Here's how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has evolved since 2005

The Palestinian movement Hamas has launched its biggest assault on Israel in years, firing thousands of rockets from besieged Gaza and dispatching fighters across the border and capturing Israeli soldiers and military vehicles.

Israel said it was on a war footing and began its own strikes, claiming to target Hamas positions in Gaza, with Israeli media reporting a gunbattle between Palestinian fighters and security forces in southern Israel.

On Saturday morning, dozens of Palestinian fighters raided Israeli bases in the region, catching the Israeli security apparatus off guard.

Heavy fighting is underway in the latest conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups on the ground.

Here is a timeline of crucial points in the conflict after Israel withdrew from Gaza and Hamas gained ground in the enclave, home to over 2 million residents.

August 2005 — Israeli forces unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in the Middle East war, abandoning settlements and leaving the enclave under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

Jan. 25, 2006 — Hamas won a majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election. Israel and the US cut off aid to Palestinians as both nations recognise Hamas as a "foreign terrorist organisation".

June 25, 2006 — Hamas captured Israeli army conscript Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid from Gaza, prompting Israeli air strikes and incursions. Shalit is finally freed more than five years later in a prisoner exchange.

June 14, 2007 — Hamas took over Gaza in brief clashes, ousting Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank.

December 27, 2008 — Israel launched a 22-day military offensive indiscriminately targeting Gaza after Palestinians fired rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis including civilians are reported killed before a ceasefire is agreed.

November 14, 2012 — Israel kills Hamas's military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari. Eight days of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli air strikes follow.

July-August 2014 — The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas leads to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis are reported dead, 67 of them military.

March 2018 — Palestinian protests began at Gaza’s fenced border with Israel. Israeli troops open fire to keep protestors back. More than 170 Palestinian protesters were reported killed in several months of protests, which also prompted fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces.

May 2021 — After weeks of tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, hundreds of Palestinians are wounded in clashes with Israel after Israeli security forces stormed the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.

After demanding Israel withdraw security forces from the compound, Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel hits back with air strikes on Gaza. Fighting goes on for 11 days, killing at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.

August 2022 — At least 44 people, including 15 children, are killed in three days of violence that began when Israeli air strikes hit a senior Islamic Jihad commander.

Israel says the strikes were a pre-emptive operation against an imminent attack by the Iranian-backed movement, targeting commanders and arms depots. In response, Islamic Jihad fired more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel. Israel's Iron Dome air defence system prevented any serious damage or casualties.

January 2023 — Islamic Jihad in Gaza fired two rockets towards Israel after Israeli troops raided a refugee camp and killed seven Palestinian fighters and two civilians. The rockets set off alarms in Israeli communities near the border but caused no casualties. Israel responds with air strikes on Gaza.