Unraveling the Israel-Palestine conflict: A timeline of Hamas-Israel tensions in the Middle East
Hamas and the Israeli Defence Forces have once again escalated the tension in the Middle East, endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip. The present circle of violence and counter-violence began in 2005 with the weakening of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
January 25, 2006: The Islamist group Hamas wins the election of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel and the U.S. cut off aid to Palestinians.
June 25, 2006: Hamas militants captured Israeli army conscript Gilad Shalit, Israel responded with air strikes and incursions.
Shalit was finally released in a prisoner swap more than five years later.
June 14, 2007: Hamas captured Gaza in a brief civil war, and ousted Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, based in the West Bank.
December 27, 2008: Israel launched a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fired rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. It ended with the killing of 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.
November 14, 2012: Israel killed Hamas's military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari. It resulted in eight days of skirmishes as Palestinian militants fired rockets and Israel retaliated with air strikes.
July-August 2014: The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas led to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Gaza.
It left 73 Israelis dead, 67 of them military personnel.
March 2018: Palestinians protested at Gaza’s fenced border with Israel. Israeli troops opened fire to keep protestors back. More than 170 Palestinians were killed.
May 2021: After weeks of tension during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hundreds of
