TRANSCRIPT
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched attacks on Israel, infiltrating the country from the Gaza strip with attacks from the air, land and sea.
Hamas governs the Gaza Strip and is designated a terrorist organization by some countries, including Australia.
Hamas has retaliated against an Israeli blockade on Gaza since 2007 when Israel declared Hamas a hostile entity, but the October 7 attack was the deadliest assault on Israel in decades.
Human Rights Watch said Hamas committed multiple war crimes, including the murder of civilians and violent kidnappings.
Around 1200 people were killed, mostly Israelis, and more than 240 taken hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of the National Cabinet, saying that his priorities were to "cleanse" the country of enemy forces and "exact a huge price" on them.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in (fighting) rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours.”
United States President Joe Biden immediately expressing his support for Israel.
“In the street, in their homes, innocent people murdered, wounded, entire families taken hostage by Hamas just days after Israel marked the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar. It's unconscionable. You know, when I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning, I told him the United States stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Full stop.”
In the week following October 7, the Israeli Air Force dropped 6000 bombs on Gaza.
A complete siege was ordered by the Israeli Defence Minister, cutting electricity and blocking the entry of food and fuel, despite the US warning against it.
By October 27, Israel had begun a full scale ground operation in Gaza.
After six weeks, the UN warned of imminent starvation amid fuel shortages and a lack of aid, as thousands of trucks lined up at the Rafa crossing at the border with Egypt.
Israel claimed that if aid reached Gaza, it would end up in the hands of Hamas.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesco Albanese denied those claims.
“Israel has no evidence to say that, and the other thing is that the aid would come under UN supervision. The aid is extremely needed... So the UN have guaranteed that they would supervise anything that has entered, and so far just a dozen trucks have come in. But this is a drop in the ocean.”
Following a US brokered agreement, the Rafah crossing opened to allow some aid trucks with urgent supplies into Gaza.
With the help of Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza strip that saw 105 hostages freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jail.
After a seven day pause, fighting resumed. International outrage at the ongoing conflict grew as casualties mounted.
South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of what it says a genocidal acts in Gaza, asking for an emergency intervention. Israel denied the claims.
After a days long siege in mid November, Israeli forces entered Gaza's biggest hospital, Al Shifa, claiming to find Hamas weapons and tunnels.
Hamas Spokesperson Osama Hamdan denied the hospital was a command centre.
“They (The Israelis) didn't talk about a tunnel. They claimed that this hospital was a command centre, control, administration, and domination, an issue which is much bigger than just a tunnel. Where is that? There's nothing of that sort.”
The impact of the conflict spread as other regional groups began attacks in what they called solidarity with the Palestinians.
Houthi rebels in Yemen began launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, disrupting a key global trade route
Global Concerns over a wider conflict grew when a suspected Israeli strike hit the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing 16 people.
And tensions rose again when Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh was killed in Tehran while attending the funeral of Iran's former president.
Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayed has called on Israel to put a stop on the killings before it's too late.
“I think the international community has been too patient with Israel, and within Israel people know they need to stop the fighting and stop the killing and we call on them to do this now and not spend more effort and money and killing as a waste. It's a waste.”
Iran responded by firing 300 rockets and missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to deteriorate.
On March 1st, at least 112 Gazans were killed died and over 280 were wounded after the Israeli military opened fire on hundreds of desperate people attempting to access a rare food and aid delivery.
Anwar Helewa, an eye-witness to the incident, describes the terrifying moment.
“We ran towards the food aid to get some, the soldiers and tanks fired at us, the people in the front and back were shot some in the hand and others in the legs, we left the food and aid and ran. Every day people are shot in millions, it becomes blood for food. The aid is a lie, we don't need food.”
In April, Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom was killed in an IDF strike, alongside six others working for the charity World Central Kitchen.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expects full accountability for her killing.
“This is someone who volunteered in Australia to help people during the bushfires. This is someone who was volunteering overseas to provide aid through this charity for people who are suffering tremendous deprivation in Gaza. And this is just completely unacceptable. Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of Aid workers. Aid workers, and those doing humanitarian work. And indeed, all innocent civilians need to be provided with protection.”
Tented refugee camps, one of which was previously designated a safe zone by Israel, were hit, killing hundreds. Israel claiming Hamas fighters were using civilian shields.
In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is against international law.
Presiding judge Nawaf Salam saying Israel should end what it calls its illegal occupation of all areas, including the Gaza Strip, as soon as possible.
“These policies and practices as are designed to maintain in place indefinitely, and to create irreversible effects on the ground. Consequently, the Court considers that these policies and practices amount to annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territory.”
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the court has made a ''decision of lies".
The ICJ is based in The Hague in the Netherlands and its opinion is not legally binding.
Disease has become a constant threat to civilians in Gaza with little remaining sanitation.
In August of this year, the first case of polio was recorded In 25 years.
The families of hostages have been demanding a ceasefire and hostage release deal ever since they were captured.
On September 1st, Israeli troops found the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel; Israel claimed they had been executed by their captors.
That rekindled the regular mass protests in Israel, with half a million people taking to the streets.
Protestors demanded a hostage deal, accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict for political gain.
By the middle of September, Israel declared a new goal of the war, to return roughly 60,000 Israeli citizens displaced due to Hezbollah rockets in the northern part of the country.
Days later, a coordinated attack on Hezbollah pagers and walkie talkies across Lebanon killed 37 and injured nearly 3000.
Lebanese authorities blamed Israel, who did not comment on the attack directly.
U.N Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres says the move risks escalation.
“Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode, is to do it as a preemptive strike before a major military operation. So as important as the event in itself, is the indication that these events confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
Bombings and air strikes across Lebanon followed killing hundreds, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Nasrallah, who led Lebanese political and militant group Hezbollah for over three decades, was assassinated on September 29th in an Israeli air bombardment on Lebanon's capital Beirut, in a strike that killed and injured a number of civilians.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the killing of the Hezbollah chief is a historical turning point.
"Nasrallah's assassination was an essential condition to achieving the goals we set. Returning safely the residents of the north to their homes, and changing the balance of power in the region over the years. Because as long as Nasrallah lives, he would quickly restore the capabilities we took away from Hezbollah, and therefore I gave the order, and Nasrallah is no longer with us.”
Iran has retaliated to the killing of Nasrallah by firing hundreds of missiles into Israel.
On the eve of the first anniversary of October 7th, Israeli air attacks have battered Beirut's southern suburbs in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital in years.
One year on, 97 hostages taken from Israel on October 7 remain unaccounted for in Gaza.
The death toll stands at more than 44,000 - most of them civilians in Gaza.
And one year on, the war is expanding, and with it, any chance of peace appears to be dwindling.
