After the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out the worst attack in Israeli history on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The air and ground operation has killed at least 46,707 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
LIVE: Qatar PM confirms Israel-Hamas ceasefire, hostage deal
Here is a roundup of key moments in the war.
Hamas attacks
At dawn on October 7, hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrate Israel. They kill civilians in the streets, in their homes and at a desert music festival, as well as attack troops in army bases. They seize 251 hostages and take them back to Gaza. Currently 94 are still held there, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The attacks result in the deaths of more than 1,200 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to destroy Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union and Israel.
Ground offensive
Israel begins bombing and besieging Gaza. On October 13, it calls on civilians in northern Gaza to move south.
The vast majority of Gazans have been displaced during the war, according to the UN.
On October 27, Israel launches a ground offensive.
Truce and hostage swap
On November 24, a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas goes into effect. Hamas releases 105 hostages in return for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. When the war resumes, Israel expands its actions into southern Gaza.
Deadly food stampede
On February 29, 2024 Israeli forces fire on residents of northern Gaza who rush towards a convoy of food aid trucks, killing 120 people and wounding hundreds.
From early March several countries, including the United States, drop aid over Gaza which the United Nations says faces famine.
On April 1, seven aid workers from the US charity World Central Kitchen are killed in an Israeli strike, which the military says was a “tragic mistake”.
Iran attacks Israel
On April 13, Iran pounds Israel with drones and missiles in retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike on its Damascus consulate, blamed on Israel. On July 20, Israel bombards Yemen’s port of Hodeida, after a drone attack on Tel Aviv by Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have been attacking shipping in the Gulf since November 2023 in solidarity with Gaza.
Hamas political leader killed
At the Israeli-Lebanon border, almost daily exchanges of gunfire since October 2023 between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, intensify in July. Israel retaliates with several strikes, including one that kills Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander.
On July 31, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in a strike in Iran. Israel accepts responsibility months later.
Spill over into Lebanon
On September 17 and 18, hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah explode in an Israeli operation. It kills 39 and wounds thousands, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israel steps up its air campaign in Lebanon and on September 27 kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a suburb of Beirut.
Days later, Israel launches a ground offensive in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah strongholds while carrying out heavy bombing across the country.
Iran launches a barrage of 200 missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and Haniyeh.
New Hamas chief killed
On October 16, new Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, accused by Israel of masterminding the October 7, 2023 attack, is killed during an Israeli operation in southern Gaza.
On the 26, Israel carries out airstrikes on military targets in Iran in response to its October 1 missile attack.
On November 14, a UN Committee says Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of “genocide”. Israel accuses the UN of bias.
The International Criminal Court on November 21 issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, who the Israeli military says it killed in Gaza.
Lebanon truce
A truce comes into force on November 27, after two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah which has left more than 4,000 dead on the Lebanese side since October 2023, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
This fragile truce is breached on several occasions with both sides trading blame.
Both sides accuse the other of breaching the fragile truce.
Since the ousting of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has also conducted hundreds of strikes on Syria’s military sites, which they say are to prevent the country’s weapons from falling into the hands of the interim government.
It has also seized the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Since late 2024 Yemen’s Huthi rebels have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Israel which responds with new attacks on Yemen.
New truce
After days of intense diplomatic efforts in Doha, mediator Qatar says on January 15, 2024 that Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza starting on January 19 and an exchange of hostages and prisoners, in a move hailed by world leaders.
Published – January 16, 2025 05:15 am IST
