Massacre of innocents that changed the Middle East forever: A year on from October 7, timeline shows how Hamas atrocity sent Israel on path for revenge, united its enemies – and raised the very real prospect of WW3

October 7, 2023 should have been a calm and pleasant morning in Israel.

Families and elderly residents of sleepy kibbutzim should have been preparing breakfast and pottering about their gardens as a thin layer of grey cloud gave way to blue skies.

In the desert near Re’im, thousands of young people should have been settling down in their tents having spent the night revelling in a celebration of life and love at the Nova music festival.

Instead, the day became the deadliest and darkest for Jews since the Holocaust, because Hamas terrorists chose that Saturday morning to realise a heinous plan years in the making.

Moments before the sun began to peer over the horizon, the stillness of dawn was shattered by thousands of rockets launched from Gaza, prompting Israel’s Iron Dome to spring to life.

Those rockets were followed minutes after daybreak by a veritable horde of men armed with guns, knives and explosives who stormed out of Gaza with a singular focus – to kill as many people as possible and tear yet more away from whatever remnants of family they had left.

Men, women, and children were indiscriminately slaughtered in their homes, their towns transformed into scenes of unspeakable horror by murderers delighting in all manner of depravity. Others were battered and bruised, tied up and forced kicking and screaming across the border into Gaza. Many would never return.

The diabolical attack prompted wild celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank and was lauded by Hamas’ allies in Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere.

But their jubilation was short-lived.

Within a matter of hours, Israel unleashed fury, beginning a brutal campaign to eradicate Hamas that has continued ever since.

For every single victim whose life was taken in the attacks on Israeli soil, roughly 35 more Palestinians have died in Gaza so far with no end to the conflict in sight.

Beyond the sheer human cost, October 7 also irrevocably changed the course of history and triggered a seismic shift in the geopolitics of the Middle East.

Diplomats scrambled to contain the violence but have been powerless thus far to stop it from spreading, with the region now seemingly on the edge of a precipice overhanging the abyss of total war.

The IDF is engaged in open warfare in Lebanon, taking on the ‘monster to the north’ in Hezbollah, while the world holds its breath in the wake of an Iranian attack that sent hundreds of ballistic missiles soaring across the continent to rain down on Tel Aviv.

Now, on the first anniversary of the day that shattered the lives of millions and ushered in a new and potentially disastrous chapter of world history, MailOnline looks back on how the past 12 months have unfolded.

October – Hamas commits atrocities and triggers monumental war

October 7

Thousands of Hamas terrorists and Palestinian militants stream across the Gaza border into southern Israel to launch a bloodthirsty rampage through kibbutzim and the Nova music festival in Re’im. 

Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, are tortured, raped and slaughtered in cold blood while another 240 hostages are dragged back into the Palestinian enclave. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declares war and retaliatory airstrikes on densely populated Gaza begin. 

Hamas later publishes a slew of footage from their attacks that showed how militants entered Israel on motorbikes, in cars and armoured vehicles and even on paragliders to gun down helpless civilians.

Militants are seen stalking into unsuspecting households and killing their occupants with rifles, pistols, knives and grenades before setting their homes alight as horrifying stories emerge of their brutality.

Meanwhile, a series of pictures begin flooding out of Israel to immortalise the fateful day.

The ‘Lady in Red’ Vlada Patapov fleeing from the Nova music festival; Noa Argamani screaming as Hamas bikers carried her back to Gaza; Amit Soussana refusing to go quietly as she kicked and punched her armed kidnappers; and Shani Louk’s broken, half-naked body being paraded past baying crowds – these are just four of thousands of instantly recognisable and sickening images associated with the atrocity.

October 8-12

Lebanon’s Hezbollah begins cross-border shelling attacks against Israel in solidarity with Gaza that will continue throughout the war, drawing Israel into ongoing tit-for-tat counterstrikes. 

Israel imposes a ‘complete siege’ on Gaza, calling up a record 300,000 reservists to encircle the territory as it pounds Hamas positions with incessant airstrikes. 

Within five days of commencing attacks on Gaza, the IDF tells residents of Gaza City, where more than 1 million of the enclave’s 2.3 million people live, to evacuate and move south ahead of a massive planned attack on the region. 

October 13-18

Israel launches its first ground incursion into Gaza and pushes for the evacuation of the entire north. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans flee their homes, beginning a process that soon uproots nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip.

Four days later, a massive explosion at the al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist hospital in Gaza City, where thousands of Palestinians were sheltering and receiving treatment amid Israeli strikes, triggers outrage in the Arab world. 

Palestinians say hundreds died and blame the blast on an Israeli airstrike, but Israel says it was caused by a misfiring Palestinian rocket.

An investigation appears to corroborate Israel’s version of events and is backed by Washington, but US President Joe Biden cancels his visit to a summit with Arab leaders.

October 19

A US Navy warship intercepts missiles and drones launched from Yemen over the Red Sea in the direction of Israel, marking the first involvement of the Houthi rebels in the conflict.  

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which rules roughly two-thirds of the population and is another Iranian proxy force, begins a campaign of sporadic long-range attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping in solidarity with Gaza.

October 21

Aid trucks are allowed through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza for the first time after days of diplomatic wrangling. 

Aid agencies say the aid is only a small fraction of what is required in Gaza, where food, water, medicines, and fuel are running out and sound the alarm over an impending humanitarian catastrophe. 

October 27

A week after mounting limited incursions, Israel launches an all-out ground offensive in Gaza, vowing to free all its hostages and eradicate Hamas.

The ground operation begins with an offensive towards Gaza City where tens of thousands of Palestinians are still living despite much of the population having fled south. 

Gaza’s communications network suffers a complete collapse. 

October 31:

Israel suffers the biggest one-day loss since it began bombarding Gaza when fifteen Israeli soldiers are killed in a Hamas ambush.

Hamas fighters hit an Israeli Namer with an anti-tank missile and ambush the remaining soldiers as they attempted to retreat. 

Israel hits the already battered Jabalia refugee camp with a brutal strike, killing dozens of people. 

November – Israel storms Al-Shifa hospital, a ceasefire is struck and hostages are released

November 1

Evacuations begin from Gaza through the Rafah crossing for an estimated 7,000 foreign passport holders, dual nationals, and their dependents, and people needing urgent medical treatment.

November 6

Gaza’s Health Ministry declares that 10,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, an average of more than 330 people per day. 

November 14-16

Israeli troops storm Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa in Gaza City, after a siege of several days. 

The Israelis claim the hospital was being used to conceal a Hamas headquarters, a charge that hospital staff deny.

Tanks surround the hospital in the early hours before IDF troops surged into the facility. Israeli officials later release images of weapons and other equipment they claim belonged to Hamas that was uncovered inside the hospital 

November 21

Israel and Hamas announce they have reached the first truce of the war: an agreement to pause fighting for four days to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners and allow more aid into Gaza.

November 24-30

The temporary ceasefire is implemented ahead of the planned hostage release. It was initially planned to last four days but is extended to a week. 

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the temporary pause in fighting is the release of Mia Schem and Amit Soussana. 

Soussana, a lawyer, was dragged out of her house and pulled across the border on foot. Video footage had previously emerged of her fearlessly kicking and beating her captors to the extent that she had to be carried out of Israel. 

Schem, a French-Israeli reveller at the Nova music festival, was shot in the arm amid her kidnapping. She was introduced to the world when Hamas released a hostage video of her speaking to the camera with her arm wrapped in bandages. 

They were exchanged at the Gaza border in a switch managed by Hamas militants and members of the Red Cross but were subjected to perilous conditions.

A clip of their release showed how the pair, looking tired and bedraggled, were ushered out of a van by aid workers as hundreds of Palestinians bayed for their blood. 

They were also flanked by several masked and armed Hamas fighters who were present at all of the hostage handovers.

Over a period of seven days, 110 of the hostages are freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners in what was seen as a major diplomatic victory. 

But the reprieve from fighting does not last long. 

December – war begins anew, South Africa accuses Israel of genocide

December 1-4

The ceasefire collapses, and war resumes. 

Days after the truce expires, Israeli forces launch a large ground assault in southern Gaza, around Khan Younis. 

This begins a phase of the war extending the military campaign across the entire enclave, forcing up to a million people to cram into the southern city of Rafah as they flee Khan Younis and central Gaza.

December 15

Israeli forces mistakenly shoot dead three hostages – Yotam Haim, Fouad Talalka and Alon Shamriz – amid operations in Gaza.

The friendly fire incident prompted widespread outcry in Israel and saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets to demand an immediate hostage exchange.

It also triggered a spate of intensified protests against Israeli PM Netanyahu’s government and greater criticism of the war, which endures to this day. 

December 20

Gaza’s Health Ministry declares that 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7. 

December 29

South Africa formally accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, filing an application to the International Court of Justice at the Hague, calling for an order to halt the Jewish state’s attacks.

The Israeli government rejects ‘with disgust’ the accusations, calling it a ‘blood libel’ and accusing South Africa of collaborating with Hamas.

The African nation alleges that ‘acts and omissions by Israel… are genocidal in character’ as they are committed with the intent ‘to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group’.

January – Israel begins assassination campaign, protests against Netanyahu intensify, US and UK strike Houthis

January 2

An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut kills Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri.

The 57-year-old was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since October 7 and his death marks the start of an enduring campaign by the IDF to eradicate the upper echelon of the militant group’s leadership. 

The strike also signified an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah which had been trading tit-for-tat strikes across the border since October 7.  

January 11

US and British forces enter the Middle Eastern theatre and launch airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen in retaliation for constant attacks on shipping vessels and Western Navy vessels in the Red Sea.

The same day, the International Court of Justice hears opening statements accusing Israel of genocide.

January 14 

One hundred days of war in Gaza have passed since October 7. 

Thousands of Israelis rally on the streets of Tel Aviv to call for a hostage deal and the ouster of Netanyahu from office.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a televised speech condemning Israel’s attacks in Gaza, saying: ‘What has the enemy achieved in 100 days, other than killing?

‘It has not achieved any real victory or semblance of victory. It has failed in achieving its declared, half-declared and implicit objectives.’

But IDF chief Herzi Halevi doubles down, declaring: ‘We do not forget and we will not forget, and we will continue to remind even those who try to deny it. We are fighting for our right to live here in safety.

‘A hundred days in which the hostages are still held in Gaza by the cruel Hamas terrorists. We are operating by all means, most of them covertly, in order to return them and we will continue to do so until we return them all.’

January 22-26

Twenty one Israeli soldiers die in one incident when a building they were raiding collapses.

The death toll of Israeli soldiers since the start of the operation in Gaza crosses 200. 

Houthi rebels launch yet more missile attacks, claiming to strike one US Navy ship with a rocket. The US government denies the incident took place. 

The US and UK in response sanction a slew of senior Houthi commanders. 

The ICJ also issues a ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. The court declares Israel’s military must do all it can to prevent deaths, destruction and acts of genocide but stops short of ordering the IDF to cease military operations. 

January 28 

Israel claims 12 employees from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine took part in Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks,

The allegations, which are later reinforced with a dossier of evidence from Israel,  caused a series of countries to pull funding for the agency.

The UN aid agency said it fired those workers who were still alive and launched an investigation into the bombshell claims.

Israel later accuses many more UNRWA employees of being implicated in the attacks or being members of Hamas. 

February – Israel hatches Rafah invasion plan, 30,000 Palestinians recorded dead

February 9-10

Netanyahu announces Israel will invade Rafah, the only major city in Gaza that has been spared from the incursion and where a million people are sheltering. 

The Israeli prime minister said he asked the IDF to ‘submit to the cabinet a dual plan for both evacuating the population and bringing down the battalions’ ahead of an ‘intensive operation’, but did not specify when the operation would begin.

The announcement draws widespread criticism from the international community, with then British foreign secretary Lord David Cameron expressing ‘deep concern’ about the operation given the number of civilians sheltering in Rafah. 

Netanyahu goes on to promise ‘safe passage’ to Gazans displaced in Rafah but is heavily criticised for rapidly mounting death toll. 

The IDF begins extensive bombing raids on Rafah.  

February 29 

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.

More than 100 Palestinians die at an aid station when panic breaks out when shots are fired. Hamas says Israel gunned down civilians, while Israel claims there was a crowd crush. 

March – Houthi attacks intensify, UN passes resolution demanding a ceasefire and Netanyahu cancels US visit

March 2-6

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launch a missile attack on the UK-owned cargo ship Rubymar.

The vessel suffers a direct hit and is sunk, making it the first major ship to be fully destroyed as part of the Houthi campaign over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The Iran-backed militia labelled Britain a ‘rogue state’ and blamed Rishi Sunak for their forces’ wrecking of the ship, saying his government should allow aid into Gaza if it wants to salvage the Rubymar.

‘Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,’ a Houthi minister declared.

Days later, the Greek-owned carrier ship MV True Confidence is also hit by a missile, with three sailors killed. 

March 18 

Israeli forces launch another raid on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City that lasts for days. 

IDF officials say they killed dozens and detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters including security officials and military commanders after combing through the sprawling complex and locating various tunnel shafts.

March 25:

The UN passes a resolution demanding a Gaza ceasefire after the United States refrained from vetoing the motion for the first time. 

The resolution calls for an immediate halt to hostilities and for the protection of civilians, but it is ignored by Israel.

Minutes before the resolution was carried by 14 votes to zero, Netanyahu told Israeli news media that he would cancel a planned trip to Washington if the vote passed.

The resolution marked a shift in the US’ support for Israeli actions in Gaza.

April – Israel strikes Damascus, Iran responds with fury

April 1

Israel launches a strike on an Iranian consulate compound in Syria’s capital city of Damascus. 

Iran says the strike killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two commanders of the Quds Force – Brigadier Generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi – and vows to take revenge.

But reaction to the strike is overshadowed by a separate incident in which Israeli drones target a World Central Kitchen aid convoy in Gaza, killing seven aid workers including Britons. 

The attack refocuses the world’s attention on Gaza and prompts major public outcry, even among Israel’s allies.

Five days later, Israel finally admits to mistakenly striking the aid workers.

April 13-14

Iran launches hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in a coordinated attack two weeks after the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate building in Syria. 

Almost all the projectiles are shot down by Israeli and Jordanian air defence systems, with the help of US and UK jets and Navy vessels.

Fears that the conflict could spiral out of control were assuaged when it appeared the attack was signalled in advance, with analysts claiming the incident was more of a symbol of Iran’s willingness to engage, rather than a concerted attempt to deliver a punishing strike. 

Three days later, Israel launches retaliatory strikes but their scope is limited and Iran suffers no casualties. 

May – ceasefire proposals are rejected, US unveils Gaza aid pier, Israel ignores ICJ ruling

May 7

Israel rejects a ceasefire proposal hashed out by Qatari and Egyptian mediators that Hamas declares it would accept. 

Hours later, Israeli armoured divisions surge into Gaza and seize control of the Rafah border crossing – a crucial location for both aid going into Gaza and refugees fleeing into Egypt.

UN and other international aid agencies warn the move virtually cuts the enclave off from sorely needed outside aid.

May 12 

The US constructs an aid pier off the coast of Gaza which is designed to increase the amount of aid flowing into the territory.

Hundreds of tonnes of aid, distributed from Western military bases in Cyprus, begin entering Gaza through the pier, but the operation is regularly interrupted by poor weather conditions.  

May 24

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) demands the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants as the Israeli military announces troops had recovered the bodies of three hostages in northern Gaza.

The Hague-based court also ordered Israel to halt its military operations in and around Rafah and said it must keep the Rafah border crossing open. 

Hamas refuses to release the hostages without a ceasefire deal in place, while Israel ignores the ICJ order and launches fresh bombing raids on Gaza.

June – IDF rescues Noa Argamani and fellow hostages as strike on UN school horrifies critics

June 6-9

Dozens of Palestinians are killed in an Israeli strike on a UN school in Gaza that was reportedly being used as a shelter by refugees. 

The attack prompts renewed calls for a cessation of hostilities and is widely condemned.

Israel soldiers subsequently rescue four hostages in a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp, including Noa Argamani whose graphic capture on October 7 became a memorable symbol of the Hamas attack.

One IDF soldier dies in the rescue while scores of Palestinians are killed.

Noa returns home alongside Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv. 

Their rescue after months in captivity and the touching images of their reunion with family and friends give hope to the loved ones of hostages who remain in Gaza.

July – Hamas chief, military mastermind and Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strikes

July 4

Hezbollah fires 200 rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of a senior commander, one of the most intense exchanges of fire over the Lebanese border since October 7 to that point. 

July 11

After two months of problems exacerbated by poor weather conditions, safety concerns and costly operation, the US declares it is closing the Gaza aid pier and adds it will not reopen.

July 30

Iran swears in a new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash along with former foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, several other dignitaries and guards.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh attends the ceremony in Tehran along with a host of other top Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian figures.

Hours later, Haniyeh is killed in an explosion at an IRGC residence in Tehran as he sleeps in his bed.

Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur is also assassinated in a targeted airstrike in Beirut. 

Israel does not take credit for Haniyeh’s assassination but the international community attributes his death to a Mossad or covert IDF operation.

The next day, Israel confirms it also killed Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in a strike earlier in July.

The monumental deaths prompt Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas to vow revenge on Israel. 

August – Sinwar appointed Hamas chief, Israeli hostages shot dead by captors, peace talks fail

August 6-7

Gaza ceasefire talks approach a critical juncture as the US declares a negotiated settlement is critical to avert a major war following the killing of Haniyeh.

But Washington’s efforts fall on deaf ears as Hamas formally appoint Yahya Sinwar, the group’s former chief in Gaza, as its overall leader. 

Sinwar’s appointment is seen as a defiant signal that Hamas is prepared to keep fighting – he is a ruthless hardliner who vowed to fight to the bitter end and worked decades to develop Hamas’ military and intelligence capabilities. 

August 13

Hamas announced three Israeli hostages were shot by their captors who were assigned to guard them.

One is reported dead and two others are said to be in critical condition.  

It is the first time Hamas admitted to actively harming the hostages in its care.

Days later, dozens of Israeli settlers launch an attack in the West Bank, murdering a Palestinian man, destroying property and setting cars on fire. 

August 19-21 

Eleventh-hour Gaza peace talks fail. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves the region without securing a deal and a delicate ceasefire deal appears to fall apart. 

August 25-26

Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah ramps up after the IAF conducted punishing air strikes, prompting the Lebanese militant group to launch more than 320 missiles and wave upon wave of kamikaze drones in response.

A soldier in the Israeli navy is killed in combat and two more are wounded.

September – Hezbollah devastated by pager bombs,  leader Nasrallah is assassinated, US deploys troops

September 1-2

The IDF finds the bodies of six hostages in Gaza. The dark discoveries stoke fears that more of the remaining hostages Hamas say are being held in the enclave have died in captivity. 

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announces that some arms exports to Israel are to be suspended.

September 15

The IDF announces it has uncovered evidence suggesting it may have accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in air strikes months earlier. 

September 17

Israel adds securing the northern front against Hezbollah to its war aims. 

Hours later, thousands of pagers and radios used by Hezbollah members explode in unison, killing dozens and injuring thousands of people. 

The explosions continue into the next day before Israel begins bombarding Hezbollah targets across southern and eastern Lebanon.

The coordinated attack is seen as one of the most successful covert operations ever conducted in modern warfare, with Lebanese security sources describing it as an unprecedented security breach.

It is claimed Israel’s Mossad spy agency orchestrated the operation in coordination with the IDF.

Hezbollah vows to retaliate against Israel over pager explosions.

The group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah says the attack is seen as a declaration of war, and the conflict between the two foes erupts.

September 20 

Israel launches devastating strikes on Beirut, killing senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil along with dozens of militants and civilians. 

Meanwhile, a video emerges from the West Bank of Israeli soldiers dragging the bodies of Palestinians up to rooves before kicking them off the edges of buildings. 

September 23-26

The Pentagon announces that ‘additional’ troops will be deployed to join the 40,000 already stationed in the Middle East along with a dozen warships and fighter jet squadrons amid escalating tensions. 

Israel launches a brutal bombing campaign on targets across Lebanon killing almost 500 people and injuring more than a thousand in one day. 

This marks the beginning of an incessant campaign of airstrikes that endures into October and prompts a mass exodus from southern Lebanon with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes further north or into Syria. 

Foreign nationals scramble to evacuate the country but struggle to do so as commercial airlines begin cancelling flights.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence draws up an urgent evacuation plan for UK citizens trapped in Lebanon as Sir Keir Starmer orders those who can to leave immediately.  

Hezbollah claims it launched a ballistic missile at Mossad’s HQ, but no damage is reported.  

IDF chief Herzi Halevi tells his troops to prepare for a ground invasion of Lebanon. 

Hezbollah drone commander Muhammed Hussein Srour is killed in a strike on Beirut. 

September 27-28 

Netanyahu arrives in New York to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly. 

He declares the assembly an ‘anti-semitic swamp’, accusing the body of having double standards as many diplomats walk out of the chamber.

Hours later large explosions are reported in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah is believed to have a below-ground headquarters. 

It later emerges that Israeli F-15I jets conducted a huge airstrike on Hezbollah’s HQ with dozens of US-supplied Joint Direct Attack Munitions that is thought to have killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The next day Hezbollah confirms their leader was killed in the strike after his body is recovered from the rubble. More than a dozen other Hezbollah commanders were eliminated in the strike.

Hezbollah insists it is not harmed by the attack, claiming it can replace commanders quickly, and launches a volley of rockets back at Israel, but the IAF rapidly redeploys fresh squadrons to deliver yet more airstrikes on Beirut and various towns in the south. 

September 29-30

Israeli tanks and troops mass on Lebanon’s southern border ahead of an imminent ground incursion. 

The IAF meanwhile launches yet more strikes on targets across Lebanon as well as Houthi rebel positions in Yemen. 

The next day, it is reported that Israeli commando units crossed the border to begin a campaign of ‘limited, localised and targeted’ raids on suspected Hezbollah positions in villages in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s interim chief Naim Qassem denies that Israeli troops have set foot on Lebanese soil and declares his forces are ‘ready for war’ if a ground invasion takes place.

October – Israel launches ground invasion of southern Lebanon, Iran carries out ballistic missile attack

October 1

Hezbollah unleashes hundreds of rockets at Israel, including what it says is several Fadi 4 ballistic missiles, while hitting border villages with artillery fire hours after IDF troops were confirmed to have conducted small-scale raids across the border.

The IDF responds to Lebanese claims it has not crossed the border by declaring covert teams had been conducting raids on Lebanese territory for months.  

Around midday, a US security official tells multiple outlets that Washington’s intelligence suggested Iran was gearing up to launch a major strike.

Hours later, a torrent of some 180 ballistic missiles streak across the Middle East and begin raining down over Israel. 

US Naval ships, jets and Israeli air defence systems spring into action and down many of the missiles, but some get through and cause significant damage on targets across Israel – though no Israeli casualties are reported.

Meanwhile, two terrorists armed with a rifle and a knife carry out an attack on a railway station in Jaffa.

Six Israelis are slain with several more wounded before police shoot the assailants dead.  

October 2-4

Netanyahu and several other senior Israeli politicians and IDF chiefs vow to retaliate following the Iranian strikes. 

A ground operation into southern Lebanon is launched in earnest with the IDF revealing footage of special forces units crossing the border as tanks are spotted entering the territory.

But one IDF unit is caught in an ambush by Hezbollah fighters as they approach the mouth of a tunnel on the outskirts of a village. 

Eight Israeli soldiers are ultimately killed in the surprise attack – the deadliest day for the IDF on the Lebanese front since it began trading fire with Hezbollah following October 7.   

Biden and the G7 warn Israel not to target Iran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for the missile strikes after former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett and other senior figures openly called on the Israeli military to cripple Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Another IDF soldier is later confirmed killed.