Israeli bombardments have flattened much of Gaza.
Survivors have been driven from their homes and stalked by disease and starvation.
The conflict has reverberated across the region.
Iran and its ally Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel in support of Hamas. The Houthis in Yemen targeted shipping through the Red Sea.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon to confront Hezbollah, killed senior Iranian officials and scientists, attacked Iran’s nuclear programme and launched airstrikes on Yemen and Syria.
Here’s a timeline of the major moments in Israel’s evolving military footprint in Gaza.
1) October 7, 2023: Hamas attacks Israel
Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launches a surprise assault on southern Israel, firing thousands of missiles and sending in fighters on paragliders, in trucks and on foot. They attack military posts, kibbutzim, and a music festival.
Israel says around 1200 people were killed, two-thirds of them civilians, and 251 more, some already dead, were taken hostage. The Israel Defence Forces respond with retaliatory airstrikes on the enclave.
2) October 2023: Israel orders siege and ground invasion
Within days, Israel orders a “complete siege” of Gaza. The enclave, home to more than two million Palestinians, has already been under a blockade for 16 years.
Now, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says, “no electricity, no food, no fuel” will be allowed to enter.
Israel calls up 360,000 reservists. The military gives more than a million people in northern Gaza 24 hours to evacuate southward. Hundreds of thousands heed the warning; others refuse to leave.
In late October, Israel launches a ground invasion. The Biden Administration in the United States had warned that a full-scale assault could cause heavy civilian casualties.
By November 2, troops are “surrounding” Gaza City from “a number of different angles”, Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi reports.
3) November 24, 2023: The first ceasefire
Israel and Hamas agree to pause fighting.
Hamas releases more than 100 Israeli hostages. Israel releases 240 Palestinian prisoners and allows more aid into Gaza.
After a week, the ceasefire breaks down and fighting resumes. Each side blames the other.
4) December 2023: War resumes
On December 4, Israeli forces push south toward Khan Younis. Earlier, the IDF had encouraged civilians to go to the city for safety.
Israel’s actions across Gaza would come to follow a pattern: order mass evacuations, launch an offensive, withdraw, and in many instances return weeks or months later.
That’s the case in northern Gaza.
In January 2024, the Israeli Army announces it has “completed the dismantling” of Hamas’ command structure, and in May says it has finished its mission in the refugee camp of Jabalya.
But in June, the military again orders Palestinians to leave Gaza City, which is in the north, and later launches a punishing new offensive in Jabalya.
Israel withdraws most of its troops from southern Gaza in April 2024, even as it prepares for an offensive in the southern city of Rafah.
In July, the military again orders Palestinians to leave parts of Khan Younis and later directs the evacuation of an area it had designated a safe zone.
In early 2024, Netanyahu outlines his vision for post-war Gaza: Israel will maintain indefinite military control of Gaza and assume greater control of the enclave’s border with Egypt.
He leaves open the possibility of Palestinian Authority officials playing a role.
In June, he says the “intense phase of the war will come to an end very soon” but cautions that this “does not mean that the war will be over”.
By late 2024, visual analysis and interviews show Israel is demolishing northern Gaza and fortifying military positions there.
The following month, the IDF confirms it is creating a buffer zone inside Gaza.
5) January 2025 ceasefire
Israel and Hamas agree to the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal in mid-January. Negotiators say the goal is a three-stage peace process.
Over 42 days, Hamas releases 33 Israeli and dual-national hostages, while Israel frees about 1800 Palestinian prisoners and detainees and agrees to increase aid into Gaza.
Israel also allows Palestinians to return to the north, scene of some of the worst fighting and destruction.
The first phase of the ceasefire ends in early March, with no agreement on how to proceed.
Israel then blocks the entry of all aid into Gaza and breaks the ceasefire by launching large-scale airstrikes on the enclave.
The fate of the small number of hostages still believed to be alive there is uncertain.
6) Israel launches new ground operation in Gaza
In May, the military announces new ground operations.
The IDF will “increase control over the Gaza Strip by dividing the territory and moving the population”, it says.
The war continues. In July, Israel for the first time pushes into parts of Deir al-Balah, the only Gazan city to have been spared major ground operations or widespread devastation.
On Friday, Israel announces Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City, the first step in a phased military takeover of the enclave.
