The Gaza Strip was sealed off after the radical Islamic Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. At the beginning of November, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was opened for foreigners and people with dual citizenship to leave the country. Previously, only aid convoys were allowed to cross the only border not controlled by Israel.
Hundreds of Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7 and committed unprecedented atrocities, particularly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, around 1,400 people were killed and more than 240 other people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel declared war on the Palestinian organization. The Israeli army attacked targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip from the air and launched a ground offensive. According to information from the Hamas-run health authority in the Gaza Strip, which cannot be independently verified, more than 11,000 people have been killed there since the start of the war, around two thirds of them women and children.
