Last week, the current war against Hamas in Gaza became Israel’s longest since the fight for independence in 1948.
Combat continued into the 121st day on Sunday, nearly four months after Hamas initiated the war with its bloody invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. While it is unlikely to beat the 1948-49 War of Independence which lasted for some 20 months, according to data compiled by the Times of Israel, the current conflict has already surpassed other notable engagements.
These include the First Lebanon War of 1982, at 116 days; the Second Lebanon War of 2006, at 34 days; the Yom Kippur War of 1973, at 19 days; and the Six Day War of 1967, at six days.
However, Israel has been in a state of war ever since 1948—some would say since 1936—whether described as the Arab-Israeli conflict or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Jewish state has always had to deal with hostile elements at its borders, with or without the formal declaration of war.
