10 key moments in the Israel-Hamas war
On October 7, Palestinian militants launched an attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government responded to the worst attack in the country's history with a devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip, ruled by armed group Hamas, that has killed 34,151 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry.
Following the resignation on Monday of Israel's military intelligence chief after taking responsibility for failures leading to the Hamas attack, AFP looks back at key moments in the nearly 200-day-long war.
- Oct 7: Hamas attacks -
At dawn on October 7, at the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrate Israel from Gaza by land, sea and air.
They kill civilians in the streets, in their homes and at a desert music festival, and attack troops in army bases.
They bring around 250 hostages back to Gaza, some of them now dead.
Israel vows to destroy Hamas and begins bombing Gaza.
More than six months later, on April 22, the army announces that military intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva has resigned, becoming the first top Israeli official to step down for failing to prevent the attack.
- Oct 13: north Gaza exodus -
On October 13, Israel calls on civilians in northern Gaza to move south within 24 hours, declaring the north, which includes Gaza City, a war zone.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee to the south of the Gaza Strip as entire districts in the north are razed to the ground.
- Oct 27: tanks enter Gaza -
On October 27, Israeli tanks roll into Gaza at the start of a ground offensive.
The troops fight their way towards Gaza City.
- Nov 15: hospital raid -
On November 15, Israeli troops launch a night-time raid on Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza's biggest medical facility where bodies had been piling up after food, fuel and anaesthetics ran out.
The raid causes an international outcry.
Israel claims Hamas is running a command centre below the hospital, which the armed group denies.
In March, Israel again targets the hospital in an intensive two-week operation that leaves hundreds dead, according to Israel and Gaza's civil defence agency, and the complex in ruins.
- Nov 24: truce and hostage swap -
On November 24, a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas negotiated in talks mediated by Qatar goes into effect.
Hamas releases 80 Israeli hostages over seven days in return for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Twenty-five other hostages, mainly Thai farm workers, are released outside of the deal.
Israel allows more aid into Gaza during the pause but the humanitarian situation in the besieged territory remains dire.
When the war resumes, Israel expands its actions into southern Gaza.
- Jan 12: strikes on Houthis -
On January 12, the United States and Britain launch air strikes on targets in rebel-held Yemen after weeks of attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The strikes add to fears of a regional war.
- Jan 26: call to prevent 'genocide' -
In an interim ruling on January 26 in a case brought by South Africa, the International Court of Justice finds it "plausible" that Israel's acts could amount to "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza.
The world's top court orders Israel to do "everything" to prevent any acts of genocide but stops short of ordering a halt to the war.
- Feb 29: deadly food stampede -
On February 29, Israeli forces open fire on desperate residents of northern Gaza who rush towards a convoy of food aid trucks, saying they believed they "posed a threat".
Gaza's health ministry says 115 people were shot dead and hundreds wounded in what it calls a "massacre".
The Israeli military says most of the victims were trampled or run over by the trucks.
- Apr 2: aid workers killed -
On April 2, seven aid workers from the US charity World Central Kitchen, six of them foreigners, are killed in an Israeli strike when leaving a warehouse in Gaza.
The killings of the humanitarians draws global condemnation, including from U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Israeli military fires two officers over what it claims was a "tragic mistake" and Netanyahu sends envoys to new truce talks in Cairo.
- Apr 13: Iran attacks Israel -
In its first direct assault on Israel, Iran launches more than 300 drones and missiles at the country on April 13. The Israeli military says nearly all were intercepted.
The unprecedented attack, in retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike on Iran's Damascus consulate, heightens fears of wider conflict.
It follows months of violence across the region involving Iranian proxies and Hamas allies.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/304742 |