After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched
one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history and
invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages. The fifth war of the
Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the entire
Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the most significant military engagement in the region since the
Yom Kippur War in 1973.