Accessibility links
Middle East crisis — explained The conflict between Israel and Palestinians — and other groups in the Middle East — goes back decades. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
IDF fires artillery shells into Gaza as fighting between Israeli troops and Islamist Hamas militants continues on Oct. 12, 2023.
Special Series

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel's lack of a strategy is the strategy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses media during a joint press conference with French President in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. CHRISTOPHE ENA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
CHRISTOPHE ENA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel's lack of a strategy is the strategy

On Netanyahu and Gaza's unclear future.

Israel's lack of a strategy is the strategy

Listen · 11:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213797712/1214088530" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
31 premature babies are evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital to southern Gaza

Palestinian medics care for premature babies evacuated from Al-Shifa hospital to the Emirates hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

31 premature babies are evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital to southern Gaza

A humanitarian assessment team, led by the World Health Organization, gained access to the hospital Saturday. Al-Shifa has just 25 health workers for the 291 remaining patients.

As Democrats stay divided on Israel, Jewish voters face politically uncertain future

Yaffa Rubinstein, 75, attended a recent pro-Israel rally in Washington, D.C. She supports President Biden but says she's disappointed with what she calls anti-Israel rhetoric from some Democrats. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Sarah McCammon/NPR

As Democrats stay divided on Israel, Jewish voters face politically uncertain future

A strong majority of Jewish Americans are Democrats, but the Israel-Hamas war is highlighting fault lines in the Democratic Party over U.S. policy toward Israel.

As Democrats stay divided on Israel, Jewish voters face politically uncertain future

Listen · 5:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213912889/1214042450" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Israel says it will allow limited deliveries of fuel to Gaza for aid needs

A truck carrying a limited delivery of fuel crosses into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Israel has agreed to allow in a greater amount of fuel for humanitarian use. Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

Israel says it will allow limited deliveries of fuel to Gaza for aid needs

Israel will allow 140,000 liters of fuel into Gaza every two days for the United Nations' use to distribute aid and for telecommunications provider Paltel to keep phone and internet service available.

In a tale of two protests, a stark divide among young voters on the Israel-Hamas war

Anti-war activists protest outside of the White House during a pro-Palestinian demonstration asking for a cease-fire in Gaza in Washington on Nov. 4. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jose Luis Magana/AP

In a tale of two protests, a stark divide among young voters on the Israel-Hamas war

Young voters lean toward Democrats but amid the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war, many Gen Z and millennial Americans are trying to find where they fit in the party - if at all.

In a tale of two protests, a stark divide among young voters on the Israel-Hamas war

Listen · 3:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213754905/1213890434" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Artist's work rises from the ashes of a kibbutz attacked by Hamas onto a museum wall

Rescued from her studio in Kibbutz Be'eri near Israel's border with Gaza, artist Ziva Jelin's damaged painting Curving Road is currently on special display in the Israeli Art gallery of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Zohar Shemesh/The Israel Museum, Jerusalem hide caption

toggle caption
Zohar Shemesh/The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Artist's work rises from the ashes of a kibbutz attacked by Hamas onto a museum wall

Ziva Jelin and her family survived Hamas' brutal attack on Kibbutz Be'eri on Oct. 7. So did the 61-year-old artist's painting Curving Road, which now hangs in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu says Gaza needs a new 'civilian government,' but won't say who

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's actions and goals in Gaza in an interview with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep on Friday. Abir Sultan//AP hide caption

toggle caption
Abir Sultan//AP

Netanyahu says Gaza needs a new 'civilian government,' but won't say who

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel's war on Hamas. Netanyahu says once Hamas is defeated, Israel has to make sure there is no resurgence of terrorism.

Netanyahu says Gaza needs a new 'civilian government,' but won't say who

Listen · 11:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213684429/1213684430" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Mourners gather in Israel to honor memory of longtime peace activist Vivian Silver

Hundreds of mourners gather for the funeral service of Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver on Thursday in Kibbutz Gezer, Israel. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Maya Levin for NPR

The Picture Show

Mourners gather in Israel to honor memory of longtime peace activist Vivian Silver

Hundreds of mourners gathered at a funeral service for Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver. She was declared dead this week after her remains were found at her home in Israel.

In Michigan, where every vote counts, Arab Americans are turning away from Biden

A large, pro-Palestinian protest in downtown Detroit called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war as protesters decried President Biden's response. Don Gonyea/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Don Gonyea/NPR

In Michigan, where every vote counts, Arab Americans are turning away from Biden

The community turned out overwhelmingly for Joe Biden, helping him win the swing state. But many now feel betrayed by the president's response to the Israel-Hamas war and it could cost him in 2024.

In Michigan, where every vote counts, Arab Americans are turning away from Biden

Listen · 5:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213668804/1213673278" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Israel-Hezbollah fighting forces people in southern Lebanon to flee violence — again

An internally displaced woman feeds her daughter at their room in a school reconverted as a temporary center for internally displaced people on Oct. 25, in Tyre, Lebanon. The International Organization for Migration reported 19,646 people had been displaced inside Lebanon since Oct. 8, the day after an assault on Israel by Hamas militants. Manu Brabo/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Manu Brabo/Getty Images

Israel-Hezbollah fighting forces people in southern Lebanon to flee violence — again

Thousands of villagers living along the border with Israel have been evacuated to Tyre, 50 miles south of Beirut. Their escape is a reminder of the cost of the war in Gaza, even far from its borders.

Israel-Hezbollah fighting forces people in southern Lebanon to flee violence — again

Listen · 7:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213299121/1213475941" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The U.S. has special rules for satellites over one country: Israel

A satellite view shows smoke along the Gaza-Israel border on Oct. 7 in an image combining natural with shortwave-infrared highlights. The image came from a Copernicus Sentinel satellite run, by the EU space program. Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2023/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2023/Getty Images

The U.S. has special rules for satellites over one country: Israel

It's not unusual for countries to restrict satellite images of sensitive locations. But in the case of Israel, a U.S. law seeks to protect an entire — and separate — country.

Doctors are among the many dead in Gaza. These are their stories

A wounded Palestinian boy arrives to the emergency room of the Al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 17. Israel claims Hamas uses the facility for military purposes and has built a vast underground command center below the hospital. As Israeli forces move in on the facility, hundreds of doctors and patients remain inside. Abed Khaled/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Abed Khaled/AP

Doctors are among the many dead in Gaza. These are their stories

More than 200 medical personnel have been killed since the war started. Their colleagues say there's been no time to mourn. In that spirit, doctors shared details about the lives that were lost.

A communications blackout in Gaza is slowing aid as officials press for hostage deal

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip walk in a United Nations Development Programme-provided tent camp in Khan Younis,Nov.15, 2023. Fatima Shbair/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Fatima Shbair/AP

A communications blackout in Gaza is slowing aid as officials press for hostage deal

President Biden said he was "mildly hopeful" about a deal to free dozens of hostages, including a 3-year-old American. Israel dropped leaflets urging the evacuation of parts of southern Gaza.

A History of Hamas

GAZA CITY, GAZA- Palestinian Hamas militants are seen during a military show in the Bani Suheila district on July 20, 2017 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) Chris McGrath/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Throughline

A History of Hamas

On October 7th, the organization Hamas, which is also the ruling government of Gaza, perpetrated an attack just across the border in Israel. The Israeli government says that the attack killed around 1200 people, most of them civilians. And Hamas also kidnapped hundreds more, including women and children, and took them back to Gaza as hostages. In response, Israel has bombarded and invaded Gaza. More than 11,000 people have been killed, and many more displaced. Since that day we've heard from many of you, our listeners, with questions about Hamas. So we took a few weeks to talk to experts on all sides to answer those questions – people who know the history deeply, and have even participated in it. Today on the show: the origins of Hamas, the context in which it developed, and what it represents to Palestinians, Israelis, and the rest of the world.

A History of Hamas

Listen · 51:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908227/1213359546" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Israeli troops enter Gaza's largest hospital and report finding Hamas weapons there

Israeli troops operate on the grounds of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City in this photo released by the Israeli military. The Israelis say they found weapons belonging to Hamas, but did not provide details. Hamas denied the claim that it has been operating in or underneath the hospital. Israel Defense Forces/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Israel Defense Forces/AP

Israeli troops enter Gaza's largest hospital and report finding Hamas weapons there

Hamas denounced the actions by the Israeli military. The group denied the assertion by Israel and U.S. officials that militants were embedded in Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital.

A former Israeli soldier calls for international intervention to stop settler violence

In 2016, Ori Givati served as a reservist soldier in the West Bank. He joined Breaking the Silence a year later. Ori Givati hide caption

toggle caption
Ori Givati

A former Israeli soldier calls for international intervention to stop settler violence

Ex-Israeli soldier Ori Givati questions his military experience and the current rise in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

A former Israeli soldier calls for international intervention to stop settler violence

Listen · 7:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1212836719/1212836720" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
We were interviewing a Palestinian farmer. Then the drone and soldiers appeared

Israeli forces take Ayoub Abuhejleh while he was being interviewed by NPR in the West Bank. Ayman Oghanna for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ayman Oghanna for NPR

We were interviewing a Palestinian farmer. Then the drone and soldiers appeared

There are days when you head out to report a story, and you think you know where it's going. And then it spins in an entirely different direction. This is the story of one such day.

We were interviewing a Palestinian farmer. Then the drone and soldiers appeared

Listen · 10:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1211987812/1211988299" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
4 things to know about UNRWA, Gaza's largest aid organization

Children play among tents set up for Palestinians seeking refuge on the grounds of an UNRWA center in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 19. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

4 things to know about UNRWA, Gaza's largest aid organization

For over 70 years, one key U.N. agency has provided relief to Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. As Israel continues to bombard the territory, UNRWA says it's struggling to keep up with demand.

Gaza's 2 largest hospitals have ceased to function, health officials say

Patients and internally displaced people are pictured at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Nov. 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. Khader A Zanoun/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Khader A Zanoun/AFP via Getty Images

Gaza's 2 largest hospitals have ceased to function, health officials say

Health officials say the hospitals are out of electricity. The U.N. and World Health Organization pleaded for "decisive international action" to preserve what's left of the health care system in Gaza.

Browse archive or search npr.org