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IsraelÌýhas launched more than 6,000 bombs during its devastating and indiscriminateÌýaerial assault on the Gaza Strip. This number is comparable to the number of bombs the US used in a year during the conflict in Afghanistan.

The aerial offensive on the densely populated, besieged Palestinian enclave has resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 Palestinians - at least one-third of themÌýchildren.Ìý

The impact of the Israeli campaign on Gaza has been equivalent to the effect of 'a quarter of a nuclear bomb', according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and the death toll and destruction from Israeli bombing exceeds all previous Gaza wars.

Here's a timeline of events and previous wars against the besieged Gaza Strip.

August 2005: Israeli forces unilaterally withdraw from Gaza after 38 years of occupation and dismantle settlements, transferring control to the Palestinian Authority. The territory is still considered "occupied" by the United Nations because Israel maintains control of its entry points, airspace, and territorial waters.

January 2006: The Islamist group Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel, wins the majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections.

June 2006: Hamas captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid from Gaza, leading to Israeli air raids and incursions.

June 2007:ÌýHamas takes complete control of the Gaza Strip after months of fighting with the rival Fatah faction, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel tightens its siege of the territory, severely restricting the entry of essential goods.

December 2008: Israel launches a deadly 22-day military offensive in Gaza after rocket attacks on the Israeli town of Sderot. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are killed before a ceasefire is reached.

November 2012: Israel targets and kills Hamas's military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari, before bombing Gaza from the air for eight days.

July-August 2014: The abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas-affiliated militants in the West Bank sparks a seven-week war, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,100 Palestinians in Gaza and 73 Israelis, including 67 soldiers.

March 2018: Palestinian protests begin at Gaza's fenced border with Israel. Israel responds with violence, resulting in more than 170 Palestinian deaths in several months of protests and escalating tensions between Hamas and Israeli forces.

May 2021: After weeks of tension during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hundreds of Palestinians are injured by Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem. Hamas launched rockets at Israeli West Jerusalem in response. Israel responded with a fierce assault on the Gaza Strip. The 11-day conflict resulted in at least 260 deaths in Gaza and 13 in Israel.

August 2022: More than 30 Palestinians, including women and children, are killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Islamic Jihad responded by firing dozens of rockets into Israel after two of its commanders were killed in the airstrikes.
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