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Israel-Gaza war: A timeline of key events since the October 7 attacks
The latest violence threatens to renew full-scale warfare between Israel and Hamas that erupted when Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023
- PUBLISHED: Tue 18 Mar 2025, 5:28 PM
Israel hit Gaza with heavy airstrikes on Tuesday, shattering nearly two months of ceasefire without formally declaring an end to a January truce agreement with Hamas.
The violence threatens to renew full-scale warfare between Israel and Hamas that erupted when Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
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Israel responded with a military campaign in which more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza medical officials. Thousands more are feared buried and uncounted under the rubble.
Here is a timeline of the war:
October 7, 2023: Hamas-led gunmen storm into southern Israel from Gaza and rampage through communities. Retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza begin along with a total siege.
October 8: Lebanon's Hezbollah fires on Israel, saying its attacks aim to support Palestinians in Gaza, leading to sustained hostilities.
October 13: Israel tells residents of Gaza City to move south, beginning a process that will uproot nearly the entire Gaza Strip population.
October 19: A US Navy warship intercepts missiles and drones launched from Yemen towards Israel. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis continue attacks on Israel and against Red Sea shipping.
October 21: Aid trucks are allowed through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza, where food, water, medicines and fuel are running out. Over coming months, the humanitarian crisis worsens with aid groups and Western governments saying Israel must do more to let in aid.
October 27: Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza.
November 15: Israeli troops enter Gaza's biggest hospital, Al Shifa, after a siege of several days. Within weeks, all hospitals serving northern Gaza will cease to function.
November 21: Israel and Hamas announce a seven-day truce and release of around half the hostages, but war resumes on December 1.
December 4: Israeli forces launch their first big ground assault in southern Gaza towards Khan Younis city.
From January 1, 2024: Israel signals it will start withdrawing from northern parts of Gaza, but months later it is again fighting militants there.
January 26: The International Court of Justice in The Hague orders Israel to prevent genocide.
February 29: More than 100 Gazans are killed queuing for aid in the presence of Israeli troops who opened fire in one of the deadliest incidents of the war.
April 1: Iran's embassy compound in Damascus is hit by a suspected Israeli airstrike that kills several military officers. Tehran responds two weeks later by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel.
May 6: Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire proposal but Israel said it had not agreed to that text. Israel tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah after its forces take control of a buffer zone along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
June 23: Netanyahu says the phase of intense fighting against Hamas is coming to an end but that the war will not finish until Hamas no longer controls the enclave. Bouts of fighting continue across Gaza for months more.
June 25: The global hunger monitor, the IPC, says Gaza remains at high risk of famine.
July 2: Israel announces new evacuation orders for the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
July 27: A Hezbollah rocket kills 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, prompting Israel to vow retaliation.
August 1: Israel's military says it killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas' military chief, in an airstrike on July 13. Hamas neither confirmed nor denied Deif's death. Palestinian officials said the strike killed 90 people.
August 23: World Health Organisation says a first confirmed case of polio in Gaza for 25 years has paralysed a baby.
September 17: Israel detonates thousands of booby-trapped pager communications devices used by Hezbollah in Lebanon, injuring hundreds of its members.
September 28: An Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
October 5: Israeli forces launch operation in northern Gaza focused on Jabalia refugee camp and Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya towns. The push continues into 2025. Much of the surrounding area is cleared of people and razed.
October 16: Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a shootout in Rafah.
November 21: International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former defence chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas' Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
November 27: Israel and Hezbollah agree a ceasefire in Lebanon. On the same day rebels in Syria launch an offensive that will quickly topple President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Hezbollah and Iran.
December 2: US President-elect Donald Trump says there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages in Gaza are not freed before his January 20 inauguration. Using similar language, he reiterates the demand on December 16 and January 7.
January 15: Negotiators reach a deal for a Gaza ceasefire after 15 months of conflict. The phased deal will include hostage and prisoner releases while delaying talks on Gaza's future to a next stage of the truce.
January 19: Hamas frees a first batch of hostages as ceasefire deal comes into effect. Hamas fighters parade the hostages during their release in a show of strength.
February 10: Hamas threatens to stop hostage releases as both sides accuse each other of ceasefire breaches.
March 1: First phase of ceasefire expires without agreement on a second phase. Israel says first phase should be extended with further hostage releases. Hamas says original deal should be continued, with second-phase talks. Israel cuts off Gaza aid as a pressure tactic.
March 18: Israel says it will use force to free remaining hostages in Gaza and resumes intense airstrikes on Gaza that Palestinian health authorities say kill hundreds.