Saturday's attacks by Hamas shocked leaders across the world, but they came after decades of a relentless and deadly conflict that has killed thousands of people, forced entire generations to grow up under occupation, or created constant anxiety of impending rocket fire or bombings.
Here is a summary of the main events of the conflict, which spans two centuries.
— On several occasions this year, hundreds of Israeli forces carried out military raids in the Palestinian city of Jenin. In January, a Palestinian man killed seven people at a synagogue in east Jerusalem.
— After a spate of terrorist attacks in Israeli cities in 2022, Israeli forces killed at least 166 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
— In May 2021, Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third-holiest site in Islam, which set off an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas that killed more than 200 Palestinians and more than 10 Israelis.
What is the Palestinian group Hamas?
— In 2018, at least 170 Palestinians were killed as Israel responded to protests along the barrier fence that separates Gaza and Israel.
— In 2014, Hamas kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers, prompting attacks from Israel, and rocket launches from Gaza, in a conflict that killed more than 1,881 Palestinians and more than 60 Israelis.
— In November 2012, Israel killed Ahmed al-Jabari, Hamas' military chief, setting off more than a week of an exchange of fire in which more than 150 Palestinians and at least six Israelis were killed.
— In January 2009, Israel and Palestinian groups declared unilateral cease-fires, then Israel withdrew from Gaza and redeployed to the Gaza Strip's perimeter.
Unraveling the
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