The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to Gaza war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
Incumbents President of Israel – Isaac Herzog Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu President of the Supreme Court – Esther Hayut Chief of General Staff – Herzi Halevi Government of Israel – Thirty-seventh government of Israel
Ongoing Gaza war
Events January 1 January – The second stage of the reform of Israel's kosher certification system that was scheduled to come into effect allowing the establishment of private kosher certification agencies to issue kosher certification is postponed by the new Shas party Minister of Religious Services, Michael Malchieli. Two soldiers are killed during a series of Israeli airstrikes at Damascus International Airport. Two Palestinians, Mohammad Samer Hoshiyeh, 22, and Fouad Mohammad Abed, 25, are killed and three more injured during confrontations with Israeli soldiers who stormed Kafr Dan to demolish the homes of two Palestinians killed in a shootout at a checkpoint in Jenin several months ago. 3 January – The visit of the Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem sparks protests by Palestinians and the condemnation of several Arab countries. 4 January – Justice Minister Yariv Levin announces a comprehensive proposal to overhaul Israel's legal framework by limiting the authority of the Supreme Court of Israel with an override clause of 61 Knesset members, granting the government more significant influence over the judicial selection committee, permitting ministers to appoint their legal advisers independently, and cancelling the reasonableness standard. 7 January – Thousands of Israelis protest in Habima Square, initiating a series of protests against the proposed judicial reforms. 12 January – Israeli soldiers raid the village of Qabatiya in the West Bank, killing two Palestinian men. In a separate incident, Israeli forces arrest an 18-year-old Palestinian man and kill his father in the Qalandia refugee camp. 14 January – Over 80,000 Israelis demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the proposed judicial reform by the new government. 16 January – Herzi Halevi is appointed the new IDF chief of staff. Hamas publishes a video of Avera Mengistu, an Israeli held captive in Gaza since 2014; Hamas has been holding Mengistu and the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin for nine years, and of Israeli Hisham al-Sayed for eight. 19 January – A Palestinian teacher and a member of the Jenin Brigades are killed, and three others are injured, in a raid by Israeli soldiers at a refugee camp in Jenin, in the West Bank. The Supreme Court of Israel bars Aryeh Deri from serving in Israel's cabinet due to his previous fraud convictions for tax offenses. 22 January – The Lebanese Army declares a "state of alert" after stopping Israeli bulldozers and accompanying soldiers from approaching a border fence in Southern Lebanon. Peacekeeping forces from UNIFIL have also been deployed to the area. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses health and interior minister Aryeh Deri from his cabinet following the Supreme Court's ruling. 26 January – Four Al-Qassam terrorists, three Islamic Jihad members and two Palestinian civilians are killed and 20 others are injured during a raid and subsequent gunfight by Israeli soldiers in Jenin, in the West Bank. In a separate raid in Al-Ram, a Palestinian man is killed and two others are injured by Israeli soldiers. 27 January – 2023 East Jerusalem synagogue shooting: Seven Israelis are killed and ten more are injured in a mass shooting at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem; the Palestinian perpetrator is killed by police. Israeli Air Force jets launch airstrikes on an underground rocket manufacturing site, and a military base used by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants into southern Israel. 28 January – Two Israelis are shot and critically injured by a 13-year-old Palestinian in East Jerusalem; the attacker is shot and injured by one of his victims before being arrested. 29 January – Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war Unidentified warplanes, suspected to be Israeli, strike a convoy of Iranian trucks that entered Syria from Iraq through the Al-Qa'im border crossing. At least six trucks are believed to have been destroyed. There are no immediate reports of casualties. Palestinian man, Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, is shot dead by a group of Israeli civilians near the settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank. In a separate incident, a Palestinian civilian home is set on fire by settlers. The occupants were not there at the time of the attack.
February 2 February – Israel and Sudan announce the finalisation of a deal to normalize relations between the two countries. 6 February – Five Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades members are killed, three others are injured, and eight members are arrested during a raid by Israeli soldiers and subsequent gunbattle at the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho in the West Bank. 10 February – Three Israelis, two brothers aged six and eight years old and a 20-year-old man, are killed in a car-ramming attack in Ramot, Jerusalem. 15 February – An investigation by a consortium of journalists uncovers a major disinformation campaign by an Israeli firm named Team Jorge, led by ex-Israeli special forces member Tal Hanan, which is alleged to have influenced more than 30 elections in several countries. 18 February – Five people are killed and fifteen others are injured by an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Sousa, Damascus Governorate, according to Syrian media. 22 February – Eleven Palestinians are killed and 102 more injured when Israeli troops storm Nablus, in the West Bank. 23 February – Oman opens its airspace to Israeli airlines for the first time. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen calls the decision historic. 26 February – Two Israeli settlers are killed by a Palestinian gunman in Huwara, Nablus Governorate, West Bank. During revenge attacks by Israelis, a Palestinian is shot and killed and 98 others are injured, many during arson attacks. 28 February – An Israeli-American man is killed in a drive-by shooting on a highway in Jericho, in the West Bank.
March 1 March – A bill supported by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Jewish Power party for the death penalty for those who are charged with terrorism offences passes the Knesset in a preliminary vote of 55–9. 2 March – Israeli State Department criticizes the government of Brazil for allowing two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro and urges Brazil to send the warships away calling it a "dangerous and regretful development". 6 March – Five Palestinians are injured by Israeli settlers attacking a family on a street in Huwara, in the West Bank. Twenty-five Palestinians are injured by tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during the attack. 7 March – Israeli warplanes strike Syria's Aleppo International Airport with air-to-surface missiles, damaging the runway and putting the airport out of service. The Syrian transport ministry says that the delivery of humanitarian aid to Idlib will be rerouted to Latakia International Airport following the strike. At least six members of the Palestinian militant group Jenin Brigades are killed by Israeli soldiers during a raid in Jenin, West Bank. Among those killed is the killer of two Israeli settlers last month. 9 March – Three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members are killed by Israeli special units during an operation in Jenin, West Bank. Three people are wounded by a shooting on Dizengoff Street, in Tel Aviv. The perpetrator is killed by police. 10 March – A Palestinian man is shot dead by an Israeli settler near a farm in Karnei Shomron, in the West Bank. The IDF claims that the Palestinian man was armed at the time. 12 March – Israeli airstrikes at a weapons depot in Masyaf, Hama Governorate, Syria, kill a Syrian soldier and two pro-Iranian militants. Israeli soldiers kill three Palestinian gunmen near Nablus, West Bank, after coming under fire. 13 March – An IED injures an Arab-Israeli man, 21, at the Megiddo Junction in the Jezreel Valley. The attack is believed to have been organized by Redwan Force senior commander, Ibrahim Aqil, (killed in an airstrike in Dahiya on September 20, 2024), and the perpetrator is believed to be Palestinian terrorist Hassan bin Jermi from Burj el-Shamali (near Tyre, Lebanon), recruited by Ali Muhammad al-Debs (killed in an airstrike on Nabatiyeh on February 14, 2024). 15 March – Palestinian Hassan bin Jermi, accused of being the perpetrator of the IED attack at the Megiddo Junction which injured a civilian two days ago is shot and killed in Shlomi by Israeli soldiers. Jermi is believed to have crossed illegally into northern Israel from Lebanon. 16 March – Two militants including Islamic Jihad and Hamas commanders and two civilians are killed and five others are injured during a raid by Israeli security forces in the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank. 17 March – The Jerusalem Marathon takes place; Kenyan runners Noah Kigen Kiprotich and Margaret Njuguna win the men's and women's events respectively. 26 March – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after Gallant calls on the government to pause discussions on the controversial judicial reform bill following widespread public protests against the reform. 27 March – Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a pause on his government's controversial judicial reform bill until April 30, the opening of the Knesset's summer session. 28 March – Israel successfully launches the Ofek-13 observation satellite into space on a Shavit 2 satellite launcher. 29 March – FIFA strips Indonesia of hosting this year's FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament after the Governor of Bali I Wayan Koster refused to host the Israel national under-19 football team.
April 3 April – A Lions' Den militant and a Fatah member are killed during a raid by Israeli soldiers in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. Two other Palestinians are arrested and dozens more are hospitalized due to tear gas. 4 April – The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes near Damascus, killing two civilians, according to Syrian state media. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that an "unknown number" of Iran-backed militants were also killed in the strikes, which targeted a counter-battery radar in As-Suwayda Governorate, and a glass factory in al-Kiswah, Rif Dimashq Governorate. 5 April – Seven Palestinians injured by Israeli police storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in response to rioting, injuring seven Palestinians and resulting in clashes in the West Bank and in Gaza, where nine rockets were launched. 6 April – Three Israeli civilians injured by four Hezbollah rockets, which fired off at least 34 rockets in northern Israel with 25 rockets intercepted by the Iron Dome, with a Palestinian child injured by IDF shelling of two Lebanese villages and the Gaza Strip. 7 April – An Italian tourist is killed and six Britons and Italians are injured in a vehicle-ramming attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. The perpetrator is shot dead by police. Three British Israelis; mother Lucy and daughters Maia and Rina Dee are killed in a drive-by shooting near the Hamra settlement in the West Bank. 9 April – Israel launches retaliatory airstrikes on Syrian territory after several rockets were launched toward the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. 10 April – A 15-year-old Palestinian boy is killed by Israeli soldiers in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank. 11 April – A Palestinian National Security Forces member and another Palestinian man are killed by Israeli soldiers in Elon Moreh, West Bank.