Israel

==== 21st century ====
{{further|Iran–Israel proxy conflict}}
{{Update section|date=March 2023|reason=the events of the last two decades outside of conflict is barely covered}}
[[File:Rocket Attacks fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip by year.png|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|Rocket attacks fired at Israel]] from the Gaza Strip, 2001-2021<ref name="pinfold">{{cite journal|last1=Pinfold|first1=Rob Geist|year=2023|title=Security, Terrorism, and Territorial Withdrawal: Critically Reassessing the Lessons of Israel's "Unilateral Disengagement" from the Gaza Strip|url=https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/24/1/67/6762979|journal=International Studies Perspectives|volume=24|issue=1|pages=67–87|doi=10.1093/isp/ekac013|institution=King’s College London, UK and Charles University, Czech Republic|doi-access=free|access-date=2 November 2023|archive-date=17 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017014412/https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/24/1/67/6762979|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Likud leader [[Ariel Sharon]] to the [[Temple Mount]], the [[Second Intifada]] began. It would continue for the next four and a half years. [[Palestinian suicide attacks|Suicide bombings]] were a recurrent feature of the Intifada.<ref>Sela-Shayovitz, R. (2007). Suicide bombers in Israel: Their motivations, characteristics, and prior activity in terrorist organizations. ''International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV)'', ''1''(2), 163. "The period of the second Intifada significantly differs from other historical periods in Israeli history, because it has been characterized by intensive and numerous suicide attacks that have made civilian life into a battlefront."</ref> Some commentators contend that the Intifada was pre-planned by Arafat due to the collapse of peace talks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/114827/the-big-myth-he-caused-second-intifada |title=The big myth: that he caused the Second Intifada |last=Gross |first=Tom |date=16 January 2014 |newspaper=The Jewish Chronicle |access-date=22 April 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193513/http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/114827/the-big-myth-he-caused-second-intifada |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hong |first=Nicole |date=23 February 2015 |title=Jury Finds Palestinian Authority, PLO Liable for Terrorist Attacks in Israel a Decade Ago |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jury-finds-palestinian-authority-plo-liable-for-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-a-decade-ago-1424715529 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=22 April 2016 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414204555/http://www.wsj.com/articles/jury-finds-palestinian-authority-plo-liable-for-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-a-decade-ago-1424715529 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=jewishweek>{{cite news |url=http://jewishweek.org/news/newscontent.php3?artid=3846 |title=PA: Intifada Was Planned |last=Ain |first=Stewart |date=20 December 2000 |newspaper=The Jewish Week |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013083338/http://jewishweek.org/news/newscontent.php3?artid=3846 |archive-date=13 October 2007}}</ref><ref name=atlantic>{{cite news |title=In a Ruined Country |first=David |last=Samuels |date=1 September 2005 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/09/in-a-ruined-country/304167/ |newspaper=The Atlantic |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=30 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830024459/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200509/samuels |url-status=live }}</ref> Sharon became prime minister in a [[2001 Israeli prime ministerial election|2001 election]]; he carried out his plan to [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza|unilaterally withdraw]] from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the construction of the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]],<ref>{{cite news|title=West Bank barrier route disputed, Israeli missile kills 2 |newspaper=USA Today |date=29 July 2004 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-07-29-west-bank_x.htm |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020225835/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-07-29-west-bank_x.htm |archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> ending the Intifada.<ref>See for example:<br/>* {{cite news |title=Years of rage |first1=Amos |last1=Harel |first2=Avi |last2=Issacharoff |date=1 October 2010 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/years-of-rage-1.316603 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702094014/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/years-of-rage-1.316603 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |title=Losing Faith in the Intifada |first=Laura |last=King |date=28 September 2004 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/28/world/fg-intifada28 |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=21 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921132644/http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/28/world/fg-intifada28 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52801-2004Sep26.html |title=From Jenin To Fallujah? |last=Diehl |first=Jackson |date=27 September 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203212546/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52801-2004Sep26.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.jcpa.org/text/Amidror-perspectives-2.pdf |title=Winning Counterinsurgency War: The Israeli Experience |last=Amidror |first=Yaakov |website=Strategic Perspectives |publisher=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811130134/http://www.jcpa.org/text/Amidror-perspectives-2.pdf |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |last=Frisch |first=Hillel |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/perspectives57.html |title=The Need for a Decisive Israeli Victory Over Hamas |date=12 January 2009 |website=Perspectives Papers on Current Affairs |publisher=Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614054502/http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/perspectives57.html |archive-date=14 June 2012 }}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA449421 |title=The "Defensive Shield" Operation as a Turning Point in Israel's National Security Strategy |last=Buchris |first=Ofek |date=9 March 2006 |website=Strategy Research Project |publisher=United States Army War College |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=7 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007044643/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA449421 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50910-2004Jun17.html |title=Israel's Intifada Victory |last=Krauthammer |first=Charles |date=18 June 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235122/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50910-2004Jun17.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3558676,00.html |title=2nd Intifada forgotten |last=Plocker |first=Sever |date=22 June 2008 |work=Ynetnews |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819220413/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3558676,00.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |last=Ya'alon |first=Moshe |date=January 2007 |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus64.pdf |title=Lessons from the Palestinian 'War' against Israel |website=Policy Focus |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811130133/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus64.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2012 }}<br/>* {{cite news |date=20 September 2010 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3957131,00.html |title=Letting the IDF win |last=Hendel |first=Yoaz |work=Ynetnews |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=24 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924144858/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3957131,00.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite book |author1=Zvi Shtauber |author2=Yiftah Shapir |title=The Middle East strategic balance, 2004–2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7C-ZDXrfOgC&pg=PAPA7 |access-date=12 February 2012 |year=2006 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-108-5 |page=7 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219072213/https://books.google.com/books?id=t7C-ZDXrfOgC&pg=PAPA7 |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens had been killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/statistics/fatalities/before-cast-lead/by-date-of-event |title=Fatalities before Operation "Cast Lead" |publisher=B'Tselem |access-date=14 January 2017 |archive-date=20 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120010413/https://www.btselem.org/statistics/fatalities/before-cast-lead/by-date-of-event |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a [[2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid|cross-border abduction]] of two Israeli soldiers precipitated the month-long [[Second Lebanon War]].<ref name="UN1701">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm |title=Security Council Calls for End to Hostilities between Hizbollah, Israel, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1701 (2006) |website=[[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701]] |date=11 August 2006 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=30 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130025538/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm |url-status=live }}<br />Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah's attack on Israel on 12 July 2006</ref><ref name="HRTZ_Harel">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hezbollah-kills-8-soldiers-kidnaps-two-in-offensive-on-northern-border-1.192965 |title=Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers, kidnaps two in offensive on northern border |access-date=20 March 2012 |last=Harel |first=Amos |date=13 July 2006 |newspaper=Haaretz |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513084315/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hezbollah-kills-8-soldiers-kidnaps-two-in-offensive-on-northern-border-1.192965 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the Israeli Air Force [[Operation Outside the Box|destroyed]] a nuclear reactor in Syria. In 2008, [[2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire|a ceasefire]] between [[Hamas]] and Israel collapsed. The [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|2008–2009 Gaza War]] lasted three weeks and ended after Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.<ref>{{cite news |first = Jason |last = Koutsoukis |title = Battleground Gaza: Israeli ground forces invade the strip |url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/battleground-gaza/2009/01/04/1231003847085.html |work = Sydney Morning Herald |date = 5 January 2009 |access-date = 5 January 2009 |archive-date = 8 January 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108013919/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/battleground-gaza/2009/01/04/1231003847085.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=ravid>{{cite news |last=Ravid |first=Barak |title=IDF begins Gaza troop withdrawal, hours after ending 3-week offensive |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=18 January 2009 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-begins-gaza-troop-withdrawal-hours-after-ending-3-week-offensive-1.268326 |archive-date=17 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817072019/http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-begins-gaza-troop-withdrawal-hours-after-ending-3-week-offensive-1.268326 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hamas announced its own ceasefire, with its own conditions of complete withdrawal and opening of [[Blockade of the Gaza Strip|border crossings]]. Despite neither the [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|rocket launchings]] nor Israeli [[Military operations of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|retaliatory strikes]] having completely stopped, the fragile ceasefire remained.<ref>{{cite news |first=Yuval |last=Azoulay |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-idf-soldiers-civilian-lightly-hurt-as-gaza-mortars-hit-negev-1.266841 |title=Two IDF soldiers, civilian lightly hurt as Gaza mortars hit Negev |newspaper=Haaretz |date=1 January 2009 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702082345/http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-idf-soldiers-civilian-lightly-hurt-as-gaza-mortars-hit-negev-1.266841 |url-status=live }}</ref> In what Israel described as a response to [[List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2012|more than a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks]] on southern Israeli cities,<ref name="pound">{{cite news |title=Gaza groups pound Israel with over 100 rockets |first1=Yaakov |last1=Lappin |first2=Tovah |last2=Lazaroff |url=http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Gaza-groups-pound-Israel-with-over-100-rockets |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 November 2012 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414151101/https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Gaza-groups-pound-Israel-with-over-100-rockets |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel began [[2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip|an operation in the Gaza Strip]] in 2012, lasting eight days.<ref>{{cite news |author=Stephanie Nebehay |date=20 November 2012 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-israel-humanitarian-idUSL5E8MK6MG20121120 |title=UN rights boss, Red Cross urge Israel, Hamas to spare civilians |work=Reuters |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305052435/http://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-israel-humanitarian-idUSL5E8MK6MG20121120 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |title=Hamas leader defiant as Israel eases Gaza curbs |first=Nidal |last=al-Mughrabi |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121124 |publisher=Reuters |date=24 November 2012 |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-date=14 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114184249/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121124 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=291779 |title=Israeli air strike kills top Hamas commander Jabari |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=14 November 2012 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114141727/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=291779 |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel started another [[2014 Gaza War|operation]] in Gaza following an [[List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2014|escalation of rocket attacks]] by Hamas in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel and Hamas Trade Attacks as Tension Rises|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/israel-steps-up-offensive-against-hamas-in-gaza.html|work=The New York Times|date=8 July 2014|access-date=16 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222154524/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/israel-steps-up-offensive-against-hamas-in-gaza.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2021, another [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis|round of fighting]] took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel and Hamas agree Gaza truce, Biden pledges assistance |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-official-predicts-ceasefire-soon-israel-gaza-fight-goes-2021-05-19/ |publisher=Reuters |date=21 May 2021 |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531014137/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-official-predicts-ceasefire-soon-israel-gaza-fight-goes-2021-05-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the 2010s, the [[Arab–Israeli alliance|increasing regional cooperation]] between Israel and [[Arab League]] countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the [[Abraham Accords]]. The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] towards the [[Iran–Israel proxy conflict]] and [[Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war|direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war]]. On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by [[Hamas]], launched [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel|a series of coordinated attacks]] on Israel, leading to the start of the [[2023 Israel–Hamas war]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martínez |first1=Andrés R. |last2=Bubola |first2=Emma |title=What We Know About the Hamas Attack and Israel's Response |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-what-we-know.html |access-date=10 October 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008143358/https://www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-what-we-know.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On that day, approximately 1300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and [[Re'im music festival massacre|during a music festival]]. [[Kidnappings during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war|Over 200 hostages]], including elders, women, and children as young as 9 months, were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.<ref name="Gillett">{{cite news |last1=Gillett |first1=Francesca |date=8 October 2023 |title=How an Israel music festival turned into a nightmare after Hamas attack |agency=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034 |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008143208/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034 |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tabachnick |first1=Cara |date=8 October 2023 |title=Israelis search for loved ones with posts and pleas on social media |publisher=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israelis-search-loved-ones-posts-pleas-social-media-hamas-attack/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008061931/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israelis-search-loved-ones-posts-pleas-social-media-hamas-attack/ |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="natureparty">{{cite news |author=Amanda Borschel-Dan |date=7 October 2023 |title=Thousands flee rocket and gunfire at all-night desert 'Nature Party'; dozens missing |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-flee-rocket-and-gunfire-at-all-night-desert-nature-party-dozens-missing/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007231525/https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-flee-rocket-and-gunfire-at-all-night-desert-nature-party-dozens-missing/ |archive-date=7 October 2023}}</ref>