Displaced Palestinians return to central Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 19 after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas movement took effect. AFP
Displaced Palestinians return to central Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 19 after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas movement took effect. AFP

Israel’s war on Gaza: A timeline of major events



Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Israel launched a war in the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. After 15 months of fighting, a ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, halting Israel's air and ground campaign that killed more than 46,800 Palestinians.

The impact of the war in Gaza was not limited to the enclave and Israel - it sent shockwaves across the region as Israeli forces fought on several fronts against other Iran-backed groups allied to Hamas.

Here are important moments in the conflict:

October 7, 2023: Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel and carried out an attack that shocked Israeli society. More than 1,200 people, including soldiers, were killed and 251 others were kidnapped and taken captive in Gaza. Ninety-four hostages still remain in Gaza, with three set to be released on Sunday. The Israeli army says 34 are believed to be dead.

Retaliatory Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip began, marking the beginning of a devastating military campaign.

October 8, 2023: Lebanon's Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel, saying it entered the war in support of Palestinians in Gaza, sparking concerns of a new front.

Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq begin launching drones towards Israel on October 17 in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

October 19, 2023: US warships intercept missiles and drones launched by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen towards Israel. The Houthis begin stepping up attacks against Israel and on targets claimed to be Israeli-affiliated in the Red Sea, threatening shipping lanes and global trade.

October 27, 2023: After besieging the Gaza Strip and displacing the vast majority of the population from the north to the south, Israel begins its ground offensive.

November 15, 2023: Israeli forces enter Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical centre, laying siege to the building and killing a number of people. Officials and the hospital's director at the time told The National they had prepared a mass grave for 179 people, including babies.

Within weeks, all hospitals in the Gaza Strip will have been attacked.

November 24, 2023: A week-long truce comes into effect and involves the release of 105 hostages, including Thai workers, in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. But the war soon resumes on December 1, with attacks expanding into southern Gaza.

January 26, 2024: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza.

February 29, 2024: At least 120 people are killed and hundreds are injured when Israeli forces fire on civilians queuing for aid, in one of the deadliest incidents of the war.

March 7, 2024: Following increasing political pressure over famine in Gaza and the lack of aid, US President Joe Biden announces a pier will be set up in the Mediterranean Sea to deliver supplies. Lasting until July, the pier will be dogged by controversy.

April 1, 2024: The Iranian embassy in Damascus is hit by a suspected Israeli strike that kills military officers, including a senior general.

Seven aid workers from the US charity, World Central Kitchen, are killed in strike Israel calls a "tragic mistake."

April 13, 2024: In its first-ever direct attack on Israel, Iran launches a barrage of drones and missiles at the country in retaliation for the strike on its diplomatic mission in Syria.

May 6, 2024: Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire proposal but Israel said it did not agree to the proposed text - which would essentially form the framework of the current truce deal.

July 20, 2024: Israel begins attack on Yemen, bombing the port of Hodeidah in response to a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.

July 31, 2024: Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed while on a visit to Iran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. In December, Israel's defence minister acknowledges for the first time that it was behind the killing.

August 1, 2024: The Israeli military says it killed Hamas's military chief, Mohammed Deif, in an air strikes on July 13 in Al Mawasi. Hamas does not confirm nor deny his death.

August 23, 2024: World Health Organisation confirms first case of poliovirus in Gaza in 25 years after a baby is paralysed.

September 27, 2024: Israel escalates its air strikes in Lebanon and kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in southern Beirut, days after hundreds of sabotaged pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group explode, killing 39 and wounding thousands.

Days later, Israel begins its invasion of Lebanon.

October 1, 2024: Iran fires a barrage of missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and Haniyeh.

October 5, 2024: Israel begins its siege on northern Gaza, focused on Jabalia refugee camp, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia. The relentless attacks in the area continue until the latest ceasefire, emptying the north of people while infrastructure is razed to the ground.

October 16, 2024: Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, in Rafah.

October 26, 2024: Israeli air strikes target military targets in Iran in response to the October 1 missile attack.

November 21, 2024: In a landmark ruling, the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of defence Yoav Gallant, as well as Mohammed Deif of Hamas, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ruling comes days after a United Nations Special Committee says Israel's war in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of "genocide."

November 27, 2024: Israel and Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon where the war has killed more than 4,000 people since October, 2023. The fragile truce is breached several times, with both sides blaming each other.

An offensive by rebels in Syria leads to the ousting of Iran-allied president Bashar Al Assad in December, with Israel then conducting numerous strikes on military sites. Israeli troops also enter the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights.

January 15, 2025: Negotiators reach a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt. The truce comes into effect on January 19, on the eve of the inauguration of incoming US President Donald Trump who warned there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if a deal is not reached.

Updated: January 20, 2025, 5:45 AM