Middle East crisis — explained The conflict between Israel and Palestinians — and other groups in the Middle East — goes back decades. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
IDF fires artillery shells into Gaza as fighting between Israeli troops and Islamist Hamas militants continues on Oct. 12, 2023.
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Middle East crisis — explained

Scouts carry the coffins of two children, Hassan and Amira Muhammed Fadallah, during their funeral a day after they were killed in an Israeli strike on a building in Beirut's southern suburbs, on July 31, 2024. Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images

2 assassinations in the last 48 hours may destabilize the entire Middle East

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Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13 in which the Israeli military claim they killed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif. Jehad Alshrafi/AP hide caption

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Jehad Alshrafi/AP

Palestinian Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, center, flashes a victory sign as he is surrounded by a group of Iranian lawmakers after the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP

A view of buildings shows damage after what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, on Tuesday. Ahmad Al-Kerdi/Reuters hide caption

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Ahmad Al-Kerdi/Reuters

Blast rocks Beirut after Israel vows to strike at Hezbollah for rocket attack

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Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights area on Saturday. Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

Children were main casualties in strikes in Gaza and near Israel's Northern border

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Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from parts of Khan Younis on Saturday, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Gaza Strip's second largest city. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP hide caption

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Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Palestinian children are sitting on a street flooded with sewage water in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 23. Polio was detected in multiple samples of Gaza's wastewater a week ago and now infectious disease experts suspect there are mild cases of the disease already in the population. Majdi Fathi//NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

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Majdi Fathi//NurPhoto via Getty Images

ATC & digital Friday 7/26: Polio in Gaza sewage

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People stand amid rubble in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on July 21. Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Vice President Harris speaks after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the vice president's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House on July 25. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

People hold pictures of Israeli hostages during a vigil on the National Mall on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Families of hostages are hopeful Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will agree to a ceasefire deal that would bring the hostages home. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv on June 18. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images hide caption

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Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

NETANYAHU-CONGRESS

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Palestinian detainees after they were released by the Israeli army, in Deir Al Balah, Gaza Strip, on June 20. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images

Gazans held in Israeli jails allege abuse

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An Israeli airstrike ignited a huge fire at an oil storage facility at Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Saturday. Israel said the attack was in response to a drone strike by the Houthi militia that killed an Israeli man in Tel Aviv on Friday. ‎/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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‎/AFP via Getty Images

A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center show a huge column of fire erupting following reported strikes by Israeli fighter jets in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeidah on Saturday. Ansarullah Media Center/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ansarullah Media Center/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli police investigate the scene of a drone attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Friday. Yemen's Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the blast that left one dead and several injured. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

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Maya Levin for NPR

A Gaza Detainee Speaks

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A worker cleans up on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with southern Gaza on Wednesday. Israel says food is going into southern Gaza daily but is piling up on the Gaza side because the United Nations and aid groups aren't distributing it in a timely fashion. The U.N. says Israeli military operations and other war-related obstacles hamper its efforts. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

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Maya Levin for NPR

Food aid is piling up inside Gaza. Here's why it's not reaching those in need

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Members of the Lebanese army and the Italian contingent of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force inspect a house destroyed by an Israeli attack during a patrol in Yarine on June 10, 2024. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption

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Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR

Rocket exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah hit new highs in the past week

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Palestinians gather near the bodies of their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, on Saturday. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP hide caption

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Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Protesters march to call for the release of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza since the October attacks, in Jerusalem on July 7, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

The Fate of the Israeli Hostages and the Future of Gaza

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