How the Israel-Hamas conflict has been raging for years

“We are at war,” declared Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday after the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack, launching thousands of rockers as well as infiltrating the heavily fortified border by air, land and sea, catching the country off-guard. As fighting continues, Israel’s emergency services said that at least 22 people have died, while Reuters reported that at least another 545 people have been injured. Social media and news channels have been broadcasting images of the destruction and damage, as the gun battle continues and reports state that at least 2,500 rockets have been fired at last count. There are also reports of Israelis being taken hostages, but there’s no confirmation on that yet. Along with Netanyahu, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas has “made a grave mistake”, declaring that the “state of Israel will win this war”. **Also read: Israel is at ‘war’: How conflict with Gaza escalated after Hamas attack** The unprecedented attack and gunfire has evoked strong reactions from across the world, with a host of European leaders formally condemning Hamas’ attack against Israel. The fighting is rooted in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and comes after Israel and Hamas have fought several wars in the past decade-and-a-half. August 2005: Israeli forces unilaterally withdraw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in the Middle East war, abandoning settlements and leaving the enclave under the control of the Palestinian Authority. 25 January, 2006: The Islamist group Hamas wins a majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election. Israel and the US cut off aid to Palestinians because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognise Israel. 25 June, 2006: Hamas militants capture Israeli army conscript Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid from Gaza, prompting Israeli air strikes and incursions. Shalit is finally freed more than five years later in a prisoner exchange. [caption id=“attachment_13216682” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People react on the road, in the aftermath of rocket barrages that were launched from Gaza, in Ashkelon, Israel. Reuters[/caption] 14 June, 2007: Hamas takes over Gaza in a brief civil war, ousting Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank. 27 December, 2008: Israel launches a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are reported killed before a ceasefire is agreed. 14 November, 2012: Israel kills Hamas’s military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari. Eight days of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli air strikes follow. July-August 2014: The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas leads to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis are reported dead, 67 of them military. March 2018: Palestinian protests begin at Gaza’s fenced border with Israel. Israeli troops open fire to keep protestors back. More than 170 Palestinians are reported killed in several months of protests, which also prompt fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces. [caption id=“attachment_13216702” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A woman stands in a damaged room after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel. Reuters[/caption] May 2021: After weeks of tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, hundreds of Palestinians are wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site. After demanding Israel withdraw security forces from the compound, Hamas unleashes a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel hits back with air strikes on Gaza. Fighting goes on for 11 days, killing at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel. August 2022: At least 44 people, including 15 children, are killed in three days of violence that begin when Israeli air strikes hit a senior Islamic Jihad commander. Israel says the strikes were a pre-emptive operation against an imminent attack by the Iranian-backed militant movement, targeting commanders and arms depots. In response, Islamic Jihad fires more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel. Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system prevents any serious damage or casualties. January 2023: Islamic Jihad in Gaza fires two rockets towards Israel after Israeli troops raid a refugee camp and kill seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians. The rockets set off alarms in Israeli communities near the border but cause no casualties. Israel responds with air strikes on Gaza. October 2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip, with a surprise assault combining gunmen crossing the border with a heavy barrage of rockets. Islamic Jihad says its fighters have joined the attack. Israel’s military said it was on a war footing, adding it had carried out strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza and had called up reservists. With inputs from Reuters