One year after the October 7 attacks, war continues to rage between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Despite efforts to reach a diplomatic solution, the fighting has now expanded into neighbouring Lebanon. FRANCE 24 looks back on the timeline of this unprecedented escalation in the Middle East.
The fighting began one year ago today. On October 7, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to at least 1,189 deaths and the abduction of 251 people, including 44 seized from the Nova trance music festival and at least 74 from the Kibbutz Nir Oz community, according to Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 41,802 people as of October 4, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Now, the war has spilled over into neighbouring Lebanon, with Israeli troops locked in violent clashes with Hezbollah fighters in the nation’s south. FRANCE 24 looks back at the key dates of this conflict.
October 7, 2023
At 6:29am, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launches the “Al-Aqsa Flood” offensive – named after Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-most sacred site in Islam. Some 5,000 rockets are fired at southern Israel during Shabbat as the country celebrates the final day of the Sukkot religious festival.
The group, which Israel, the US and the EU classify as a terrorist organisation, also sends dozens of armed commandos across Gaza's security fence who kidnap, torture and kill without regard to age or sex. According to Israeli figures, 1,189 people are killed. Another 251 are taken hostage from the kibbutzim communities bordering the Strip, as well as from the Tribe of Nova trance music festival. Speaking to a shocked nation, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declares that the country is at war.
Read moreIn pictures: Scenes of war and chaos after Hamas launch surprise attack on Israel
October 8, 2023
Israel launches “Operation Swords of Iron,” unleashing intense bombardments across the Gaza Strip. Almost 300,000 reservists are mobilised in just 48 hours.
October 9, 2023
Israel begins the “complete siege” of Gaza. The coastal enclave, home to some 2 million Palestinians, has already been under Israeli blockade since 2007 following Hamas’s rise to power in the Strip.
Read more‘We survived by playing dead’: Hamas attack turned Israeli rave into nightmare
October 13, 2023
The Israeli military gives the population of the northern half of the Gaza Strip – more than a million people in total – 24 hours to evacuate their homes. Although some flee south, others refuse to go.
October 17, 2023
A massive blast hits Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. The Gazan health ministry puts the death toll at 471 people, with US intelligence sources suggesting a number between 100 and 300. Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad accuse Israel of being behind the lethal strike, which Israel denies. A number of international media outlets suggest that the strike could be the result of a misfired rocket from within Gaza.
Read moreWhat we know about the deadly Gaza hospital blast
October 19, 2023
The Houthi movement in Yemen, a member of the “axis of resistance” – a political and military network backed by Iran that also includes Hamas – launches drones and missiles at Israel, as well as targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what it says is solidarity with the people of Gaza. This marks the start of sporadic attacks that will continue through the next year of the conflict.
October 21, 2023
The first trucks carrying humanitarian aid are allowed to pass through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to carry urgently needed fuel, food and medicine to the Palestinians.
Read moreHamas airs video of French-Israeli hostage: 'No mother wants to be in my place, believe me'
October 27, 2023
The Israeli army launches its ground offensive in Gaza. The massive bombardments that have shaken the enclave since October 8 have not been enough to weaken Hamas, which has built a sprawling network of tunnels beneath the Strip. The group will continue to use this “Gaza metro” to move throughout the territory beyond the reach of Israeli bombs, as well as to transport arms and hostages.
Read moreThe Gaza tunnel network: A tactical advantage for Hamas
November 15, 2023
Israel lays siege to Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, accusing Hamas of using the complex as a military command post. The entire hospital, which shelters hundreds of Palestinians who have fled the fighting, is completely evacuated by Israeli forces three days later. Other hospitals will also be targeted by the Israeli military in the weeks and months to come.
November 24-December 1, 2023
The first truce is declared between Israel and Hamas. The temporary pause in fighting allows 105 Israeli, dual-national and foreign hostages – mainly women and children – to be released in exchange for the freeing of 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Humanitarian aid is also allowed to reach the Gaza Strip, where more than 10,000 people have already been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. After seven days, each side accuses the other of breaking the agreement. Fighting breaks out soon after.
Read moreYoung French-Israeli hostages suffering 'psychological shock' after captivity
December 5, 2023
The Israeli army launches a massive ground offensive around the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge. Israel calls on the people sheltering in the city to head further south to Rafah near the Egyptian border.
December 15, 2023
Three Israeli hostages who managed to escape their captors are shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighbourhood while carrying a white flag. The blunder sparks a furious response from the families of those still held hostage in Gaza, who call on the Israeli government to reach a new deal with Hamas.
December 22, 2023
The UN Security Council adopts a resolution calling for more humanitarian aid to be brought into the Gaza Strip. The death toll has now reached more than 20,000, according to the Hamas-run enclave’s health ministry.
January 2, 2024
Saleh al-Arouri, the number two figure in Hamas’s political bureau, is killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon.
January 4, 2024
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant presents his blueprint for what he refers to as “the day after”. The proposal states that “Hamas will not control Gaza”, nor will there be an “Israeli civilian presence” in the Strip. Gallant speaks about Palestinian “entities” who could be responsible for the management of the Gaza Strip, without giving details.
Read moreCan the Palestinian Authority lead a post-Hamas Gaza Strip?
January 11, 2024
An international coalition led by the US launches a series of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen in response to the pro-Palestinian group’s repeated attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea.
January 23, 2024
The UN estimates for the first time that the risk of famine in the Gaza Strip is “imminent”.
January 26, 2024
The International Court of Justice, responding to a case brought before it by South Africa, orders Israel to take all possible measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza. The same day, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) dismisses a handful of employees accused by Israel of having been involved in the October 7 attacks. Following the lead of the US, a number of donor countries suspend their funding of the agency. All except the US will later resume their funding.
Read moreAs donors suspend critical funding to UNRWA, allegations against staff remain murky
February 29, 2024
The day of what becomes known as the “flour massacre”. At least 118 Palestinians are killed and another 760 wounded during the distribution of basic foodstuffs in Gaza City. Hamas accuses Israel of having opened fire on the crowd. The Israeli army responds that while it had carried out what it called “limited shootings” of people it claimed had been looting, it maintained that the victims had been killed in the crush. The death toll in Gaza has reached 30,000, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
March 12, 2024
A ship leaves Cyprus with 200 tonnes of rations to feed the starving Gazans, the holy month of Ramadan having begun two days earlier. With the land routes into Gaza blocked by Israel, aid can only reach the enclave by sea and air.
March 25, 2024
The UN Security Council adopts a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The US, who has until now used their right to veto on several occasions to block similar resolutions, abstains. The text remains a dead letter.
April 1, 2024
An Israeli strike kills seven staff members at the US NGO World Central Kitchen, which was distributing food with the military’s express authorisation. In the face of international outrage, an investigation is opened in Israel that will claim the deaths of the seven humanitarian workers was a “grave mistake”.
The same day, an air strike widely attributed to Israel hits the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing seven Revolutionary Guard members. General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of the Al-Quds forces in Syria and Lebanon, is among those killed.
April 13, 2024
Tehran responds to the attack on its consulate in Syria by firing more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel – the first time the Islamic Republic has launched a direct attack on Israeli soil. Most of the missiles are shot down with the help of the US and other allies in the region, having been given advance notice of the impending attack from the Iranian government.
Read moreHow Israel could respond to Iran’s drone and missile assault
April 19, 2024
Explosions are reported in Isfahan in the heart of Iran. The city hosts several military sites, including ballistic missiles and infrastructure central to Iran’s nuclear programme. It is broadly seen as a measured response to Iran’s largely symbolic attack several days earlier.
April 30, 2024
Police forcibly remove pro-Palestinian demonstrators that had barricaded themselves in a building in New York’s Columbia University, arresting dozens of people. The next morning, police in Los Angeles move in turn against protesters in UCLA. The wave of peaceful demonstrations protesting against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has been widespread across the US’s universities.
Read morePro-Palestinian protests sweep US universities, targeting financial ties with Israel
May 5, 2024
Binyamin Netanyahu’s government shuts down the offices of Qatari news channel Al Jazeera in Israel.
May 7, 2024
Israel launches its ground offensive of Rafah and seizes control of the border crossing with Egypt, having called on the population to evacuate the area. The operation will expand in the days to come.
May 22, 2024
Ireland, Norway and Spain recognise the State of Palestine.
May 29, 2024
Israel announces having seized control of the so-called Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone stretching some 14 kilometres along the Egyptian border of the Gaza Strip.
May 31, 2024
US President Joe Biden calls on Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal supported by the UN Security Council. The agreement would establish an initial six-week ceasefire accompanied by a withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip and a further exchange of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal’s second phase would signal the permanent end of fighting between the two sides, the freeing of all the hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. The third phase would outline the reconstruction of the devastated enclave.
June 6, 2024
The Israeli army targets a UNRWA school converted into a shelter for displaced people in Nuseirat, claiming it is sheltering Hamas commandos involved in the October 7 attacks. At least 37 people are killed. Two days later, four hostages are freed by the Israeli military in the broader Nuseirat refugee camp.
June 11, 2024
Hamas calls for a “complete halt" to war in the Gaza Strip as a condition of the group’s acceptance of the ceasefire proposal backed by the US president. Netanyahu reaffirms his determination to destroy Hamas and free all the hostages.
July 13, 2024
Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, is killed in an Israeli air strike near Khan Younis. Deif, who was considered by Israel to have been the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks, had been hunted by Israel for more than 30 years.
Read moreMohammed Deif, the elusive architect of Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel
July 27, 2024
A rocket fired from Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria kills 12 people and wounds 19 more in the town of Majdal Shams. The victims, aged between 10 and 20 years old, are largely members of the Druze religious minority. It’s the worst attack against Israeli civilians since October 7. Israel accuses Lebanon’s Hezbollah of being behind the attack, which the Iran-backed group denies.
July 30, 2024
Fuad Shukr is killed in an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, largely controlled by the Shiite Hezbollah group. The right hand of Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, Shukr is believed to have played a crucial role in the armed group’s attacks against Israeli targets from southern Lebanon – including, Israel maintains, the deadly attack against Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.
Read moreAll-out war? Lebanon reels as Israel takes on Hezbollah
July 31, 2024
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, is killed in an explosion in Tehran after having attended the swearing-in of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The bombing is widely seen as having been carried out by Israel, who neither confirms nor denies involvement.
August 10, 2024
An Israeli strike on the Al-Tabi’een school, which was sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, kills at least 93 people and wounds dozens more. The Israeli army maintains that the school was being used as a command centre by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and claims to have killed “at least 19 terrorists”.
August 15, 2024
The death toll in Gaza passes 40,000, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. A number of specialists stress that this figure is likely a dramatic underestimate of the true human cost of Israel’s campaign, as the figure does not take into account the thousands of people still missing or believed to be buried under rubble.
August 25, 2024
Hezbollah launches a significant attack on Israel employing drones and hundreds of rockets. The group says the attack is retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.
Read moreWhat the operation to blow up Hezbollah’s pagers tells us about Israel’s spy agencies
September 17-18 September, 2024
Over two days, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies believed to belong to members of Hezbollah explode in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least 37 people – including multiple children – and wounding thousands more.
Israel announces a new objective in the war: allowing some 60,000 Israelis in the country’s north who had fled the ongoing clashes with Hezbollah to return to their homes near the Lebanese border.
September 22, 2024
Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire. The next day, Israel calls on people living in southern Lebanon to leave ahead of a fresh wave of Israeli strikes.
September 28, 2024
Israel launches an unprecedented raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut, destroying at least six residential buildings and causing mass panic across the capital. Hassan Nasrallah, who led the Shiite group for more than three decades, is killed in the strikes. His death is confirmed by Hezbollah the next day.
Read moreHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dead at 64, led a clandestine life on the run
September 30, 2024
Hezbollah second-in-command Naim Qassem says in a televised speech that Nasrallah’s successor will be chosen at “the first opportunity”. Israel announces that it has launched what it describes as a “limited” ground operation in the south of Lebanon.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
