Can two simple stories explain it? Israeli tanks and troops have invaded southern Lebanon overnight. War looks more likely than ever. So how did we get to this moment?
Full scale war looms in the Middle East
Fire and fury: Thousands have fled their homes as wars ravage four different nations. They may be thousands of miles apart, but experts argue the wars can be linked. Glossary
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
West Bank - A landlocked territory bordered by Israel, Jordan and the Dead Sea. It is the largest of the Palestinian territories.
Lebanon - A small country on the eastern Mediterranean coast that has been in the grip of an economic crisis for over a year. It has a native population of just 4.7 million, but migrants and refugees have brought its total population up to almost 7 million.
Yemen - The poorest country in the Gulf region is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.
Hezbollah - A militant organisation based in Lebanon, classified in the UK as a terrorist group. It has made direct attacks on Israel and is believed to have been responsible for assassinating Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Houthis - An Islamist rebel group that controls a large part of Yemen. They are allies of Hamas in Gaza.
China - A country in East Asia, home to 1.4 billion people.
Enmity - Feelings of hate.
Arab - Arabia includes the countries on the coast of north Africa (from Morocco in the north-west) and the Arabian peninsula. It does not include Iran, which is in Asia but which is the most significant supporter of Shia Islam.
Saudi Arabia - The second-largest country in the Arab world, with a population of nearly 35 million.
Russia - The largest country in the world by area. It has a population of 144 million people.
Ukraine - A country in Eastern Europe. It was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
Proxies - In warfare, a proxy is a smaller military power that fights or otherwise acts on behalf of a larger one.
Palestinians - People from Palestine, an area located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia.
Colonial - When a region or country is controlled politically by another.
Impunity - Safety from punishment. It derives from a Latin word for penalty.