News > Israel-Hamas war: what has happened and what has caused the conflict?

Israel-Hamas war: what has happened and what has caused the conflict?

Shocked Israelis woke on the last day of the Jewish high holidays to the wail of sirens as Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired thousands of rockets from Gaza and armed militants broke down the hi-tech barriers surrounding the strip to enter Israel, shooting and taking hostages. The exact reasons for the attack are not clear, but the longer backdrop is a 16-year blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt that has almost destroyed the strip’s internal economy and has caused hardship for the people living there.