MID: A chronology of Israel's relationship with Gaza
By The Associated Press29 Dec 2008 10:40 AM
- June 1967: Israel seizes the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip during war. An Israeli census put the population at 380,000, at least half of whom were refugees from Israel. Currently the population stands at about 1.5 million. The UN lists just over one million as refugees and their descendants.
- December 1987: A clash in the Jebaliya refugee camp sets off Palestinian uprising which lasted until 1993 and claimed the lives of over 2,000 Palestinians and 192 Israelis. The militant Islamic Hamas is formed early in the uprising.
- September 2005: Israel withdraws its troops and 8,500 Jewish settlers. It retains control of Gaza's airspace, coastal waters and border crossings, leading the Palestinians and some Israeli legal experts to argue that Israel is still an occupier.
- June 2007: Hamas violently seizes control of Gaza from Fatah of President Mahmoud Abbas.
- June 2008: Hamas and Israel reach a truce to halt the cross-border rocket attacks and end Israeli offensives against Hamas an its leaders.
- November 2008: Palestinians resuming rocket and mortar fire into Israel after Israeli incursion.
- Dec. 19, 2008: Hamas formally declares the truce over.
- Dec. 27, 2008: Israel launches a fierce air offensive, killing more than 200 Palestinians in the first day.
