Israel’s war on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran: One year since Hamas’s attack, a brief history of events
How the crisis, which began when Hamas attacked Israel, killing over 1,000 people and taking hundreds hostage, has engulfed West Asia
Our Web Desk
Published 07.10.24, 06:57 PM
It’s been 365 days since the Israel-Hamas war started. Here are a few numbers to understand the havoc it has created in West Asia.
Around 45,000 people have been killed, according to various reports. The cost of damage in the war in the first three months was around $18.5 billion; the cost for Israel is estimated to reach $66 billion, or 12 per cent of its GDP, by the end of 2024, according to the Bank of Israel.
The West Asia conflict, which has now spread to Lebanon and has also got Iran involved, has led to the displacement of over 2 million people, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
What led to this catastrophe? How did it start last year? Here’s a timeline of the events, month by month, from October 7, 2023.
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Bodies of victims of an attack following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, lie on the ground in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10, 2023/ REUTERS
October 7, 2023: Hamas strikes Israel
In one of the biggest strikes on Israel, militant group Hamas launches an attack on Southern Israel and kills 1,200 Israelis and takes over 200 hostages.
In response, Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza.
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Smoke and flames billow after Israeli forces struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City, October 7, 2023/ REUTERS
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October 2023: Israel imposes Gaza blockade
Israel imposes sanctions on Gaza, cuts off electricity supply and access to water, food, and fuel.
Israel army launches ground offensive
Israel permits entry of aid workers inside Gaza
US and non-state actors like Yemen’s Houthi rebels get mired in the conflict; US Navy intercepts missiles launched by Houthis from Yemen towards Israel.
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Palestinians holding foreign passports wait for permission to leave Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 3, 2023/ REUTERS
November 2023: Evacuations ordered, hospitals bombed
Israel increases bombing intensity at Gaza’s old neighbourhoods
Rafah border opens for evacuations
Allegations of Israeli bombing hospitals surface, reports says hundreds died because of these bombings
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Members of the media and people gather at Rafah border as Hamas militants are expected to release hostages abducted by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza Strip November 24, 2023/ REUTERS
November 2023: Ceasefire call
A ceasefire is called on November 24, 2023
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Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 26, 2024. REUTERS
December 2023: South Africa takes Israel to international court
Ceasefire concludes on December 1; Israel resumes bombardment
The UN says 76,000 displaced from South Lebanon because of the conflict
South Africa takes Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the country of genocide.
The US vetoes a UN Security Council demand for immediate ceasefire.
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Houthi tribesmen gather to show defiance after U.S. and UK air strikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen February 4, 2024/ REUTERS
January 2024: Houthis attack Israel
The Famine Review Committee reports that there is acute food shortage in Gaza.
Mobile services black out in Gaza for a week
US suspends funding to UNRWA, the UN’s humanitarian arm that serves Palestine, based on reports that 12 of its members are involved in the October 7 attack on Israel.
US, UK launch airstrikes across Yemen to retaliate against Houthi rebels continued attacks on commercial ships on the Red Sea
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Displaced Palestinian girl, who fled her house due to Israeli strikes, feeds her brother at a tent camp, near the border with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 25, 2024/ REUTERS
February 2024: Malnutrition and starvation across Gaza
Food insecurity takes its toll, Gaza health ministry reports six children die out of malnutrition in Gaza.
Israeli troops open fire on Gazans waiting for aid, around a 100 people die
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Palestinians inspect damages at Al Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital and the area around it following a two-week operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City April 1, 2024/ REUTERS
March 2024: Gaza’s largest hospital attacked, UNSC gets involved
UN warns that over 1 million are starving in Gaza as Ramadan begins
Israel bombs Al-Shifa hospital, leading to the death of 300 people.
The UNSC passes a resolution to effect an immediate ceasefire
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People attend a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and to call for the release of hostages kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 27, 2024/ REUTERS
April 2024: Iran gets involved, Israelis demonstrate against Benjamin Netanyahu
Seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen killed in Israeli airstrikes on April 1, Israel admits mistake.
Iran claims an Israeli strike on its embassy at Damascus has led to the death of its seven officers.
Thousands take part in anti-government protests in Israel asking Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire to facilitate hostage release.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the opening ceremony marking Israel's national Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem May 5, 2024/ REUTERS
May 2024: Ceasefire fails, Netanyahu admits ‘tragic mistake’
Talks at Cairo to initiate a ceasefire fail, even though Hamas agrees to demands.
Israel resumes airstrikes, hits tents for displaced people at Rafah; most dead are women and children, according to Hamas.
Netanyahu says it is a “tragic mistake”.
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Noa Argamani, a rescued hostage embraces her father, Yakov Argamani, after the military said that Israeli forces have rescued four hostages alive from the central Gaza Strip, in Ramat Gan, Israel, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on June 8, 2024/ Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
June 2024: Israeli hostages rescued amid bloodbath
Israeli rescues four hostages, calls the operation “heroic”; Gaza residents call the operation scene from a ‘horror movie’.
Israel admits under 100 casualties of the opposing side, Hamas says over 200 killed.
Israel says around 114 hostages still remain in captivity
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Israeli delegation members sit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at the start of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel's attacks on Rafah, as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its offensive against Palestinians in Gaza, in The Hague Netherlands May 17, 2024/ REUTERS
July 2024: ICJ intervenes, Netanyahu reaches out to ally; Hezbollah gets involved
The ICJ calls Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful.
Netanyahu visits the US and meets the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris; Harris says Israel has the right to defend, but “how it does so matters”.
Netanyahu blames Hezbollah for a strike on Golan Heights, Israel assassinates Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Fuasd Shukr, a senior Hezbollah leader, in Beirut.
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People look at the damage at a residential building following a direct-hit from a projectile, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones towards Israel in what the Iranian-backed movement said was a response to the assassination of a senior commander in Beirut last month, in northern Israel August 25, 2024. REUTERS
August 2024: Fresh ceasefire talks, Iran & Hezbollah fume
Fresh peace talks in Qatar fail despite a show of optimism from US President Joe Biden and Iran’s commitment that it will not get involved in the conflict if a ceasefire is worked out.
Israel carries out pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah accusing it of planning attacks
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Mourners carry the coffins of Hezbollah members Fadel Abbas Bazzi and Ahmad Ali Hassan, after hand-held radios and pagers used by armed group Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon, during their funeral in Ghobeiry, Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon September 19, 2024. REUTERS
September 2024: Lebanon pager blasts
12 people are killed in coordinated pager explosions across Lebanon.
Israel is reportedly behind the attacks, targeting pagers used by Hezbollah members.
Israel strikes Beirut, kills Hezbollah’s top leader Hassan Nasrallah
Israel launches ground offensive in Lebanon to target Hezbollah, fears of a wider war grips West Asia
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October 2024: Lebanon bears brunt
Iran launches 200 missiles into Israel; Israel claims no one killed in failed strikes, Iran claims 90% of the strikes are successful
Displacement starts in Lebanon, the UN says shelter homes are full and people are forced to sleep in parks and streets.