Situation context
Israel is a country in the eastern Mediterranean region bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea, with close geographic and political connections to the Palestinian territories. The country includes coastal plains, central highlands, the Jordan Rift Valley, and desert regions in the south. Its location connects the Levant with North Africa and the wider Middle East.
Open the interactive situation page
What is Israel situation about?
Middle East - Israel - Overview
What this is about In Security Council discussions, the “Middle East - Israel situation” is mainly about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Council’s debates focus especially on: Gaza the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem Israeli settlements evictions, demolitions, and displacement risks Jerusalem’s holy sites and access to worship repeated cycles of armed violence UN briefers and many Council members describe the unresolved Palestinian question as the central issue behind recurring crises. --- What happened recently Since 7 October 2023, this file has been dominated by: the Hamas attacks on Israel hostage-taking Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continuing rocket fire a severe deterioration in civilian conditions in Gaza growing risks that the conflict could spread across the region UN briefers also linked this situation to wider regional tensions, including: exchanges of...
Read this module in the interactive app
How did the Israel situation evolve over time?
Middle East - Israel - Timeline
How the situation evolved over time This summary reflects debates from 2020 onward. From the Security Council’s perspective, the “Middle East - Israel situation” evolved in three broad stages: 2020 to mid-2023: a chronic conflict centred on occupation, the Gaza blockade, settlement expansion, demolitions, East Jerusalem evictions and repeated local escalations. Late 2023 to 2024: a major rupture after the 7 October 2023 attacks, when the file became a full-scale Gaza war with wider regional spillover. 2025 to early 2026: debate shifted toward post-war arrangements in Gaza, while concern deepened over annexation risks in the West Bank and the possible collapse of the two-State framework. --- 1) Before the Gaza war: a long deterioration In Council discussions from 2020 onward, the issue was usually framed less as a single sudden crisis than as a steady worsening of underlying conditions....
Read this module in the interactive app