what happened between israel and hamas

According to recent news articles, Israel and Hamas are currently engaged in a war that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel while dozens of Hamas fighters breached the border and invaded Israeli communities, killing dozens of civilians and taking others captive. Israel immediately responded with air strikes on militant sites in Gaza, killing about 200 people. The conflict has resulted in thousands of deaths and a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist militant group that rules the Gaza Strip and is sworn to Israels destruction. Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip since 2007 in what it says is for its security, and controls the airspace over Gaza and its shoreline. The reasons for the current conflict are complex and include Israels occupation of the West Bank, recent Israeli police raids on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the detention of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails. The conflict between Israel and Palestinians has spanned two centuries, and the fighting has included several wars and exchanges of fire.