The conflict between Israel and Palestine has a long history that dates back to the late 19th century when Zionists sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Ottoman-controlled Palestine. The United Nations adopted Resolution 181 in 1947, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israels victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.

The conflict continued to escalate over the years, with tensions rising between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Following the 1956 Suez Crisis and Israels invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria signed mutual defense pacts in anticipation of a possible mobilization of Israeli troops. In June 1967, Israel preemptively attacked Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting the Six-Day War. After the war, Israel gained territorial control over the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan; and the Golan Heights from Syria.

The conflict has continued to this day, with numerous flare-ups and military confrontations. The latest violence began with Israeli attacks on sites in the Gaza Strip in 2022, which its military said was in response to threats from a militant group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The conflict has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who became refugees, sparking a decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people.