By Neha Yadav
Published Oct 11, 2023

Hindustan Times
In Focus

Photo Credits: AFP

Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza: A chronology

The Israel and Palestine conflict has escalated since October 7, when the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas launched its biggest assault on Israel by firing a barrage of rockets from Gaza

Israel has been at loggerheads with Hamas on the concept of a two-state nation and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a war on Hamas following the deadly attack

Here's a chronological timeline of the major flare-ups between Israel and Palestine over the years

2005

Israel unilaterally withdrew its forces from Gaza, 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in the Middle East war in 1967. It abandoned the settlements and left the enclave under the control of the Palestinian Authority

2006

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian legislative election and Hamas seized control of Gaza. Israel and the US restricted aid to Palestine

Israel imposed a military blockade on the region limiting the mobility of goods and people in and out of the territory

2007

Hamas took over Gaza in a civil war ousting Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas based in the West Bank

West Bank was home to 3 million Palestinians and more than half a million Jews living in settlements termed "illegal" under International law

2008

Israel launched a 22-day military offensive in Gaza in response to a rocket fire killing more than 1400 Palestinians and at least 13 Israelis 

2009

Both sides declared a unilateral cease-fire and Israel withdrew from Gaza after the attack

2012

Israel killed Hamas's military chief of staff Ahmad Jabari which triggered more than week-long intense conflict resulting in the loss of over 150 Palestinians and at least six Israelis

2014

Hamas kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers which led to a seven-week war resulting in the loss of more than 2,100 Palestinian lives in Gaza and the death of 73 Israelis

2017

The Trump administration in the US recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced its plans to shift the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that led to an outcry from Palestinians

2018

Palestinians protested at the Gaza-Israel border and the Israel military opened fire at the protesters killing at least 170 Palestinians, prompting further tensions between Hamas and Israeli forces

2021

Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This set off a war between Israel and Hamas that led to death of more than 200 Palestinians and over 10 Israelis

2022

A spate of violence against Israelis in the West Bank led to the death of at least 146 Palestinians and the loss of at least 29 Israeli lives

Jan 2023

Israeli troops raided a refugee camp and killed seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians. Palestinian Islamist paramilitary organisation in Gaza fired two rockets toward Israel

Oct 2023

Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip with a heavy barrage of rockets and gunmen crossing the border