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Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: A Parliamentary reading list (2020 - 2024)

On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas, officially designated a terrorist group by many countries including Israel, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, commenced an armed assault against Israel. It launched several thousand rockets into Israel and conducted attacks in border areas, killing around 1,200 civilians, and taking 253 hostages, as part of what it called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”.

In response, in October Israel conducted air strikes against Hamas in Gaza and launched a ground attack to “destroy Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and to bring the hostages home”. Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel.

Ongoing hostilities are also taking place between Israel and Iran-supported Hezbollah in Lebanon and northern Israel. Other Iran-supported groups in Syria and Iraq have conducted attacks against US forces. From Yemen, the Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

This reading list provides links to Commons Library papers, Committee reports, and parliamentary material related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the 2019 to 2024 parliament. It also includes government press releases and statements issued until 5 July 2024 (when a new government took office).

The list also includes material on issues related to the current conflict, such as Iran’s influence in the Middle East and Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon.