Escalation in the Middle East: Israel-Hamas war chronology
November 10, 2023
Hamas attack
In the early morning hours of October 7, the Islamist militant group Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, as well as by the US and other states, launched a major attack on Israel. On the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, several thousand rockets were fired at Israeli communities from the Gaza Strip. At the same time, hundreds of heavily armed terrorists made incursions into Israel by land, sea and using motorized paragliders from the air.
Hamas gunmen committed atrocities at a music festival and in a number of communities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, over 1,400 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage and brought to the Gaza Strip.
Israeli launches Operation Iron Swords
Shortly after the Hamas attack, the Israeli army launched "Operation Iron Swords," firing on targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 10,500 people have been killed in the air strikes so far (as of 8.11.23). This figure cannot be independently verified.
On October 9, Israeli forces began to seal off the Gaza Strip, cutting off food, electricity and water supplies to its estimated 2.2 million inhabitants. The Israeli army also regained control of the border area between Gaza and Israel.
On October 13, Israel called on the inhabitants of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Israel on October 15 announced it had restored water supply to the south of the Gaza Strip. On October 17 the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said water was still limited in Gaza and remained a key issue.
National unity government
Deeply divided over domestic politics, Israel established an emergency government of "national unity" on October 11 to oversee the fight against Hamas. Opposition politician and former Chief of the General Staff Benny Gantz joined the government and was nominated as one of the five members of a Cabinet for "crisis management," which also includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Another former Chief of the General Staff — Gadi Eisenkot — and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer hold observer status.
Clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border
Shortly after the Hamas terrorist attack, clashes with the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also broke out on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been caught between the fronts, and several journalists have been killed or injured in the fighting that continues to this day.
Hezbollah threats
On November 3, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened to escalate the conflict in his first speech since the October 7 Hamas attacks. So far, however, clashes on the border between Israel and Lebanon have remained measured.
Hospital explosion
On October 17, an explosion occurred on the grounds of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. The Israeli military said that a misfired rocket launched by the terror group Islamic Jihad in Palestine was responsible. Hamas attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike. US intelligence services later estimated the number of dead to be from "100 to 300," while the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 471 had been killed. Thousands of people in the Arab world took to the streets after the explosion.
Hostages
Hamas released four female hostages between October 20 and 22. On October 30, the Israeli army said they freed one female soldier. At the end of October, Hamas agreed to release all the hostages in exchange for the liberation of several thousand Palestinians who are currently jailed in Israel.
Israeli ground offensive
On October 26, the Israeli army sent tanks into the densely populated Gaza Strip. The next evening, it carried out another raid and started expanding its ground operations in Gaza. Israel reportedly imposed a full internet shutdown in Gaza for over 30 hours as its troops launched the ground operation.
On November 5, the Israeli army claimed that it had split the Gaza Strip into two halves. It said that there was now a northern Gaza and a southern Gaza and announced that it had completely encircled Gaza City. Fighting broke out in the city not much later. The Israeli forces say they are concentrating on finding, mapping and destroying tunnels, which Hamas uses to retreat to and shelter in, as well as to store weapons. Meanwhile, air strikes on the northern part of Gaza continue.
15% of buildings in Gaza destroyed
Two US geographers have calculated that between 38,000 and 45,000 buildings, or 13 and 18% of all buildings in the Gaza Strip, have been damaged or destroyed in the past four weeks.
According to the Israeli army, over 900,000 people have fled northern Gaza. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that there are about 1.5 million internally displaced persons in the Gaza Strip, whose total population is over 2.2 million.
A US nurse Emily Callahan who works with Doctors Without Borders and was in Gaza until November 1 when she was able to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, described the humanitarian situation as being dramatic. She told the US broadcaster CNN that she and her team had seen children with "massive burns down their faces, down their necks, all over their limbs." She said that because the hospitals were "so overwhelmed, they were being discharged immediately and being discharged to camps with no access to running water."
Aid trucks for Gaza
On October 21, the first humanitarian aid convoy to be sent arrived through the Rafah border crossing after Israel and Egypt agreed to open it. Dozens of trucks carrying food and medical supplies were able to pass into the Gaza Strip in the following days.
Violations of international humanitarian law
On October 24, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced "the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza." Three days later, the UN General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution calling for an "immediate and sustained" humanitarian truce. The UN Security Council has not yet been able to agree on a resolution.
International efforts
Since October 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to the region several times. Other Western politicians have also sought talks with the Israeli government. Blinken has repeatedly reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense, but also called for the protection of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. On October 21, the Cairo Peace Summit was attended by various delegations and leaders from the Arab world and Europe. Israel did not attend. There were no tangible results.
On November 8, the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer stated that Israel did not want to reoccupy the Gaza Strip.
(With AFP)
This article was originally published in German.