How Gaza turned into pile of rubble: 10 key moments in Israel-Hamas war

With a humanitarian crisis brewing, Israel's ground effort to destroy the Islamist movement has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins six months after Hamas terrorists rushed into southern Israel on a killing rampage. (AFP photo)

On October 7, hundreds of gunmen broke through a border fence that Israel had thought was invincible and ambushed Israelis in cars, homes, and an all-night music festival as they rushed through villages. Israel claims that on the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust, 1,200 people perished. 253 hostages—including entire families with young children—were returned to Gaza by the terrorists. (AP photo)

After the Hamas launched the attack, Israel launched the ground raids. Following an Israeli military directive, thousands of Palestinian civilians started to evacuate to southern Gaza amid an unrelenting bombardment of airstrikes; nevertheless, there were few indications of a mass departure. (AFP photo)

Israeli tanks enter Gaza on October 27 to begin a ground invasion.
The soldiers advance toward Gaza City while fighting. (AFP photo)

On November 15, the largest hospital in Gaza, Al-Shifa, is raided by Israeli troops at night. After food, fuel, and anesthetics ran out, bodies began to pile up in the hospital. International outrage follows the raid, and Israel accuses Hamas of operating a command center beneath the hospital—an allegation the armed group disputes. (AFP photo)

In exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, Hamas releases 80 captives over seven days and permits humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Outside the parameters of the agreement, 25 more hostages—mostly Thai farm laborers—are freed. Israel is pushing its offensive against Hamas farther south in Gaza, where it was previously thought to be relatively secure, as the battle continues. (Reuters photo)

On January 12, following weeks of attacks on Red Sea ships by the Houthis, who are backed by Iran and are supporting the Palestinians in Gaza, the United States and Great Britain commenced airstrikes on targets in rebel-held Yemen. Fears of a regional war are heightened by the strikes. (Reuters photo)

The International Court of Justice found it "plausible" that Israel's actions could constitute "genocide" in an interim verdict in a lawsuit presented by South Africa on January 26. The world's highest court does not order an end to the war, but it does compel Israel to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, who opened fire on the frantic citizens of northern Gaza on February 29, they "posed a threat" when they rushed into a convoy of food delivery trucks. According to Gaza's health ministry, a "massacre" resulted in 115 gunshot deaths and hundreds of injuries. The majority of the casualties, according to the Israeli military, were ran over or trampled by the vehicles. (Reuters photo)

On March 25, the US, which had rejected earlier drafts, abruptly abstained from voting in favor of the UN Security Council adopting a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In response to the US abstention, Israel lashes out, threatening to launch a ground invasion on Rafah, the refuge for around 1.5 million Palestinians. (Reuters photo)

Seven humanitarian workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity were killed by Israeli airstrikes, which comes amid growing criticism of the nation's actions during the Gaza War. (AFP photo)