So long as Israel is occupying(*) Gaza and the West Bank, war has never stopped. There are truces, but there is no peace. So war did not “start” on Oct 7 2023. It just continued in a new phase. It also didn’t “end” last week. We have a ceasefire, not peace.

See my other comment: Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) is occupied. Entry and exit are controlled by Israel. Citizens living in those areas are required to register with Israeli authorities to have papers. Their freedoms are curtailed by Israeli military law. Their lives are at the mercy of the Israeli military, and Israeli paramilitaries (“settlers”). They are an occupied people, not some free country attacking their neighbour.