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Two years ago today, Palestinian resistance group Hamas launched a surprise operation against Israel. In response, Tel Aviv announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, and launched a military campaign which has since decimated the Palestinian enclave and claimed more than 65,000 lives.
Here is a timeline of key events in the conflict over the past two years.
October 2023
Palestinian group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood inside Israel, combining gunmen breaching security barriers and a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza at dawn during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, killing 1,163 people and taking more than 240 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Two days later, Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip. “We are putting a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement.
Israel’s military also launched a series of air raids on Gaza as Gallant warned Hamas it made a “grave mistake”.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Subsequently, Lebanon’s fighter group Hezbollah also began cross-border shelling attacks against Israel that would continue throughout the conflict, drawing Israeli counter-strikes.
November 2023
After 47 days of continuous bombardment, heavy fighting and a crippling siege, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce.
Under the deal, 50 women, children and teenagers under the age of 19 taken hostage by Hamas could be freed in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers in Israeli detention. The deal included agreement to allow more emergency aid and fuel into the Palestinian territory.
Israel said it was willing to extend the pause beyond the four-day period, adding a day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas, Al Jazeera reported.
Eventually, the ceasefire was extended for a total of one week, resulting in the release of 105 hostages and approximately 240 Palestinian detainees. However, the ceasefire collapsed on Dec 1, leading to a resumption of hostilities.
December 2023
A New York Times investigation showed Israel routinely used “one of its biggest and most destructive bombs in areas it designated safe for civilians”.
The video investigation focused on the “use of 2,000-pound bombs in an area of southern Gaza where Israel had ordered civilians to move for safety”.
“While bombs of that size are used by several Western militaries, munitions experts say they are almost never dropped by US forces in densely populated areas anymore,” the report stated.
According to the report, in response to questions about the bomb’s use in south Gaza, an Israeli military spokesman said in a statement to that Israel’s priority was destroying Hamas and “questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage”.
January 2024
On January 29, 2024, six-year-old Hind Rajab was killed in Gaza City alongside five relatives after an Israeli tank targeted their family car near a roundabout in the city’s Tal al-Hawa suburb. Two medics, dispatched to look for them, were also found dead.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Hind had placed a desperate, hours-long phone call from the car, trapped with the bodies of her family.
Hind’s story gained prominence when a phone recording of what’s now understood to be her and her family’s final moments went viral on social media and drew widespread condemnation as she became one of most high profile victims of the conflict.
A docudrama by French-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania about Hind’s story also won the Silver Lion prize at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.
Hind’s death also came the same month that deaths in Gaza crossed the 25,000 mark.
February 2024
After weeks of diplomacy led by the United States and mediated by Qatar and Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected a Hamas counter-offer for a ceasefire in Gaza on Feb 7. “Delusional” was the word he used to describe the terms of the offer.
In the following months, Washington and other mediators pushed hard for a ceasefire, one in time for the start of Ramazan.
But a deadlock persisted as Hamas said it would agree to a truce and release of hostages only if the proposal ended with an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel, on the other hand, maintained that it would not pull out until the Palestinian group was eradicated.
The same month, Israel also raided Nasser Hospital. Israel claimed the raid was based on information that Hamas fighters were hiding and had kept hostages in the facility, claims which the group termed as “lies”.
Further, at least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 wounded after Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds waiting for food aid southwest of Gaza City. Palestinian authorities said the incident took place on al-Rashid Street at the Nabulsi Roundabout on the southwestern side of Gaza City.
As Israeli military action continued in Gaza, the US — for the third time since Oct 7 — exercised its veto power to block an Arab resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
March 2024
Israel’s military spokesman said Hamas deputy military commander Marwan Issa was killed earlier in March 2024 in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. However, a senior Hamas official said that the group’s political bureau did not receive evidence regarding the death of Issa. Hamas only confirmed his death months after the airstrike.
Also in March, the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramazan, an unconditional release of prisoners, and urgent expansion of aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave. The decision came after last-minute discussions within the council successfully avoided another potential veto. The draft resolution was passed, because the US did not use its veto and abstained.
However, deadly fighting raged on in Gaza as hopes of a ceasefire before the holy month of Ramazan were dashed. As Ramazan began, US President Joe Biden pledged international efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave and committed to working tirelessly for an immediate six-week ceasefire. The UN chief, on the other hand, urged all parties to “honour the spirit of Ramazan by silencing the guns”.
April 2024
A two-week Israeli assault on Al Shifa hospital complex, Gaza’s largest medical facility, ended on April 1. Israel claimed to have killed hundreds of fighters and arrested just as many. However, the medical staff at Al Shifa and Hamas denied allegations that fighters were present at the facility, adding that several civilians were killed while medics and patients were rounded up.
Separately, an Israeli attack in northern Gaza killed three sons of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh as Israel continued its bombardment of the besieged enclave on Eidul Fitr. In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Haniyeh confirmed the killing of his children Hazem, Amir and Mohammad along with a number of his grandchildren.
During the month, Israel also struck a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy and killed seven aid workers — citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland as well as Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada — of the charity, drawing a global outcry. According to a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel had targeted the convoy travelling on a “pre-approved route” three times.
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council demanded a halt in all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of “genocide” in its aggression in Gaza.
May 2024
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on Israel to end its operation in Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza. Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel to withdraw from the enclave, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.
At the same time, the death toll from Israel’s military offensive crossed 35,000 as Israel’s forces pushed further into north and south corners of the besieged enclave.
Meanwhile, in a joint declaration, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called upon the global powers to help stop the genocide being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people by implementing an immediate ceasefire and ensure an urgent supply of aid to Gaza.
During this month, Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognised the Palestinian state, a move that was slammed by Israel as a “reward” for Hamas.
June 2024
The United Nations’ first in-depth investigation into events since October 7, 2023, concluded that Israeli authorities were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity during military operations in Gaza. In its report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel also found that Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes in Israel.
Also in June, the United Nations Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan.
July 2024
At least 12 people were killed and 30 others wounded in a rocket attack on a football pitch in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to Israeli authorities. Israel’s military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of carrying out the strike, but the group denied any involvement.
The following day, Israel said it launched a series of airstrikes across Lebanon, blaming Hezbollah for the attack. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the incident as crossing a “red line,” raising fears of wider regional escalation.
Later that month, Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran, according to a statement from the Hamas, which blamed Israel for his killing. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after the building where they were staying was struck, the statement said.
August 2024
Hamas named Yahya Sinwar as Haniyeh’s successor. Meanwhile, Iran stated that it did not seek to increase Middle East tensions, adding that its response to Haniyeh’s killing would be “definite and calculated”
September 2024
At least nine people were killed and about 2,750 wounded by exploding handheld pagers across Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah blamed Israel for the spree of pager blasts, saying it will get “its fair punishment”, Al Jazeera reported, citing a statement released by the Iran-backed group. But there was no comment from the Israeli military.
During this time, Yemen’s Houthis attacked central Israel with a hypersonic ballistic missile. While Israel’s military claimed the missile fell in an open area and nobody was hurt, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Houthi rebels will pay a “heavy price” for the strike.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asserted that the kingdom would not establish ties with Israel until a Palestinian state was created.
October 2024
Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on the first day of the month in retaliation to the latter’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon and the killing of its chief and that of Hamas. Reports said between 150 and 200 missiles had been fired in the attack. Israel vowed to retaliate with an army spokesman saying it would respond at the time and place of its choosing.
As the Israeli army intensified shelling of northern Gaza and closed roads, preventing the delivery of aid, the death toll crossed the 43,000 mark. During this time, the US also warned Israel to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation or face potential restrictions on military aid.
Israeli forces also killed Hamas political and military leader Yahya Sinwar in the Palestinian enclave. Western leaders said his death offered an opportunity for the war to end, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would go on.
November 2024
The UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, together with a former Hamas commander, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Judges on the ICC said there were reasonable grounds that the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for the alleged crimes committed from at least October 8, 2023 until at least May 20, 2024 — the day the prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest — the Court said in a press release.
During this time, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France.
December 2024
A report by international human rights organisation Amnesty International said there is “sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip”.
Titled ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, the report documented how, during its military offensive launched in “the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.”
A separate report by the Human Rights Watch stated that Israel was committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians.
“Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately obstructed Palestinians’ access to the adequate amount of water required for survival in the Gaza Strip,” the report said.
The UN General Assembly also called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and pushed for the creation of a Palestinian state, convening an international conference in June to try to jump-start a two-state solution. In a resolution passed by a 157-8 vote, with the United States and Israel among those voting ‘no’ and seven abstentions, the Assembly expressed “unwavering support, in accordance with international law, for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine”.
Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing unnamed soldiers serving in Gaza, described indiscriminate killings of Palestinian civilians in the territory’s Netzarim Corridor, prompting a firm rejection on Friday from the Israeli military.
January 2025
Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and came just ahead of the January 20 inauguration of Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Israel said it would cease all contact with the UN’s Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and any other body acting on its behalf, after repeatedly accusing the organisation of undermining its security.
February 2025
US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court and its staff, saying “the ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant”.
Dozens of countries expressed “unwavering support” for the ICC following the development. “We reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality and integrity of the ICC,” a group of almost 80 countries had said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Trump — in a shock announcement — said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians were resettled elsewhere. He also shared a video which showed AI-generated renditions of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sipping cocktails in swimsuits by a pool, while other shots showed Elon Musk dancing under a shower of cash on the beach.
March 2025
After two months of relative calm, Israel resumed its offensive, killing more than 400 people in overnight attacks and launching air raids as US President Trump fully supported the deadly operations in the Palestinian enclave.
Arab leaders also adopted an Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza that would cost $53 billion and avoid resettling Palestinians, in contrast to Trump’s “Middle East Riviera” vision. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said that the proposal had been accepted at the closing of a summit in Cairo.
Meanwhile, a United Nations investigation concluded that Israel carried out “genocidal” acts in Gaza through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities.
The UN Commission of Inquiry said Israel had “intentionally attacked and destroyed” the Palestinian territory’s main fertility centre, and had simultaneously imposed a siege and blocked aid including medication for ensuring safe pregnancies, deliveries and neonatal care.
April 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the military was “dissecting” the Gaza Strip and seizing territory to pressure Hamas into freeing prisoners still held in the territory. Israel begun seizing the area it called the Morag Axis, in southern Gaza on April 2, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee Rafah that borders Egypt to the south.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the remains of 15 people, including a UN worker and medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), were found in a mass grave, prompting outrage and condemnation. According to the Guardian, some of the bodies were found with their hands or legs tied and had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to two witnesses.
May 2025
The ICJ concluded public hearings into what Israel’s obligations are regarding allowing United Nations agencies and other relief groups to work in the Palestinian territory it occupies.
During this time, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that it would “take control” of the whole of Gaza. As Israel ramped up its military offensive, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said “Palestinians in Gaza were enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict” after dozens of community kitchens in Gaza shut their doors due to a lack of supplies.
The starvation in Gaza also came into sharper focus as the UN called Gaza “the hungriest place on Earth” and warned that the Palestinian territory’s entire population was now at risk of famine. The World Food Programme also said that more than 70,000 children in Gaza were facing acute levels of malnutrition.
June 2025
Due to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a British-flagged yacht, Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set off for the Palestinian enclave with the mission of delivering a symbolic amount of aid. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was also onboard the ship, however, Israeli naval forces boarded and seized the charity vessel.
Israel also carried out attacks on Gazans lining up at aid distribution centres as Hamas accused Tel Aviv of “employing hunger as a weapon of war and turning aid distribution sites into traps of mass deaths of innocent civilians.”
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urging nations to take “all measures necessary” to place pressure on Israel as the death toll in the Palestinian territory crossed 56,000.
July 2025
A coalition of countries announced at a meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota that they will pursue accountability for Israeli abuses in Gaza, including by preventing the transfer of weapons to Israel. The countries included Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and South Africa.
France said it would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government stated that it was not responsible for a chronic shortage of food in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately creating a crisis.
August 2025
A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups. Israel’s military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.
The other journalists killed included Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal. Also killed were freelance cameraman Momen Aliwa and freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khalidi.
Al Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Separately, US President Trump’s special envoy inspected a US-backed food distribution centre in Gaza, as the UN rights office reported that Israeli forces had killed hundreds of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid.
An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis also found that more than half a million people in Gaza were trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths. Further, a report by the Guardian stated that figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database indicated five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza had been civilians..
September 2025
Israel launched an airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar, expanding its military actions that ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state where Hamas has long had its political base. Qatar, which has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, condemned the attack as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law.
During this time, Britain, Australia and Canada recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy. Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step.
Subsequently, France and Monaco also extended formal recognition to the State of Palestine. “We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” French President Emmanuel Macron said before announcing the diplomatic move. Portugal also later formally recognised the State of Palestine.
At the same time, US President Trump met Muslim leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to present his plan to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA at United Nations Headquarters, brought together leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem said in a report that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip.
October 2025
US President Trump, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, presented a 20-point peace proposal for Gaza that would end the conflict and require the return of all hostages living and dead within 72 hours of a ceasefire.
Subsequently, the eight countries which met Trump on the sidelines of the UNGA to discuss Gaza “welcomed the role of the American president and his sincere efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza”. However, it then emerged that the deal seen by these eight countries and the plan presented by Trump were different.
For its part, Hamas stated that it agrees to the peace plan proposals in part, but has not responded to several key demands — including its disarmament and not having any future role in the governance of Gaza.
Header image: Smoke rises from an explosion in Gaza, as people attend a memorial to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. — Reuters
