Gaza's devastation The terrible price exacted by Israel for 7 October attack

Israel began bombing Gaza on 7 October 2023 after Hamas crossed the border, killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage to Gaza.

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When ground operations began a week later, most observers expected the fighting to last weeks. Instead, it extended for 15 months, until last weekend's introduction of a ceasefire, to become Israel's longest war since the 1948 conflict that led to the country's creation.

The majority of those killed by militants on 7 October were civilians, and the scale and ferocity of the attack was unprecedented. So was the scale and ferocity of Israel's response. After one brief ceasefire and hostage release deal in November 2023, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to keep fighting, promising "total victory" over Hamas.

The impact of the campaign on civilians in Gaza led to accusations of genocide, including from rights groups and foreign governments. South Africa brought a case to the international court of justice. Omer Bartov, a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and historian of genocide, wrote that by May 2024 "it was no longer possible to deny that Israel was engaged in systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal actions".

The UN Human Rights Office said in November that data on verified deaths indicated "an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare".

Netanyahu and his former minister of defence Yoav Gallant have been issued with arrest warrants by the international criminal court for alleged war crimes relating to the conflict.

Hamas's military leader, Mohammed Deif, has also been issued with an arrest warrant.

THE DEAD AND WOUNDED IN GAZA

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed inside Gaza by Israeli attacks, according to health officials in the territory. The majority of the dead are civilians, and the total represents about 2% of Gaza's prewar population, or one in every 50 residents.

More than 40,000 people have been identified, including 13,319 children.