Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to areas that were formerly occupied by Israel, namely the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon.
Palestinian citizens of Israel, also known as 48-Palestinians are Arab citizens of Israel that self-identify as Palestinian. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the Arab population in 2019 was estimated at 1,890,000, representing 20.95% of the country's population.
Israel's policies and actions in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn accusations that it is committing the crime of apartheid. Leading Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights groups have said that the totality and severity of the human rights violations against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, and by some in Israel proper, amount to the crime against humanity of apartheid. Israel and some of its Western allies have rejected the accusation, with the former often labeling the charge antisemitic.
On 7 October 2023, an armed conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip after the latter launched a multi-pronged invasion of southern Israel. 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. By the end of October, more than 1,500 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in the initial attacks by Hamas, and more than 9,700 Palestinians had been killed in the fighting. Over 230 Israelis and foreign nationals in Israel were captured or abducted by Hamas during the attack and were taken into Gaza as hostages.