Israel offensive: A timeline
2009-01-08 07:22
Gaza City - Key events since Israel began its offensive against Hamas:
Saturday, December 27
Israel launches "Operation Cast Lead" with a massive air assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a bid to halt rocket attacks on its territory.
Sunday, December 28
Warplanes bomb 40 tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border to try to prevent Hamas being supplied with arms.
Monday, December 29
Defence Minister Ehud Barak speaks of "all-out war against Hamas".
Tuesday, December 30
Israeli naval vessel collides with boat carrying activists and medical supplies for the Gaza Strip.
Wednesday, December 31
Israeli air strikes continue. Rockets fired from Gaza land more than 40km inside Israel.
Thursday, January 1
Senior Hamas official Nizar Rayan killed in an Israeli air raid.
Friday, January 2
Thousands of Palestinians protest in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls for a ceasefire that would permanently prevent Hamas from firing rockets into Israel.
Saturday, January 3
The Israeli military announces that a "large number" of troops have entered the Gaza Strip.
Defence Minister Barak signs an order calling up thousands of reservists.
Sunday, January 4
Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks battle Hamas fighters.
Israeli forces surround Gaza City. Witnesses say Israel controls a key highway, cutting the territory in half.
Monday, January 5
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rejects European calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Tuesday, January 6
Israeli tanks supported by helicopter gunships move into Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army says three of its soldiers were killed when hit by "friendly" tank fire.
First major battles inside Gaza City.
Israeli strikes near three UN schools kill 48 people who had taken refuge, medics say. Israel says Hamas "terror operatives" were on the premises, something the UN denies.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak invites Israel "without delay" to discuss security on the Egypt-Gaza border. Mubarak also meets French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Al-Qaeda issues an online message attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri, urging Muslims to attack Israeli and Western targets.
Wednesday, January 7
Gaza medics say that at least 702 Palestinians have been killed, including 220 children, and more than 3 100 wounded, since the Israeli attacks began.
Israel says six of its soldiers have been killed and 83 wounded in the ground offensive, while four people, including a soldier, have been killed by Hamas rockets fired into its territory.
Israel temporarily stops bombing Gaza to allow aid into the territory. Hamas says it will stop firing rockets into Israel for as long as the Israeli attacks cease.
A divided UN Security Council weighs the Gaza conflict, facing two competing texts on prospects for an immediate ceasefire.
Israel drops leaflets warning residents to leave southern Gaza ahead of planned bombings of tunnels leading into Egypt, witnesses say.
Israeli security cabinet gives Defence Minister Ehud Barak green light for tougher war on Hamas.
Barak aide due in Cairo on Thursday to discuss Egyptian proposal to end war in Gaza.
Israel slams senior Vatican official for comparing the Gaza Strip to a "concentration camp".
The radical Shi'ite Iraqi movement of Moqtada al-Sadr threatens attacks on American targets inside Iraq over US support for Israeli assault on Gaza.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warns "all possibilities" open against Israel.
Thursday, January 8
Dozens of Israeli tanks enter southern Gaza Strip, witnesses say.
Israeli warplanes strike suspected tunnels in southern Gaza town of Rafah, witnesses say.