In 23 years, attacks on Israelis shifted from suicide bombers, mostly from the West Bank, to rocket fire from Gaza. Then came October 7, 2023, the deadliest single attack in this record.
26,722Gaza rockets + mortars2001–2023 (no annual data before 2001) · 2023 alone 7,540 (a floor)
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Overview in 3D: an explicit comparison. Four series side by side by year, one row each, 2001–2023. Every other chart on this page shows a single series. Each row has its own scale. 2023 bars are capped (✂) and labelled with their true values. Use LOG to put every bar on one log axis. Years without data are left empty. Coverage: Gaza rockets 2001–2023 · suicide attacks and deaths 2001–2021 · killed, all origins 2001–2023.
1 · Gaza rockets
Rocket fire from Gaza came in waves tied to each war, and 2023 dwarfed them all
How to read this: each bar is one year of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza. The axis stops at 5,000. The 2023 bar is broken at the top, and its true value is printed above it.
Data available: 2001–2023
Rockets + mortars launched from Gaza
Source: Jewish Virtual Library (JVL), rocket and mortar attacks by year. Gaza only. 2021 = Guardian of the Walls total (4,425). 2022 = 1,115, all from Gaza. 2023 = 7,540: JVL's by-year figure of 7,581 ("estimate") includes 34 rockets from Lebanon, 6 from Syria and 1 from Jenin, which are removed here. Its Oct 7–Dec 31 entry is "more than 6,000", so 2023 is a lower bound.
2 · The suicide-bombing wave
Suicide bombings peaked in 2002 and had all but vanished by 2008
How to read this: top panel, people killed in suicide attacks; bottom panel, attacks that caused casualties. The two panels share a year axis. The chart ends in 2021 because the source table has no figures for 2022–2023.
Data available: 2001–2021
DeathsAttacks with casualties
Source: JVL / Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs table of Palestinian suicide attacks. Israeli and academic counts place most of these in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but the table is not split by region. It ends in 2020 (2021 = 0 in this dataset), so the chart stops at 2021.
3 · Fatalities
October 7 made 2023 the deadliest year on record, more than three times 2002
How to read this: each bar is the number of people killed in terrorist attacks that year, from all origins. The axis stops at 500. The 2023 bar is broken, and its true value is printed above it.
Data available: 2001–2023
Killed, all origins
Source: JVL, Number of Terrorism Fatalities in Israel. Includes Israeli civilians, security personnel and foreigners killed in Israel and the territories. Not split by Gaza or West Bank. 2014 and 2021 include war deaths. 2023 (1,481) "includes Israelis murdered in Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023".
4 · The West Bank (separate series)
In the West Bank, Israeli deaths peaked in the second intifada. 2023 was the highest since 2003.
How to read this: two separate charts on the same year axis: Israeli civilians killed in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), then Israeli security forces killed there. Both are counted by where the incident happened, and both are kept separate from Gaza.
279Israeli civilians2001–2023
172Israeli security forces2001–2023
305 → 270WB shooting attacks2022 → 2023 · Shin Bet
2,790Palestinians killed by Israeli forcesSeparate series · B'Tselem
Source: B'Tselem fatalities database, area "West Bank (including East Jerusalem)", counted by date of incident. Security forces = all Israelis killed minus civilians. Attacks by West Bank residents inside Israel are not included.
Separate series: Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank
How to read this: this series comes from the same database but looks from the other side. It is not comparable with the Israeli-casualty series. 2023 (478) was the highest since 2002.
Data available: 2001–2023
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces (B'Tselem)
Source: B'Tselem fatalities database, "Palestinians killed by Israeli forces", West Bank including East Jerusalem.
Source: Shin Bet via INSS. Earlier years were not found.
Not publicly available
No public annual series was found for West Bank attacks by method (shootings, stabbings, rammings, IEDs, firebombs) or for Israeli injuries, so neither is charted.
5 · The method shift
The method shifted from suicide bombers to rocket barrages
How to read this: an explicit comparison: two panels on the same year axis, 2001–2021 (the span both series cover). Suicide-attack deaths fall away after 2005, as Gaza rocket fire rises and comes in surges. Each panel has its own scale.
Data available: 2001–2021 (common span of both series)
Suicide-attack deathsGaza rockets + mortars
Sources: as in sections 1 and 2.
6 · Before 2001 HISTORICAL
Before 2001: what the records show (1971–2000)
The rest of this page covers 2001–2023. This section collects the earlier data that actually exists. Coverage is patchy and differs from series to series: fatalities from all origins run from 1971, suicide attacks and deaths from 1994, and B'Tselem's first-intifada table from December 1987 to September 2000, for all the territories combined. No annual rocket count and no West Bank-only series exist for these years, so neither is shown.
852Killed, all origins1971–2000 · JVL
14Suicide attacks with casualties1994–2000 · JVL / MFA
122Suicide-attack deaths1994–2000 · JVL / MFA
185Israelis killed in the territoriesDec 1987–Sep 2000 · B'Tselem (94 civilians, 91 security forces)
Fatalities from all origins, 1971–2000: peaks in 1974, 1978 and 1994
How to read this: one bar per year. Peaks: 1974 (67), 1978 (57) and 1994 (65). 852 killed in total, 1971–2000. The shaded column is the First Intifada (1987–93).
Data available: 1971–2000
Killed, all originsIntifada years
Source:JVL, Number of Terrorism Fatalities in Israel. Covers Israelis and foreigners killed in Israel and the territories, plus 18 killed abroad in attacks on Israeli targets. Available from 1920; 1971–2000 is shown here.
Suicide attacks with casualties, 1994–2000: the Oslo-era wave
How to read this: attacks that caused casualties, per year. The JVL / MFA table starts in 1994. 14 attacks in total, 1994–2000.
First Intifada: Israelis killed in the occupied territories, 1987–2000
How to read this: B'Tselem's first-intifada table covers the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem together, so it cannot be split. 1987 starts on 9 December, and 2000 ends on 28 September.
Data available: Dec 1987 – Sep 2000
Israelis killed in the occupied territoriesIntifada years
⁵ — = no figure: the suicide table starts in 1994. Pre-2001 totals: killed 852 (1971–2000); suicide attacks 14 and deaths 122 (1994–2000). Source: attacks_1971_2023.csv.
Table: first intifada, occupied territories combined (B'Tselem)
Year
Israeli civilians killed
Israeli security forces killed
Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces
1987*
0
0
22
1988
6
4
289
1989
3
6
285
1990
4
3
125
1991
7
1
91
1992
11
14
134
1993
27
18
154
1994
11
12
106
1995
7
9
42
1996
3
19
69
1997
4
0
18
1998
8
3
21
1999
1
2
8
2000*
2
0
12
Total
94
91
1,376
* 1987 = 9–31 Dec; 2000 = 1 Jan–28 Sep. Totals: 94 Israeli civilians, 91 Israeli security forces, 1,376 Palestinians. Not West Bank-only, so these figures are kept out of the West Bank series. Source: B'Tselem.
7 · Data and sources
The numbers behind the charts
Main series, 2001–2023
Year
Gaza rockets + mortars
Suicide attacks
Suicide deaths
Killed, all origins
2001
4
21
109
207
2002
35
36
196
457
2003
155
22
141
213
2004
281
11
68
124
2005
179
7
24
53
2006
974
3
15
29
2007
783
1
3
13
2008
2,084
1
1
36
2009
158
0
0
6
2010
103
0
0
10
2011
375
0
0
21
2012
1,632
0
0
9
2013
39
0
0
7
2014
4,225
0
0
24
2015
24
0
0
36
2016
15
0
0
16
2017
29
0
0
13
2018
1,119
0
0
14
2019
1,295
0
0
9
2020
133
0
0
2
2021
4,425
0
0
17
2022
1,115¹
—⁴
—⁴
33
2023
7,540²
—⁴
—⁴
1,481³
Total
26,722
102
557
2,830
Pre-2001 data (1971–2000) is in the Before 2001 section.
West Bank, 2001–2023
Year
Israelis killed (WB)
Civilians
Forces
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces (WB) · separate
² 2023 rockets 7,540, Gaza only. JVL's by-year figure is 7,581 ("estimate"). Its by-date page includes 34 from Lebanon, 6 from Syria and 1 from Jenin; removing them leaves 7,540. Entries such as "more than 6,000" and "40+" make this a lower bound.
³ 2023 fatalities 1,481: JVL Number of Terrorism Fatalities, which "includes Israelis murdered in Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023". 2022 = 33.
⁴ Suicide attacks and deaths for 2022–2023 have no source figure (shown as —). The JVL / MFA table ends in 2020, and no comparable official count was found. Totals for these columns cover 2001–2021.
These count attacks by armed groups. No public series lists every offence by place of residence. West Bank attacks by method and Israeli injuries are not publicly available as annual series.