2023/24 Israel-Hamas conflict: US, UN, EU and regional response

On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas, officially designated a terrorist group by many countries including Israel, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, commenced an armed assault against Israel. It launched several thousand rockets into Israel and conducted attacks in border areas, killing around 1,200 civilians, and taking 253 hostages, as part of what it called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”.

In response to the assault, Israel conducted air strikes against Hamas in Gaza and on 28 October launched a ground attack to “destroy Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and to bring the hostages home”. 

This briefing describes the actions and response of the UN Security Council, International Court of Justice, and International Criminal Court, as well as the United States, European Union, Middle Eastern states, and armed actors supported by Iran (including Hezbollah in Lebanon).

For information on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority statements on the conflict, and the UK response, see the Commons Library research briefing 2023/24 Israel-Hamas conflict: UK actions and response.

UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions  

Resolutions of the UNSC require 9 of the Councils’ 15 members to vote in favour with no vetoes by the permanent members (United States, UK, France, China, and Russia). It has passed four binding resolutions since 7 October:

• 15 November: The resolution called for the immediate release of all hostages and for “urgent and extended humanitarian corridors” in Gaza. Russia, the UK, and the United States abstained.
• 22 December: The resolution demanded an increase in aid. Russia and the United States abstained, and the UK supported it.
• 25 March: The resolution “demand[ed]” an “immediate ceasefire” during Ramadan and the immediate release of hostages. All members voted in favour, except the United States, which abstained and said that while the resolution should be implemented, argued it was “non-binding”. The UK said the resolution is binding and should be quickly implemented .
• 10 June: The resolution notes a proposed three-phase resolution to the conflict, which the US reported Israel had agreed to (Israel has also confirmed it will not end its military operations until Hamas is destroyed). The resolution calls on Hamas to endorse the plan and “urges” its implementation. All voted in favour, except Russia.

Israel has criticised the resolutions and argued that the resolution passed in March “gives Hamas hope” the UNSC would enable a ceasefire without the release of hostages. The Palestinian Authority has called for an “immediate ceasefire, humanitarian assistance at scale, and no forced displacement [from Gaza]”. Negotiations for the release of hostages and pause in fighting are ongoing and are being facilitated by Egypt and Qatar.

On 18 April, the US vetoed a resolution recognising a Palestinian state through full UN membership. The UK abstained, arguing “we must keep our focus on securing an immediate pause” for the release of hostages and delivery of aid.  

International Court of Justice case

In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued preliminary (emergency) measures on a case brought against Israel by South Africa alleging Israel was breaching its obligations under the Genocide Convention (PDF). The case will likely last several years.

The ICJ did not order a ceasefire, as requested by South Africa, but set out certain steps for Israel to take, including increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza and taking “all measures” to prevent the “commission of genocidal acts”. Israel argues the case is a “distort[ion]” of the convention. Both South Africa and the Palestinian Authority have said Israeli military operations must end.

On 28 March, the ICJ issued additional provisional measures reaffirming those issued in January and stating Israel should take all necessary and effective steps to ensure the “unhindered provision at scale” of humanitarian aid. The Israeli Government said it was working on new initiatives and the expansion of existing ones to further the flow of aid into Gaza.

On 24 May, the ICJ issued further measures following Israeli military operations in the Rafah governorate. Among the measures were that the Rafah crossing, closed since 8 May, should be reopened to aid. There is disagreement, however, based on the wording of the order on whether the ICJ now requires Israel to now halt all its military actions, or those actions which may inflict the physical destruction, in whole or in part, of Palestinian civilians (Israel says it had not, and would not, conduct the latter offensive actions).

International Criminal Court

In May 2024, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced he would apply to the court’s judges to issue warrants for the arrest of three Hamas and two Israeli leaders. This includes the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant. Mr Khan said he had “reasonable grounds” to believe that they “bore criminal responsibility for several war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the 2023/24 conflict (the full press release details allegations against the specific individuals). No decision on the application has been made.

Israel is not a member of the ICC, though the “state of Palestine” joined in 2014. Israel and the US argue the ICC has no jurisdiction in Israel. In April, the UK said “it is a matter for the ICC ultimately to reach a determination”. In May, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also described the application as “deeply unhelpful” and said that there is “no moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas (a position echoed in Israel and the United States). Then-Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK should respect any ICC decision.

American response to the conflict

President Biden condemned the Hamas assault and said the US would “stand with Israel”. The US has deployed additional military forces to the region to prevent escalation. It is also the largest supplier of arms to Israel. US aircraft helped intercept Iranian missiles targeting Israel on 13 April.

In 2024, the Biden Administration has supported a ceasefire to allow the release of hostages and has called for a scaling up of aid to Gaza. In 2023, it had said ceasefire talks would only be held once all hostages are released.

The Biden Administration opposes a major Israeli offensive in Rafah without steps being taken to protect civilians, as does the G7 (the US, UK, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and the EU). In May, Mr Biden said the US would not supply further munitions to Israel of the type that have “been used historically” in Rafah if Israel conducts a major offensive there. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said the decision was “difficult and very disappointing”. To date, the US has put on hold one shipment of bombs.

The US Administration has announced additional sanctions against Hamas and those that fund it. In response to an increase in Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, the US has also announced visa restrictions and sanctions against some of those involved. It has also sanctioned one Israeli group for attacking aid convoys to Gaza.

European Union response to the conflict

The European Union condemned the Hamas assault on 7 October and said Israel had the right to defend itself, in line with international law. It has announced new sanctions targeting Hamas and against some Israeli settlers involved in West Bank violence.

France has deployed additional military assets and supported the defence of Israel against Iran on 13 April. Germany is the second largest exporter of arms to Israel (providing 30% of Israeli arms imports from 2019 to 2023, compared to 60% from the US).

In May and June 2024, Ireland, Spain, Norway and Slovenia recognised a Palestinian state, the first EU states to do so since Sweden in 2014. They said this aimed to advance talks on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel criticised the move.

Response of Middle East states

The Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Kuwait) have called for an immediate ceasefire an increase in aid, and said there should not be an Israeli offensive in Rafah, where the majority of the Palestinian population in Gaza has been displaced to. The Arab League, which also includes Egypt and Lebanon, agrees.  

Qatar and Egypt are acting as mediators between Hamas and Israel, and Qatar and Turkey have both hosted Hamas leaders. Qatar has said Hamas’s presence is supportive of political negotiations, but it has been subject to US pressure for Hamas to leave the country following the conflict.

The UAE and Bahrain maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, which were established in 2020. Talks are reportedly continuing for a similar agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, conditional on making progress on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Saudi-US defence pact, and a civilian nuclear programme in Saudi Arabia.

Actions of Iran, Hezbollah, and armed groups

Since 7 October, Iran-supported armed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon (a proscribed terrorist group in the UK), Shia militias in Iraq and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen have been launching attacks against Israel, US bases, and civilian shipping in the Red Sea. On 13 April, Iran launched its first direct attack against Israel in response to a strike on its Syrian consulate, which it blamed on Israel (Israel has not confirmed nor denied the strike).

From Lebanon, Hezbollah has launched attacks against Israel. Civilians on both sides of the border have been displaced and attacks continue. International negotiations are focused on securing a withdrawal of Hezbollah away from the border under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, made in 2006 following the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Israel has said it is prepared to take military action to ensure Israeli evacuees can return to their homes in northern Israel if a diplomatic solution cannot be found.