century. Since its establishment, Israel has experienced the extrasystemic, interstate, intrastate, non-state, and one-sided categories of organized violence, as defined by UCDP.
2025
Since 7 October 2023, Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a violent war in the Gaza Strip. This phase of the conflict began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and security personnel and the abduction of numerous hostages. Israel responded with a large-scale air campaign and launched a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip on 27 October 2023.
Over the following fifteen months, the war in Gaza escalated into a devastating conflict, resulting in unprecedented levels of destruction and civilian suffering. Israeli ground operations focused on dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure, including its tunnel networks and command centers, while urban combat led to widespread devastation in cities such as Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah. The humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated rapidly, with large segments of the population displaced, and access to basic necessities such as food, clean water, and medical care severely limited by the ongoing blockade and repeated military strikes. International aid agencies warned of a famine and the collapse of healthcare services as the conflict continued.
In January 2025, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that included the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel. Fighting decreased substantially during the following weeks. However, the ceasefire collapsed in March 2025 and Israel resumed large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, an Israeli blockade of Gaza restricted the entry of humanitarian aid, resulting in worsening humanitarian conditions. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), established with Israeli and US support, began distributing aid through an alternative mechanism to existing UN-led operations. Several deadly incidents occurred at or near GHF distribution sites during the year, generating significant international concern.
In October 2025, Israel and Hamas reached a second major ceasefire agreement that substantially reduced the level of violence. The remaining living hostages held in Gaza were released, as well as almost 2000 Palestinian detainees. As fighting subsided, humanitarian access to Gaza improved although the situation remains fragile.
To Israel’s north, the conflict with Hezbollah escalated significantly over the course of 2024 and continued into 2025. In the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attack, Hezbollah began launching rocket barrages into the Shebaa Farms region and other northern areas of Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel responded with sustained airstrikes and artillery bombardments targeting Hezbollah positions and infrastructure in both Lebanon and Syria, and eventually a large-scale ground invasion of Southern Lebanon. Following a ceasefire agreement reached in late November 2024, levels of violence decreased considerably. Nevertheless, Israel continued to carry out strikes against Hezbollah personnel and infrastructure in Lebanon throughout 2025, while both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The interstate conflict between Iran and Israel remained active in 2025. The conflict became active for the first time in 2018, when Israel targeted Iranian positions in Syria. In 2024, Israel saw the first ever direct attacks by Iran from Iranian soil as Iran launched drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles against Israel in April and October 2024. In 2025, the interstate conflict between the Government of Iran and the Government of Israel escalated into direct interstate warfare in June, during the so-called Twelve Day War. Israel carried out extensive strikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran, while Iran launched large-scale missile and drone attacks against Israel. The fighting ended with a ceasefire on 24 June, but tensions between the two countries remained high throughout the remainder of the year.
The tensions in the region and the spillover effects from the war in Gaza also resulted in Israel being active in two additional interstate conflicts during 2025, one against Syria and one against the Sanaa-based Houthi government of Yemen.
In Syria, Israel expanded its military activities after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, arguing that it south to prevent weapons and military infrastructure from falling into the hands of the HTS-led transitional government. Israel also expanded their presence in areas adjacent to the Golan Heights and within the UN-monitored buffer zone. Throughout 2025, Israel carried out airstrikes, drone attacks, and artillery strikes against government targets in Syria, making the interstate conflict between the countries active.
In Yemen, a direct confrontation between Israel and Yemen has been ongoing since Israel declared its intent to eliminate the Ansarallah/Houthi leadership on 26 December 2024. The conflict escalated in May 2025, as Israel launched a campaign of airstrikes on Yemen. After the strikes in May, Israel launched an even more intense second round of strikes in August and September. On 28 August, Israeli airstrikes killed around a dozen ministers of the Houthi government, including the Prime Minister and Chief of Staff. With the signing of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in October, the Yemeni strikes on vessels in the Red Sea and on Israel ended, and Israeli airstrikes on Yemen came to a halt.
Organized Violence in Israel
Following the interstate conflicts during its early decades as a state, Israel was able to occupy or annex part of the territories of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon. The annexations eventually led to intrastate conflicts with Israel confronting non-state groups such as Hamas, Fatah, PLO, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Several peace agreements have been signed between the warring parties throughout the years. Nevertheless, the state-based conflict over Palestine seems to be far from reaching an end.
Several actors, including the Government of Israel, have also been active in the one-sided category of organized violence. Palestinian and Lebanese militants from different factions have attacked Israeli civilians and civilians deemed to be collaborators, while the Israeli government has organized bombing attacks in Lebanon and violently repressed Palestinians in the occupied areas to stem civil disorder or insurgency activity.
The non-state conflict has also afflicted the occupied Palestinian territories, in the form of Hamas - Fatah clashes that took place in 2006-2008 and Hamas - Jund Ansar Allah clashes in 2009.
Israel's attempts to create new settlements has led to violent clashes between security forces and Palestinian demonstrators. Despite not being included in the UCDP data due to demonstrators' unclear or lack of affiliation with non-state groups during those violent events, there has been several incidents during which Israeli forces killed demonstrators. In recent years, several attempted stabbings and car-ramming incidents targeting Israeli security forces were also recorded. They were usually lone-wolf attacks committed by Palestinian insurgents who had no affiliation with a non-state group.
Pre-1989 Conflicts
The British mandate over Palestine was a consequence of the allied victory over the Ottoman Empire in World War I. In November 1917, with the Balfour Declaration, the British government announced its support for "a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. The state of Israel was created in 1948, following a UN decision to divide the British mandate into Palestinian and Israeli entities. The Israeli entity became the state of Israel, while the Palestinian entity was soon to fall under mainly Jordanian auspices.
Neighboring Arab countries did not approve of the creation of Israel, and the country was attacked in 1948 by Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Further interstate conflicts occurred in the decades that followed, with Israel fighting Egypt in 1956 over the status of the Suez canal and Syria, Jordan, and Egypt in 1967 over various territories. Interstate conflicts occurred again in 1969-1970 with Egypt and again with Syria and Egypt in 1973.
