Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Yahoo News

Israel-Hamas war 1 year later: Key moments that have defined the conflict after Oct. 7 massacre

Monday marks the first anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel. Fears of a wider Middle East war are growing.

Katie MatherReporter
Updated
6 min read
Fire and smoke engulf Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike
Fire and smoke engulf Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike, Oct. 7, 2023. (Fatima Shbair/AP)
Generate Key Takeaways

Today marks one year since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1,100 people and taking hundreds more hostage. The event spurred the start of the Israel-Hamas War, which has killed tens of thousands of people, caused mass civilian casualties and destroyed critical infrastructure.

While Egypt and Qatar have brokered several ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in the last year, nothing has come to fruition to end the war.

Over the last year, more than 41,000 Palestinians — including over 16,000 children — have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, as reported by Human Rights Watch. More than 10,000 Palestinians are considered missing. In the West Bank, at least 723 Palestinians have been killed. At least 127 journalists and media workers have been killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Advertisement
Advertisement

In Israel, more than 1,100 people have been killed. Of the more than 250 hostages taken, at least 105 were freed during a temporary ceasefire, and at least eight have been rescued alive by Israel Defense Forces. Israel reported 97 hostages remain in Gaza as of September, including 33 who are believed to be dead.

Below are the key events since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Oct. 7, 2023: Hamas launches an attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah — the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust. Over 1,100 people are killed and about 250 are taken hostage.

Palestinians celebrate as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen on Oct. 7, 2023. (Yasser Qudih/Reuters)
Palestinians celebrate as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen on Oct. 7, 2023. (Yasser Qudih/Reuters)

Oct. 8, 2023: Israel declares war against Hamas. A counterattack by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, one of two Palestinian territories, kills more than 400 people, including 78 children.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Oct. 9, 2023: Israel orders a complete siege of Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but still had a land, air and sea blockade set since 2007. Days later, Israel warns residents in northern Gaza to evacuate.

Oct. 20, 2023: An American mother and daughter who were taken hostage by Hamas are released to IDF.

Oct. 27, 2023: Israel launches ground invasion into Palestinian territory. The United Nations General Assembly votes for a resolution, calling for an immediate truce — the U.S. votes against it.

Nov. 6, 2023: Gaza health ministry says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the first month of the war.

A Palestinian child sits next to bodies of those killed in an Israeli bombardment on Nov. 6, 2023
A Palestinian child sits next to bodies of those killed in an Israeli bombardment on Nov. 6, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

Nov. 24, 2023: Israel and Hamas call a temporary ceasefire to exchange hostages and prisoners. Hamas releases more than 100 Israeli hostages and Israel releases 240 Palestinians being held as prisoners. The truce only lasts for one week.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dec. 4, 2023: Israeli forces push into southern Gaza, claiming that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is credited with planning the Oct. 7 attack, is hiding in the area.

Dec. 22, 2023: More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local officials.

Dec. 28, 2023: The U.N. condemns the “rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied West Bank.”

Jan. 26: The U.N. International Court of Justice orders Israel to do more to prevent more Palestinian civilians from being harmed or killed in Gaza.

ICJ President Joan Donoghue, center, with ICJ judges
The International Court of Justice said Israel should do everything it could to prevent any acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip. (Remko de Waal/AFP)

Feb. 23: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releases postwar plans, which include Israel having indefinite military control of Gaza and the southern border.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Feb. 29: More than 30,000 Palestinians were reported killed.

April 1: Seven humanitarian aid workers with World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, are killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike.

April-May: Columbia University initiates a national wave of student protests on college campuses throughout the U.S.

Officers of the Metropolitan Police Department pepper spray demonstrators at George Washington University
Police officers pepper spray demonstrators at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., May 8. (Sage Russell/AP)

May 7: The Israeli army launches a ground attack in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, where a majority of Gazan citizens have relocated to find shelter. The Rafah Crossing, which connects Gaza and Egypt, is one of the few border areas not controlled by Israel and allows for aid to come into the territory.

Advertisement
Advertisement

June 8: At least four Israeli hostages are rescued.

July 24: Netanyahu addresses Congress, pledging a “total victory” against Hamas. During his U.S. trip, Netanyahu meets with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

President Biden with Benjamin Netanyahu
President Biden with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 25. (Demetrius Freeman/Getty Images)

Aug. 6: Israel announces that the remains of the last missing person from the Oct. 7 attacks have been found.

Aug. 13: The U.S. approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel.

Aug. 15: More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Aug. 18: Hamas rejects the newest U.S. proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, saying, “Netanyahu is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, and is setting new conditions and demands with the aim of undermining the mediators' efforts and prolonging the war.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Aug. 20: Protesters advocating for a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians, are arrested outside of the Democratic National Convention.

Aug. 27: Israeli forces rescue a 52-year-old hostage from Hamas.

Aug. 31: At least six Israeli hostages are found dead in a tunnel under Rafah, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

Sept. 30: Israel invades Lebanon targeting the terrorist group Hezbollah, making it Israel’s sixth invasion of Lebanon in 50 years. Hezbollah claims it was attacking Israel on behalf of the people in Gaza. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are groups backed by Iran with the common goal of eliminating Israel. Both organizations have been designated as terrorist groups by the U.S.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Oct. 4: Israel launches its deadliest airstrike attack on the West Bank, another Palestinian territory, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Palestinians examine the damage following an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem
Palestinians examine the damage following an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Oct. 4. (Nasser Nasser/AP)
Advertisement
Advertisement