According to the search results, the 2023 Israel-Hamas war started on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led Palestinian militants launched a multi-pronged invasion of southern Israel, killing at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, and two foreigners. After clearing Hamas militants, the Israeli military retaliated by conducting an extensive aerial bombardment campaign on Gazan targets and followed up with a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas on October 8, and its response to the attack has seen the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War. The current hostilities constitute the fifth war of the Gaza-Israel conflict, which is part of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions between Israel and Hamas rose in September 2023, and the Washington Post described the two "on the brink of war".