Photos: War in Israel and Gaza

Editor’s note: This photo gallery contains some graphic images, discretion is advised. The gallery will be updated frequently with the latest coverage from Associated Press and Getty Images photojournalists on the frontlines of conflict.

Oct. 25, 2023 | Firefighters try to extinguish fires over destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City.

After months of mounting tension and civil unrest, Hamas militants carried out a brazen attack on Israel on Oct. 7th, infiltrating the heavily fortified Israeli border in several locations. It was the deadliest assault Israel has experienced in 50 years, which Hamas officials said was a response to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, recent Israeli police raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the detention of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Israel formally declared war against the Palestinian militant group, and increased airstrikes on Gaza, one of the most densely populated territories on Earth, with over 2 million Palestinians within roughly 140 square miles. The area has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007, with Palestinians living inside the area unable to leave without Israeli-approved permits.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said he has ordered the “complete siege” of Gaza, stopping supplies of food, water, fuel and electricity to the territory – escalating a deadly conflict that has killed more than 5,700 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.(Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)