Six months of despair, desolation and death: A timeline of key events in Israel’s war on Gaza

Recording the death and destruction of the past six months can last a lifetime and will still not be enough.
Published April 7, 2024

Today marks six months to Oct 7, the day Hamas fighters launched the deadliest attack on Israel in its history. It is again time to count the losses. They begin with the dead; over 33,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis. The toll in Gaza is likely to change within just a few hours as Israel continues its unyielding bombing of the enclave.

The tally of suffering does not end here though. It must include the pain of orphaned children, maimed Palestinians and grieving mothers who lost their newborns to hunger. It must also account for the pain of the 134 Israelis held hostage for the past six months.

Recording all this agony could last a lifetime and would still not be enough. But any accounting for the past six months still needs to go wider.

Here, Dawn.com presents a timeline of all the major events that have taken place during this period.

Unprecedented events of Oct 7

In an unprecedented move, Palestinian group Hamas stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct 7, killing 1,163 people and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

Thus, began a long and fierce Israeli military campaign, which has as of April 6 killed more than 33,091 and wounded 75,750 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The very next day of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is at “war”, called up thousands of military reservists, and retaliatory airstrikes on densely populated Gaza began, along with a total siege of the coastal enclave, which is squeezed between Israel and Egypt, Reuters reported.

Hezbollah joins conflict

The following day, Lebanon’s fighter group Hezbollah began cross-border shelling attacks against Israel that would continue throughout the conflict, drawing Israeli counter-strikes.

Hezbollah said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms “in solidarity” with the Palestinian people, according to Reuters.

“Our history, our guns and our rockets are with you,” said senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine at an event in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh on Beirut’s outskirts in solidarity with the Palestinian fighters.

Israel’s total blockade on Gaza

Two days later, Israel imposed a “total blockade” on the Gaza Strip, declaring that no electricity, food, water, or fuel would be permitted into the territory. Meanwhile, its military intensified airstrikes on Gaza, indicating preparations for a potential ground invasion.

The ‘beheaded children’

On Oct 12, the White House retracted President Joe Biden’s statement claiming that he had seen images of beheaded children following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel, Al Jazeera reported.

The reversal came after Biden, during a meeting with Jewish leaders at the White House, mentioned seeing “pictures of terrorists beheading children”.

“I have been doing this a long time, I never really thought that I would see … have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children,” said Biden, who described Saturday’s attack as the “deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust”.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks, following a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, during a press conference in Nantucket, Massachusetts, US, November 26, 2023. — Reuters
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks, following a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, during a press conference in Nantucket, Massachusetts, US, November 26, 2023. — Reuters

The claims gained traction after Nicole Zedeck, a reporter with the Tel Aviv-based news channel i24NEWS, stated during a live broadcast that she had spoken to Israeli soldiers who had witnessed decapitated babies.

In response to inquiries from The Washington Post, a White House spokesperson said that the president’s remarks were based on news reports and assertions from the Israeli government.

“A White House spokesperson later clarified that US officials and the president had not personally seen pictures or verified such reports independently,” The Post reported.

‘Move south’

A few days later on Oct 13, Israel instructed residents of Gaza City, home to over one million of the enclave’s 2.3 million inhabitants, to evacuate and move southwards “within 24 hours”.

Palestinians flee their houses, heading toward the southern part of Gaza Strip after Israel’s call for more than 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to move south within 24 hours, in Gaza City October 13. — Reuters
Palestinians flee their houses, heading toward the southern part of Gaza Strip after Israel’s call for more than 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to move south within 24 hours, in Gaza City October 13. — Reuters

In subsequent weeks, Israel pressed for the evacuation of the entire northern region. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans fled their homes, initiating a displacement process that swiftly uprooted nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip. Families were forced to flee multiple times as Israeli forces advanced.

The first (of many) hospitals bombed

On Oct 17, an explosion at Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza City triggered outrage across the globe. Gaza’s health ministry spokesman said an Israeli air strike killed hundreds of people at a hospital in the Palestinian enclave, but Israel said a Palestinian barrage had caused the blast, a claim later backed by the US.

 A man inspects the area of Al-Ahli hospital where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other, and where Palestinians who fled their homes were sheltering in Gaza City, October 18. — Reuters
A man inspects the area of Al-Ahli hospital where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other, and where Palestinians who fled their homes were sheltering in Gaza City, October 18. — Reuters

The death toll was by far the highest of any single incident in Gaza at the time, triggering protests in the occupied West Bank, Istanbul and Amman.

The Palestinian Authority’s health minister, Mai Alkaila, accused Israel of “a massacre” at the hospital. The strike occurred during Israel’s intense 11-day bombing campaign in Gaza.

In light of the blast, US President Joe Biden’s planned summit with Arab leaders the following day was called off. While in Israel, Biden reiterated its right to defend itself but also told Israelis not to be blinded by their anger.

US, UK intercept Houthis’ missiles

A US Navy warship intercepted missiles and drones launched from Yemen over the Red Sea toward Israel on Oct 19, according to the Pentagon.

Yemen’s Houthi group, in solidarity with Gaza, continued sporadic long-range attacks on Israel and targeted Red Sea shipping.

Israel strikes Orthodox church

A Greek Orthodox church in the Gaza Strip which was sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians was hit overnight by an Israeli air strike on Oct 20, according to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Palestinian health officials said 16 people were killed, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military said a part of the church was damaged in a strike on a militant command centre and it was reviewing the incident.

Palestinian Christians react at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church which was damaged by an Israeli strike, where Palestinians who fled their homes take shelter, in Gaza City on Oct 20, 2023. — Reuters
Palestinian Christians react at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church which was damaged by an Israeli strike, where Palestinians who fled their homes take shelter, in Gaza City on Oct 20, 2023. — Reuters

Palestinian officials said at least 500 Muslims and Christians had taken shelter in the Greek Orthodox Church of St Porphyrius from Israeli bombardments.

The Orthodox Church said in a statement: “The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli air strike that has struck its church compound in the city of Gaza.”

At last, aid trickles into the strip

After days of diplomatic negotiations, on Oct 21, Israel finally permitted aid trucks to pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza. However, the amount allowed was only a fraction of what Gaza desperately needed, as essential supplies like food, water, medicines, and fuel were dwindling. The challenge of ensuring sufficient supplies persisted through the coming months due to Israel’s blockade, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli military said that humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip would go only to southern areas of the enclave, and the shipments would not include fuel.

Trucks carrying aid wait to exit, on the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, October 21. — Reuters
Trucks carrying aid wait to exit, on the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, October 21. — Reuters

Israel launches ground offensive

A week after initiating limited incursions, Israel commenced a comprehensive ground offensive in Gaza on Oct 27. The operation started with an assault on the northern region, with a pledge to free all hostages and eradicate Hamas.

“This is the second stage of the war whose goals are clear to destroy Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and — to bring the hostages home,” Netanyahu told reporters.

“We are only at the start,” he said. “We will destroy the enemy above ground and below ground.”

Family of Al Jazeera journalist killed in Israeli strike

The wife, son and daughter of Wael Al-Dahdouh, one of Al Jazeera’s correspondents in Gaza were killed on Oct 25 in an Israeli air strike that the Gaza health ministry said killed at least 25 people, according to Reuters.

The network said the strike hit the area where Dahdouh’s family had fled to following an Israeli warning as it planned a Gaza ground incursion.

“Their home was targeted in the Nuseirat camp in the centre of Gaza, where they had sought refuge after being displaced by the initial bombardment in their neighbourhood, following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for all civilians to move south,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.

Al Jazeera said other members of Dahdouh’s family were buried under the rubble. The network broadcast live footage of Dahdouh crying as he saw family members laying lifeless at the hospital.

Palestinians trapped inside the strip

On Nov 1, evacuations commenced from Gaza via the Rafah crossing for approximately 7,000 individuals holding foreign passports, dual nationals, their dependents, and individuals in need of urgent medical care. The vast majority of Gaza residents remained trapped in the enclave with no means of escape.

Palestinians with dual citizenship walk at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the hope of getting permission to leave Gaza in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 1, 2023. — Reuters
Palestinians with dual citizenship walk at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the hope of getting permission to leave Gaza in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 1, 2023. — Reuters

After days-long siege, Israeli forces enter Al Shifa hospital

On Nov 15, Israeli troops stormed Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa in Gaza City, following a siege lasting several days. During this period, medical personnel said that patients, including newborns, died due to a lack of electricity and supplies.

Israeli authorities alleged that the hospital had been utilised to conceal an underground headquarters for Hamas fighters, a claim denied by the staff.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the military incursion into the hospital “deeply concerning”.

Subsequently, the military conducted a tour of a tunnel at the site. Within a few weeks, all hospitals serving the northern region of Gaza had ceased operations.

“The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns,” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths wrote on X, adding he was “appalled” by reports of the raids. “Hospitals are not battlegrounds.”

A satellite image shows Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza November 11, 2023. — Maxar Technologies/Reuters
A satellite image shows Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza November 11, 2023. — Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Furthermore, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, “We do not support striking a hospital from the air and we don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get the medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire.”

While Israel said that the “IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas” at the hospital and the intention was not to harm civilians.

Israeli soldiers walk at the Al Shifa hospital complex during what they said was a delivery of humanitarian aid to the facility in Gaza City, in this still image from handout video obtained November 15, 2023. — Reuters
Israeli soldiers walk at the Al Shifa hospital complex during what they said was a delivery of humanitarian aid to the facility in Gaza City, in this still image from handout video obtained November 15, 2023. — Reuters

First temporary truce

On Nov 21, Israel and Hamas declared the first ceasefire of the conflict — facilitated by Qatar — agreeing to halt hostilities for four days. The purpose was to facilitate the exchange of female and child hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian women and teenagers imprisoned by Israel, as well as to allow for increased aid deliveries.

Hamas initially said in a statement it would release 50 women and children in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) worked in Gaza to facilitate the release of hostages, Qatar said.

Hostages are handed over by Hamas to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, in this screengrab taken from video released November 27, 2023. — Reuters
Hostages are handed over by Hamas to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, in this screengrab taken from video released November 27, 2023. — Reuters

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.

People embrace after released Palestinian prisoners are released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 28. — Reuters
People embrace after released Palestinian prisoners are released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 28. — Reuters

Assault in southern Gaza

Around Dec 4, shortly after the ceasefire expired, Israeli forces initiated their first big ground assault in southern Gaza, targeting the outskirts of the main southern city, Khan Younis.

International organisations warned that this escalation, extending the military campaign throughout the entire length of the enclave, including areas already housing hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, would drastically worsen the humanitarian crisis.

A wounded Palestinian lies as he is rushed into Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 4, 2023. — Reuters
A wounded Palestinian lies as he is rushed into Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 4, 2023. — Reuters

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel to avoid further action that would make the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza worse and to spare civilians from more suffering.

“For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Israel’s closest ally, the United States urged it to do more to protect civilians and said the Israeli offensive in the south should not repeat the “massive” civilian toll it has had in the north.

A clear shift of the US’ rhetoric

On Dec 12, President Biden remarked that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza was causing it to lose international support, marking a notable shift in rhetoric from the United States, Israel’s closest ally.

Biden’s remarks, made to donors to his 2024 re-election campaign, were his most critical to date of Netanyahu’s handling of Israel’s invasion in Gaza.

“Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world … But they’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said.

In subsequent weeks, several senior US officials visited Israel, urging the country to take greater measures to protect civilians, de-escalate the conflict, and transition to a more targeted approach against Hamas leaders.

Israel kills three hostages

On Dec 15, Israeli forces killed three hostages in Gaza, claiming it was “by mistake”. This incident sparked significant criticism of the conduct of the conflict within Israel, despite the campaign still having widespread domestic support.

People protest following an announcement by Israel’s military that they had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas, at a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. — Reuters
People protest following an announcement by Israel’s military that they had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas, at a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 15, 2023. — Reuters

A statement from the military said that during an intense battle in Gaza it “identified three Israeli hostages as a threat”. “As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed.”

The military said the hostages were killed during combat with fighters in Gaza and expressed its condolences to the families while saying there would be “full transparency” in the investigation into the incident.

Assault on central Gaza

Around Dec 26, Israeli forces initiated a major ground assault on areas in the central Gaza Strip. This assault followed a series of airstrikes, once again causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee, most of whom were already displaced.

The UN World Health Organisation said its staff had seen tens of thousands of people fleeing heavy strikes in Khan Younis and the Middle Area on foot, on donkeys or in cars. Makeshift shelters were being built along the road, it said.

“WHO is extremely concerned this fresh displacement of people will further strain health facilities in the south, which are already struggling to meet the population’s immense needs,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the West Bank and Gaza, said.

“This forced mass movement of people will also lead to more overcrowding, increased risk of infectious diseases and make it even harder to deliver humanitarian aid.”

First significant pullback of troops

As fireworks to welcome the New Year took off in several cities across the globe, the health ministry in Gaza reported that Israeli forces killed at least 100 Palestinians in the last 24 hours.

The next morning, amid increasing pressure from the US, Tel Aviv announced that it would withdraw thousands of troops from the besieged enclave in the first significant pullback since Oct 7.

The Israeli military, in a statement, said that five brigades or several thousand troops were being taken out of the enclave for training and rest, Al Jazeera reported. While army spokesperson Daniel Hagari did not clarify the decision, he said: “The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting, and we are preparing accordingly.”

Hamas deputy chief killed in Lebanon

Just a day later on January 2, Hamas’ deputy chief Saleh Al Aruri was struck down by a drone in Beirut — the first on the Lebanese capital since the Gaza crisis unfolded. The killing removed a big name from Israel’s most-wanted list.

Even though Israel neither confirmed nor denied a role, the attack came a month after Israeli broadcaster Kan aired a recording of the head of the domestic security agency vowing to hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Turkiye and Qatar even if it took years.

Aruri was buried in Beirut on January 5 in a funeral attended by hundreds of people.

UK, US retaliate to Red Sea attacks

In retaliation against Houthi forces for their attacks on Red Sea shipping, US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of attacks across Yemen in the second week of January.

The Houthis carried out a large number of attacks on what they deem to be Israel-linked shipping in the key international trade route. The group has controlled a major part of Yemen since a civil war erupted there in 2014 and is part of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance” arrayed against Israel.

According to the US Air Forces Central Command, 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations were hit by more than 100 precision-guided munitions. The attacks raised concerns over regional conflagration.

Gaza deaths cross 25,000

By late January, Israeli forces encircled Khan Younis after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave in what it called the largest single-day toll since Oct 7. It was also around this time that the death toll in Gaza breached the 25,000 mark.

It must be noted that Khan Younis was designated as a safe zone for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who evacuated from northern Gaza at the beginning of the Israeli offensive.

As its forces pushed further south, the Israeli military shelled and raided main hospitals — sheltering thousands of Palestinians — in Khan Younis, forcing people to move further towards Rafah, which would eventually go on to shelter over 1.2 million Gazans.

 Displaced Palestinians use a donkey cart for transportation at a camp in Rafah.—AFP
Displaced Palestinians use a donkey cart for transportation at a camp in Rafah.—AFP

‘Prevent acts of genocide,’ World Court tells Israel

On Jan 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, while hearing a case brought by South Africa against Israel, ordered Tel Aviv to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and do more to help civilians.

The judges ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide, punish acts of incitement, take steps to improve the humanitarian situation and report back on its progress in a month. Although the ruling cannot be appealed, the court has no mechanism to enforce its decision.

However, the court did not touch upon the issue of a ceasefire in Gaza, which was requested by South Africa on the basis that “nothing will stop this suffering except an order from this court”.

UN funding halts after Israeli accusations

Just three days after the ICJ ruling, Israel opened a fresh pandora’s box, alleging that some staffers of the UN Palestinian aid agency were involved in the abductions and killing on Oct 7. In a six-page dossier, it claimed that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad fighters.

In response, the UNRWA fired nine of the accused workers and condemned “the abhorrent alleged acts” of staff members. Later in Feb, the UN chief also established an independent body to scrutinise allegations regarding the neutrality of the agency for Palestinians.

However, following the allegations, major Western countries — including the US, Britain, Austria, Japan, Canada, Italy and Finland — froze their funds vital for the UN agency, which is a lifeline for desperate Palestinians in Gaza.

Netanyahu rejects ‘delusional’ Hamas ceasefire offer

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 term 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.

Israel strikes crowded Rafah despite warnings

As truce talks faltered, Israeli officials threatened to attack Rafah, situated near the border with Egypt — a move the US and UN warned would lead to high civilian casualties.

But between Feb 8 and 9, the Israeli military launched several rounds of air strikes and tank shelling on Rafah. Netanyahu and other top officials said they were planning to expand their military offensive in the enclave to include the border town, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3m population was forcibly displaced.

UN chief Antonio Guterres responded to the news by calling it “alarming” and warning that it “would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare”. Meanwhile, all the US had to offer were words of caution.

US passes bill for aid to Israel

On Feb 13, as international pressure mounted on Israel against its offensive in Rafah, the US Senate passed the long-delayed $95bn bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

According to a report by The Guardian, around $14.1bn of the bill was dedicated to Israeli and US military operations in the region. “About $4bn would go to boost Israel’s air defenses, with another $1.2bn for Iron Beam, a laser weapons system designed to intercept and destroy missiles,” it said.

The legislation, on the other hand, allotted just $9.2bn in humanitarian assistance to provide food, water, shelter and medical care to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine and other war zones around the world.

Israel raids Gaza’s largest functioning hospital

Two days later, footage of chaos, shouting and gunfire in dark corridors filled with dust and smoke emerged from Gaza. Israeli forces raided the biggest functioning medical facility, Nasser Hospital, in the enclave.

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”.

But the health ministry in Gaza said that patients and medics were enduring “dire and frightening conditions” after the raid, as thousands of displaced civilians who had sought refuge in its grounds were forced to leave by Israeli troops. More than 460 people, it added, were made to go to an old hospital building “without food, without milk for children, and a severe shortage of water”.

US vetoes yet another call for ceasefire in Gaza

On Feb 20, 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.

The resolution, moved jointly by Algeria and a group of Arab nations, saw 13 votes in favour, one abstention (Britain) and a lone negative vote from the United States.

Justifying the veto, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “Sometimes hard diplomacy takes more time than any of us might like. Any action this council takes should help and not hinder these sensitive ongoing negotiations.”

“We’re at a pivotal and critical moment. Let us commit to doing this the right way at the right time,” stressed Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “That’s why the US is proposing a separate resolution that would work towards a temporary ceasefire based on the formula that all hostages are released,” she said. It would also condemn Hamas, she added.

The flour massacre

On Feb 29, more than 100 Gazans were killed queuing for aid in the presence of Israeli troops who opened fire, in one of the deadliest attacks of the conflict. The incident occurred on al-Rashid Street at the Nabulsi Roundabout on the southwestern side of Gaza City, where food deliveries had been scarce, Al Jazeera reported.

Palestinian authorities said most of the dead were killed with heavy machine guns fired by Israeli forces in a “massacre”. Israel claimed most died in a stampede, and its troops fired only at “looters”, with a source acknowledging that troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it “posed a threat”.

This happened just a day after the World Food Programme informed the United Nations Security Council that more than 500,000 or one in every four people were at risk of famine in Gaza. One in every six children below the age of two were acutely malnourished, WFP added.

The incident was condemned across the globe and prompted Arab countries to push for a statement in the UN Security Council blaming Israeli forces for the killings of civilians. However, the US once again came to Israel’s rescue and blocked the statement.

Hopes for ceasefire before Ramazan dashed

On March 10, heartbreaking images of Gazans praying atop the rubble of a mosque hit by an Israeli air strike just days before came forth. Palestinians entered Ramazan unlike ever before as the world yet again failed them.

Despite talks, the month began with no ceasefire in place. Negotiations continued in Cairo and Doha in the upcoming weeks. Both Israel and Hamas released proposals for a truce of around 40 days but rejected them over intractable differences.

With the commencement of the holy month, 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”.

Worst level of food shortage

On March 18, the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC) global hunger monitor said famine was projected in Gaza by May without an immediate ceasefire and surge of aid.

It described the pervasiveness of food shortages as the worst it had ever witnessed anywhere. More than half of Gaza’s population — far more than the 20pc associated with famine — was already experiencing the worst level of food shortage, category 5 or “catastrophe”, Reuters reported.

However, Israel claimed that the report’s methodology was flawed and denied that there were any food shortages in the enclave. It blamed the persistent hunger on the operation of aid agencies and fighters for hoarding food.

The UN chief called the IPC report an “appalling indictment” and said Israel must allow complete and unfettered aid access across Gaza. It must be noted here that Israel initially allowed aid into the enclave through only two checkpoints on the southern edge. Tel Aviv said it would open further routes by land as well as sea and airdrops.

New assault on Al Shifa Hospital

The day the IPC report was released, Israel launched a fresh assault on the Al Shifa Hospital, where thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter.

Over the next two weeks, the Israeli military claimed to have killed hundreds of fighters and arrested as many. However, the medical staff at Al Shifa and Hamas deny allegations that fighters were present at the facility, adding that several civilians were killed while medics and patients were rounded up.

Palestinians living near Al Shifa reported hellish conditions, including corpses in the streets. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza media office, said Israeli forces had killed 400 Palestinians in and around the hospital including a woman doctor and her son and put the facility out of action. “This is a crime against humanity,” he stressed.

After a two-week siege of Al Shifa, Israeli forces finally left the medical facility on April 1 leaving behind rubble, death and devastation.

Security Council finally ends paralysis on Gaza

After several vetoes, the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution on March 29, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramazan, an unconditional release of prisoners, and urgent expansion of aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” Guterres said promptly after the vote.

The development came as the US did not use its veto and abst­a­ined from the vote. The move did not sit well with ally Israel as Netanyahu’s office said the US had “abandoned” its previous position in which a ceasefire was directly linked to the release of hostages.

Israel bombs World Central Kitchen aid convoy

On April 1, Israel 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.

WCK said they had been travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the charity’s logo and another vehicle. Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli military, the convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse after unloading more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea.

In a report, Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing defence sources familiar with the details, said an Israeli drone fired three missiles “one after the other” at the aid convoy.

Netanyahu said the airstrike in Gaza was unintended and “tragic” as the military pledged an independent inquiry. “This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence,” he said.

While the US said there was no evidence Israel deliberately targeted the aid workers, other countries which have generally been friendly towards Tel Aviv all demanded action to protect aid workers, underscoring Netanyahu’s increasing diplomatic isolation over Gaza.

Subsequently, the Israeli military dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders following an inquiry into the grisly attack.

UN rights body demands halt in arms sales to Israel

On April 5, the UN Human Rights Council demanded a halt in all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of “genocide” in its aggression in Gaza.

In Geneva, the 47-member UNHRC in a resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation noted that Israel was “using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” in the Palestinian enclave.

The council supported a call “to cease the sale, transfer, and diversion of arms, munitions, and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power…to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”.

According to a report by the Washington Post, the US and Germany — two countries that supply almost all imported weapons to Israel — both voted against the nonbinding resolution at the UNHRC.


Header: People walk near tent camps where displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes take shelter in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2023. — Reuters