By 3 News online staff
More than 2000 people have been killed in the most recent outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip, which was sparked by the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers last month.
The violence is just the latest chapter in a centuries-old conflict over disputed land.
- FULL COVERAGE: Gaza in crisis
June 12 – Three Israeli teenagers go missing while hitchhiking from Bethlehem to the city of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Israel accuses Palestinians of kidnapping them and launches Operation Brother's Keeper to try and find them, arresting hundreds of Palestinians in the process.
June 15 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleges Palestinian group Hamas were behind the kidnappings, an accusation a representative of the group says is "stupid".
June 16 – a Palestinian teenager is shot dead by Israeli soldiers conducting arrests at a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, sources tell AFP. Two other Palestinian deaths are reported in the following days.
June 27 – Israel releases the names of two Palestinians it says are responsible for kidnapping the teenagers, saying they had both served time in Israeli jails for "terrorist activity".
Palestinian militants in Gaza fire five rockets at Israel, which says two of them were destroyed in flight by its 'Iron Dome' anti-missile system.
June 28 – Israel launches air raids on the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinians it says were involved in the rocket attacks on Israel. Militants retaliate, hitting a building in southern Israel but causing no casualties.
June 30 – the bodies of the three teenagers are found in a field north of Hebron. Netanyahu vows that "Hamas will pay" but the group continues to deny responsibility for the killings.
Israeli naval boats attack an alleged Hamas training facility and rocket fire is traded by both sides.
July 2 – a Palestinian teenager is kidnapped and killed, seemingly in revenge for the Israeli teenagers' deaths. International agencies including the United Nations and Red Cross condemn the abduction and murder of all civilians.
July 6 – video shows Israeli police allegedly beating the 15-year-old cousin of the dead Palestinian teenager while arresting him on charges of stone-throwing. He is sentenced to house arrest until he returns to his hometown in Flordia, USA. An Israeli police officer is later placed on leave over the beating.
July 7 – Israeli police arrest six suspects in the Palestinian teen's murder. Sources tell AFP that three of them later confessed to the killing.
July 8 – Palestine and Israel begin exchanging fire in earnest, the worst escalation in violence around Gaza since November 2012. Israel calls its campaign Operation Protective Edge, putting thousands of reserve troops on standby for a potential ground assault.
July 13 – anti-Israeli and pro-Palestine protests take place around the world.
July 14 – Egypt proposes a truce for Gaza to begin the next day. Israel says its security cabinet will consider the proposal but Hamas says it will not accept a truce without a fully-fledged deal to end hostilities.
The United States warns Israel against a ground invasion of Gaza. Noting that Israel has the "right" and "responsibility" to defend its citizens against Hamas rocket attacks, the White House says even more civilians would be put at risk if troops were sent in on foot.
July 15 – Deputy Prime Minister Bill English calls for an immediate ceasefire and says New Zealand will not take sides in the current "scrap".
Israel's security cabinet accepts Egypt's ceasefire proposal in an early-morning vote but Hamas militants reject the truce and continue firing rockets along Israel's Mediterranean coast. Six hours after the ceasefire was supposed to come into effect, Israel announces it is resuming its operation. Israel suffers its first casualty in the eight days of violence.
July 17 - Israel and Hamas observe a five-hour ceasefire at the UN's request, to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
A rocket fired from Gaza hits southern Israel at 3pm local time, exactly as the ceasefire lifts. Israel then announces it has launched a ground offensive.
July 20 - The bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years is seen, with at least 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers killed.
Palestinian group Hamas claims it has kidnapped an Israeli soldier, who is later declared dead by the Israeli army.
July 24 - An Israeli shell hits a UN-run school in Gaza, killing 15 of the civilians who had been sheltering there.
Thousands of Palestinians march in protest from the West Bank city of Ramallah towards Jerusalem, clashing with Israeli police.
July 26 - A 12-hour pause in hostilities allows Gaza residents to gather supplies and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble.
Israel agrees to a UN request to extend the ceasefire for another 24 hours. However, Hamas continues shelling, saying no ceasefire is valid unless Israeli tanks leave the Gaza Strip and allow residents to move freely.
July 27 - Israel resumes its operations in response to Hamas. Hamas declares it has accepted the UN's request for a further 24-hour ceasefire but continues to fire rockets at Israel, prompting Netanyahu to say Hamas is violating their own ceasefire".
The Israeli army confirms it fired a mortar round into the UN-run school in Gaza where 15 people died on July 24. However, it denies killing anyone, saying it was responding to militant fire and that the school's courtyard was "completely empty" at the time of the incident.
More than 1030 Palestinians, 43 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed.
August 1 - The US and UN announce all parties involved in the conflict have agreed to a 72-hour unconditional ceasefire, during which time Israel and Palestine will enter talks in Cairo. Civilians in Gaza will receive humanitarian relief and other vital functions will be carried out. Forces will remain on the ground during the three-day truce.
The truce is broken almost immediately after beginning, with each side claiming the other breached the terms by firing.
August 4 - Israel begins a seven-hour unilateral ceasefire but it is dismissed as a publicity stunt by Hamas.
In New Zealand, the Green Party renews its calls for the Israeli Ambassador to be expelled from New Zealand. Both Ambassador Yosef Livne and Prime Minister John Key say this would be unhelpful to the situation. Mr Livne rejects suggestions Israel is guilty of war crimes, saying innocent people were killed but not with malice.
August 5 - Egypt announces that both sides have agreed to a new 72-hour ceasefire and will hold talks in Cairo for further negotiations.
Israeli police announce that last month they arrested a Palestinian man suspected of leading the group that kidnapped and murdered the three Israeli teenagers whose deaths sparked the conflict in Gaza.
August 6 - Israel indicates it is willing to extend the ceasefire 'indefinitely' but Hamas makes no commitment, accusing Israel of stalling talks in Cairo.
Israel accuses Hamas of breaking the truce by firing two rockets hours before its expiration time. Fighting resumes over the weekend.
August 11 - a fresh 72-hour ceasefire begins after both sides accept an Egyptian invitation to resume talks.
August 13 - at least five people are killed in northern Gaza as experts try to dismantle an unexploded Israeli missile.
Minutes before the truce is due to expire, Egyptian mediators clinch an agreement from both sides to extend it for another 72 hours. Talks have so far failed to reach a more permanent deal.
August 26 - a long-term ceasefire is announced, ending 50 days of the deadliest violence in a decade. The agreement involves an immediate halt to violence in Gaza, as well as the opening of border crossings to allow aid and construction materials to be brought in.
3 News
source: newshub archive
