Even the terms used for this current conflict show different framings and understandings for these current events. "Israel–Gaza conflict" centers the conflict in the area and people of Gaza particularly in regard to the flare-up of hostilities on October 7, 2023, but the phrase limits the scope of how this conflict also relates to the larger contexts of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as well as the broader Arab–Israeli conflict within the international context of the Middle East.

"Israel–Hamas conflict" centers the conflict between the political entities of the Hamas-led government and the modern state of Israel, but it also limits scope by not including non-Hamas Palestinians involved in and affected by the conflict.

Conversely, "Israeli–Palestinian conflict" is too wide a scope for those who would say the conflict is not between most Israelis and most Palestinians but rather between the government-led forces of Israel and the government-led forces of Hamas. Finally, while the term "Arab–Israeli conflict" sets the scope of the conflict within the larger international context between Israel and various Arab peoples, this lens can sometimes be too wide to focus specifically on the localized conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, more specifically.

As noted in the section below on evaluating news sources, for numerous reasons, evaluating news about the Israel–Gaza conflict is especially challenging. Misinformation about the conflict has been widespread. To gain a more nuanced understanding of the conflict, read across news sources that are generally well-respected and reliable, while recognizing that breaking news changes rapidly and most news reporting has some degree of bias. It is also important to seek out news sources that reflect a wide variety of perspectives, including varying Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.

For academic resources like scholarly articles and academic books on related topics, please see research guides for subjects such as Political Science and History. You can also search the Database Finder and limit databases by subject. For background on countries and regions, please see these Country Data Resources.

These library and Internet resources provide overviews of the history behind the current conflict.

• The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Guide for the Perplexed. By Ian Bickerton. (Continuum, 2012). This resource provides explanations of basic issues, written for students and general readers.

• Gaza Strip. In Britannica Academic. (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This online encyclopedia article is updated by contributors on an ongoing basis. Readers can access the "article history" link to see how recently content has been edited and by whom.

• Oxford Handbook of Israeli Politics and Society. Edited by Reuven Hazan, et al. (Oxford Handbooks Online, 2021)

• The Palestine–Israel Conflict: A Basic Introduction, 4th Edition. By Gregory Harms and Todd M. Ferry. (Pluto Press, 2017). This resource is written for students and general readers.

The library has a number of books available online and in print that analyze Hamas and the history of Palestine from different points of view, e.g.:

• Gaza Under Hamas: From Islamic Democracy to Islamist Governance. By Bjorn Brenner. (I. B. Tauris, 2017)

• Hamas: A Beginner's Guide. By Kaled Hroub. (Pluto Press, 2010)

• Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. By Matthew Levitt and Dennis Ross. (Yale University Press, 2006)

• Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza: Engaging the Islamist Social Sector. By Sara Roy. (Princeton University Press, 2011)

• A History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel. By Gudrun Krämer. (Princeton University Press, 2008)

The library has subscriptions to academic journals dedicated to research and scholarship on Palestine and Israel, including:

• Israel Affairs. Coverage 1999–present.

• Israel Studies Review. From the Association for Israel Studies, coverage 2011–present.

• Journal of Palestine Studies. From the Institute for Palestine Studies, coverage from 2007–present; volumes from 1971 available through JSTOR Arts and Sciences.

• Palestine–Israel Journal of Politics, Economics, and Culture. Coverage 1999–present.
  

A few examples of the many think tanks and research centers that offers articles and analysis about the conflict from different perspectives:

• Al–Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network: Articles about the conflict from a transnational Palestinian think tank

• Center for Israel Education, "The Israel–Hamas War — Multiple Resources": Articles, videos, and other material about the conflict from a center based in Atlanta founded in 2008 to provide information about Israel

• Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University, "Swords of Iron": Articles about the conflict from a leading Israeli think tank based in Tel Aviv

• Institute for Palestine Studies: Articles about the conflict from a well-known Palestinian think tank based in Washington D.C.

• Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center (The Carnegie Middle East Center (CMEC), "Palestine: the Wars in the War": Articles about the conflict from a prominent Lebanese research institute founded in 2006

• Middle East Forum, "Special Coverage of the Israel–Hamas War": Articles about the conflict from an Israeli perspective published by a Philadelphia based think tank founded in 1994 by Dr. Daniel Pipes

To learn about different governments' perspectives, consult official sources such as:

• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports: Search for "Gaza": CRS Reports is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress and part of the Library of Congress. It provides research and analysis on issues related to U.S. policy.

• Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Hamas Israel Conflict 2023": Information from the Israeli government about the current conflict

• U.S. Department of State, "Israel–Hamas Conflict, Latest Updates": Information from the U.S. government about the current conflict

• WAFA Palestine News and Information Agency: Information from the official state-run news agency of the Palestinian National Authority about the current conflict

NOTE: The full text of some of these news sources is also included in databases like NewsBank Access World News. The links below are to the web-based versions of these news sources, which often include images and additional content.

• Al Jazeera (English): Israel–Palestine Conflict: A news channel funded by the government of Qatar

• Al–Quds: The English edition of a widely read Palestinian daily newspaper founded in 1967 in Jerusalem

• Associated Press (AP) News: Israel–Hamas War: An American non-profit news agency based in New York City

• British Broadcasting Company (BBC): Israel–Gaza War: The BBC is the world's largest local and global broadcaster.

• The Guardian: Israel–Hamas War: A long-established British daily newspaper

• Haaretz: The longest running Israeli newspaper founded in 1918

• Jadaliyya: Palestine: An independent ezine founded by the Arab Studies Institute (ASI) to cover the Middle East

• Jerusalem Post: Israeli newspaper founded in 1932 as The Palestine Post; renamed The Jerusalem Post in 1950

• The Times: Israel–Hamas War: Founded in the late 18th century, The Times is one of Britain's oldest newspapers.

• Times of Israel: An online Israeli newspaper launched in 2012

These current and large newspapers and newspaper databases are available online for Rowan users.

NOTE: These databases include the full text of these news sources. The web-based versions of these news sources have paywalls and provide limited or no free access to their content.

• Ethnic NewsWatch: News, magazine, and journal articles from the ethnic, minority, and native press

• NewsBank Access World News: Articles from a large collection of newspapers worldwide. For topic-specific reporting see the next link.

• NewsBank Access World News: Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: Topic-specific articles from NewsBank Access World News

• Newspaper Source Plus: Provides a full-text digital collection of the world's major news content including nearly 500 U.S, and over 700 international newspapers

• The New York Times (current): Founded in the 19th century, the New York Times is one of the oldest and most well-known newspapers in the U.S.

• The Washington Post (1974–current): Among the leading U.S.-based newspapers, The Washington Post has been published daily in Washington, D.C. since 1877.

The following sites provide fact-checking on information and ideas circulated about the Israel–Gaza conflict.

• AllSides, "Israel–Hamas War: Updates, Tracking Misinformation, and More": AllSides is an American-based company that seeks to expose people to news from across the political spectrum and to help consider both diverse perspectives and media bias. People sometimes disagree about the accuracy of AllSides' media bias rating, but the site does provide a broader range of news sources. The site includes a "Misinformation Watch" section about the Israel–Gaza conflict.

• Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA): Founded in 1982, Washington D.C.-based CAMERA monitors and reviews Middle East media coverage, pointing out distorted or inaccurate reporting, especially about Israel. Its website includes a section of fact-checking coverage on the Gaza conflict.

• Snopes, "Israel–Hamas War Fact Checking": Snopes is a fact-checking site established in 1994 under the original name, "Urban Legends Reference Pages." The site is a member of the International Fact Checking Network and complies with its standards for evaluating misinformation. While the site often focuses on cultural myths, it also takes on Internet rumors, including political misinformation or statements made by or about politicians or political bodies.

Evaluating news about rapidly evolving issues and "breaking news" is especially challenging. So too is evaluating information about issues that people have strong views on, and about issues with long and complex histories. All of these conditions apply to the Israel–Gaza conflict, about which misinformation has been widespread. See, for example, articles from Poynter, Vox, and Mother Jones focusing on misinformation about the conflict.

Most news outlets have been criticized for having media bias related to Israel and Palestine.

Many critics argue that Western news outlets have a pro-Israeli bias, for example, while other media critics maintain that mainstream news sources, as well as non-Western news outlets and Western news sources that are aligned further to the political left, often have a pro-Palestinian bias or are disproportionally critical of Israel. Numerous articles can be found online supporting both points of view.

The National Public Radio podcast, On the Media, discusses this issue and offers news evaluation tips in its "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Israel/Gaza Edition," from October 27, 2023. Tips include recognizing that "Headlines are obscured by the fog of war," and that especially with breaking news, even the best news sources sometimes get things wrong.

As you engage with information sources about this (or any other) conflict, keep in mind these points and strategies for online verification skills and critical source evaluation:

• Be aware of ways that digital information can be manipulated or decontextualized. For example, images and video footage, especially that on social media, can easily be attributed to a time or place in which it was not captured. Look to trace content back to its original source and look for trustworthy sources that confirm the origin.

• Recognize the challenges of presenting balanced news and consider various factors that may influence reporting.  Providing balanced news is incredibly challenging for many reasons, including the implicit biases that all humans have and the funding model for most news, which is intended to grab attention.

• Some key things to consider when evaluating news include:
  how a news source frames information
  the adjectives used to present information, and
  the funding that may influence the reporting.
  

Look at coverage from across the globe. Often news coverage on an issue looks different in different parts of the world. Consider points of convergence and divergence in news sources from different geographic areas. The website World Newspapers, listed prior, includes links and introductions to online newspapers from all over the world.

• Who's behind the information?
• What's the evidence?
• What do other sources say?
  

To see what other sources say, use the "lateral reading" strategies outlined in the Evaluating Online Sources Toolkit.

At the heart of lateral reading are:

• click restraint: pausing and reviewing a search results page before deciding which links to follow (from Stanford History Education Group), and

• SIFT: Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, and Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original content (from Mike Caulfield's SIFT (Four Moves).