Here are some key moments from Endless Conflict:
++Hamas attack++
In the early hours of October 7, 2023, about a thousand Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel and carried out massacres in border towns and at a music festival.
The attack left 1,139 dead on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to official Israeli statistics. Hamas took 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip, where 97 were held, 33 of whom were killed, the military said.
Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
++ “War on Hamas” ++
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was “at war” with Hamas, hours after the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack began, with the extent of the damage still unknown.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not in an operation, not a round of fighting, this is a war, we are at war and we will win it,” he said in a video shared on his social networks.
On the same day, Israel launched airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, causing around 230 deaths, while Palestinian militants fired more than 3,000 rockets.
Hundreds of Gaza fighters and Israeli forces continued to fight at more than 20 points in Israeli territory.
++Ground Attack++
The Israeli military announced on October 27 that it was expanding ground operations in the Gaza Strip. In response, Hamas called for “immediate action” internationally to end Israeli attacks on Gaza in a statement.
Netanyahu warned that the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip would be “long and difficult” but declared that the army would “destroy the enemy on the ground and underground”.
++Seven Day Ceasefire++
On November 24, a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began. The deal allowed for the release of 80 Israeli or dual-citizen prisoners in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
25 foreigners or dual nationals were also released, mainly Thai agricultural workers.
The ceasefire allowed more humanitarian aid convoys to enter Egypt, though still insufficient, according to the UN.
Fighting resumed on December 1, and four days later, the Israeli army sent tanks south of the Gaza Strip on December 4, where it intensified airstrikes and ground fighting.
++International Judicial Decisions++
On January 26, the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, decided to impose provisional measures against Israel under the Genocide Convention following a request by South Africa: Nicaragua, Belgium, Colombia, Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Maldives, Mexico, Ireland, Chile, Palestine. and Spain.
Karim Khan, a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, requested arrest warrants on May 20 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ then-political leader Ismail Haniyeh (now deceased).
Arrest warrants were also issued for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohamed al-Masri, and the head of the Hamas political office on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
++ Difficulties in providing and distributing aid ++
On February 29, Israeli gunfire killed 120 people during a humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza City, according to Hamas. Israel said a hungry mob attacked the convoy and soldiers “fired with precision on several suspects”.
Seven employees of the North American non-governmental organization World Central Kitchen were killed in an attack in Gaza on April 1, in what the Israeli military admitted was “a serious mistake”.
The UN, Red Cross and other international organizations have complained that Israel makes it difficult for trucks with food and medicine to enter, even though Gaza’s entire population (about 2.2 million people) relies on humanitarian aid. In May, the United Nations indicated that truck traffic had dropped by 67% – before the attack, about 500 trucks a day entered the enclave.
++ Tension in the region ++
Fears of territorial expansion grew on April 13 when Iran launched an unprecedented attack with drones and missiles against Israeli territory in response to an April 1 attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
The attack in the Syrian capital killed at least 14 people, including “two senior combat commanders and top military advisers in Syria.”
On April 19, explosions were heard in central Iran, which Israel did not claim responsibility for, without directly blaming it.
++ Activities in the South ++
Beginning May 7, the Israeli military conducted what it described as “targeted” raids in the area east of Rafah, after weeks of anticipation and calls from the international community against the move. Israel later took control of a border crossing with Egypt, blocking a critical route for humanitarian aid.
On the night of May 26-27, an Israeli attack caused a fire at a displaced persons camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 people, according to Gaza officials. The army said it had hit two Hamas officers.
In July, the Israeli military attacked five schools housing displaced people over an eight-day period, killing several dozen people, according to sources in Gaza, including Hamas. According to Hamas, 70 people were killed in the July 22 operation.
++ Clashes with Hamas allies ++
Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched nearly a hundred drone and missile attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, disrupting global maritime trade in this strategic area. Iran’s allies say the rebels are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
On July 19, they claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person. The next day, Israel bombed Yemen’s strategic port of Hodeidah, killing six people, according to the rebels.
On the other hand, along the Israeli-Lebanese border, exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah have been almost daily since October and intensified in July.
On July 27, 12 young men were killed in a rocket attack in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Syrian Golan Heights, mostly attributed to Israel. Hezbollah has denied responsibility, blamed by Israel.
On the 30th, an Israeli retaliatory strike killed Lebanese Hezbollah military chief Fuad Chogr near Beirut.
++Death of Hamas leader++
On July 31, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. Israel was blamed for the attack.
A week later, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza and mastermind of the October 7 attacks, was named the new political leader of the Palestinian Islamic Movement.
++ Recognition of Palestine ++
On May 28, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized the State of Palestine. On June 4, Slovenia recognized Palestine.
Palestine is recognized as a state — in this case, as a sovereign state — by 144 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or nearly three-quarters of the states. The Portuguese government said it was a matter of permanent assessment.
Palestine has been a non-member observer state at the United Nations General Assembly since 2012, but on May 9, the body approved by a large majority a resolution guaranteeing new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and asking the Security Council to reconsider. As the 194th member state of the UN, it is seeking full membership. Portugal voted in favor of the proposal.
++ Escalation in Lebanon and Iran’s response ++
After 11 months of daily firefights between Israeli troops and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, the conflict escalated, with Israel hitting the Iranian-backed group with a series of devastating attacks, dealing a severe blow to its military infrastructure and leaving it deeply exposed. Failures of the Secret Services.
Between September 17 and 18, explosives hidden in the group’s pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands in Lebanon, many of them Hezbollah members.
Israel then launched a campaign of attacks, mainly in southern and eastern Lebanon, residential areas where the group has a strong presence, killing hundreds and displacing tens of thousands.
On September 28, Israel announced the death of Hassan Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for 32 years, and was succeeded by Vice President Naim Kasem on an interim basis.
After anticipating what Iran’s reaction would be, Tehran fired 200 missiles at Israel on the night of October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which is pro-Iranian, is led by Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general.
The Israel Defense Forces said most of the missiles were intercepted with US support, and Washington pledged to cooperate with Tel Aviv in responding to Tehran. The attack increases the fear that the conflict will spread.
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