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How Did The Current Conflict in Gaza Start? A Timeline of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
At least 1,060 Palestinians and 45 Israelis have been killed in and around Gaza since hostilities intensified in early July. The latest eruption of violence in the region has escalated so rapidly, it’s easy to forget what catalyzed it and why. If you’re confused as to why over 1,000 people have lost their lives, here’s a timeline of the recent events, and how things escalated so quickly this summer.
June 12
Three Israeli teenagers — Gilad Shaar, 16; Naftali Frenkel, 16; and Eyal Yifrach, 19 — go missing while hitchhiking to their homes in the West Bank. It will ultimately be discovered that they were killed shortly after their kidnappings.
Image: Reuters
June 14
In “Operation Brother’s Keeper,” IDF forces sweep into the West Bank in search of the kidnappers. Over the next ten days, between 354 and 500 Palestinians will be detained, including many members of Hamas, and at least four will be killed in clashes with IDF forces.
June 15
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly blames Hamas for the kidnappings.
June 20
A Palestinian teenager is killed by IDF forces in the West Bank; the IDF claims it used live ammunition on him only after he threw a firebomb at them.
June 23
Hamas leadership says it doesn’t have “any information” on the kidnappings, but doesn’t directly deny involvement. It endorses the abductions regardless, “because our prisoners must be freed from the prisons of occupation.”
June 26
Two members of Hamas are named as suspects in the kidnappings by the Israeli Security Agency.
June 29
The number of missiles launched into Israel by Hamas members in Gaza since the beginning of the year reaches 200, including 100 in June alone.
June 30
The bodies of the three teens are found, fatally shot and buried under a pile of rocks around 15 miles from where they were last seen. IDF forces blow up the homes of the suspects.
July 2
A Palestinian teenager, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, is kidnapped and burned alive in East Jerusalem in what’s suspected to be a revenge killing. Netanyahu condemns the “reprehensible murder” and launches an investigation.
July 3
Tarek Abu Khdeir, the 15-year-old Palestinian-American cousin of Muhammad, is brutally beaten by Israeli police in East Jerusalem while on vacation from Florida. Police say they were arresting him in connection with an earlier protest that turned violent and that he resisted arrest; Tarek denied both partaking in the protest and resisting arrest.
July 4
Hamas fires 25 rockets at Israel from Gaza. It also says that the Egyptian government, a traditional mediator in the region, is attempting to broker a cease-fire between the two sides and prevent a possible invasion.
July 6
Six Israelis are arrested in Muhammad Abu Khdeir’s murder. One confesses and implicates the others.
July 7
Hamas significantly steps up its rocket attacks on Israel, firing roughly 154 rockets in one day. Shortly thereafter, Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza.
July 8
Five Hamas members attempt to cross the Israeli border. All are killed in a subsequent firefight with the IDF.
July 16
The Israeli government sends a text message to 100,000 Gazans, telling them to evacuate their homes.
July 15
Egypt proposes a cease-fire. Israel agrees to it, but Hamas says it wasn’t consulted on the details beforehand and rejects it.
July 17
Israeli ground troops invade Gaza, ostensibly to destroy underground tunnels used by Hamas for smuggling. Over the next three weeks, over 1,000 Palestinians — the vast majority of them civilians — almost 50 Israelis, and one Thai worker in Israel will lose their lives in the fighting.
July 21
As over 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers are killed in the bloodiest single day of fighting yet, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Egypt in another attempt to broker a seven-day cease-fire.
July 27-28
The United Nations proposes a 24-hour cease-fire, which is accepted by Israel but not Hamas. After Israel resumes its military operations, Hamas reverses course and accepts the cease-fire; however, at this point, Israel rejects it.
