October 2024

• Israel expands ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, saying an incursion is needed to push the terror group back from the border.

• Israel eliminates Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s Gaza chief and one of the architects of the October 7 attacks, marking one of the most significant assassinations of the war.

• A Palestinian attacker stabs several people in Jaffa amid heightened security alerts inside Israel.

• In Jerusalem, the government faces its biggest protests since
the judicial overhaul crisis, with demonstrators demanding a hostage deal and criticising the handling of the Lebanon front.

November 2024

• Donald Trump secures a stunning political comeback, winning the
2024 US presidential election –an outcome that Israeli leadershailed as a “historic return” and a recommitment to the US–Israel alliance.

• Israel and Hezbollah agree toa ceasefire after weeks of intense cross-border fire; Washington presses to leverage the pause toward Gaza.

• Disputes erupt inside Israel’s ruling coalition over conscription of ultra-Orthodox men, with secular parties demanding reform and the Charedi factions threatening to bolt.

• Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warns that failure to legislate a draft deal risks “tearing apart” the IDF and society.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fires Gallant, citing a breakdown in trust over disagreements on the Gaza campaign, and replaces him with Foreign Minister Israel Katz. The decision triggers political turbulence inside Israel.

• Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war in Gaza.

December 2024

• Israel’s President Isaac Herzog urges the cabinet to clinch a Gaza hostage deal “immediately”, warning lives are at risk.

• Negotiators shuttle between Doha, Cairo and Jerusalem as Israel signals readiness to move, though gaps with Hamas persist.

• Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatens to resign over proposed economic concessions linked to the draft reform, adding to coalition instability.

January 2025

• A ceasefire-for-hostages framework begins to take shape; lists of names and sequencing fuel intense diplomacy.

• Inside Israel, rallies for the captives accelerate, amplifying pressure on the coalition to compromise.

• Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, resigns from Israel’s coalition government in protest against a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

• Perverse hostage release ceremonies take place inside Gaza as Israelis held captive are handed over to the Red Cross as part of a hostage- ceasefire deal, including long-held civilians; families and advocates mark bittersweet reunions.

• At a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump proposes the US “take over” Gaza – flattening it, owning it, and turning it into the “Riviera
of the Middle East” – a vision that reverberates across policy debates.

• Israel confirms the return of the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her
two young children, Ariel and Kfir, kidnapped from Nir Oz on October
7. The news devastates the nation, symbolising both the brutality of Hamas and the fragility of the hostage negotiations.

• Hundreds of thousands of Israelis flood Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the largest protests of the war, demanding both a permanent ceasefire and elections.

• Israel temporarily freezes the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, water and fuel. The move sparks condemnation from Egypt, Qatar and the UN, who say it breaches the January ceasefire agreement.

• Major General (Res.) Eyal Zamir becomes the new Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, succeeding Lt General Herzi Halevi, marking
a major shift in military leadership during the war.

• In Europe, antisemitic incidents stay elevated; a French rabbi is assaulted, emblematic of persistent threats to Jewish communities.

• Ben-Gvir returns to Israel’s coalition after Israel resumes military operations in Gaza.

• After weeks of brinkmanship, ultra-Orthodox parties briefly exit the coalition over draft legislation, paralysing parliamentary votes, before rejoining under a temporary compromise.

• France signals it will move to recognise a Palestinian state within months, a major shift by a key EU power that raises diplomatic stakes for Jerusalem.

• Security alerts grow in the US and Europe as authorities warn of plots inspired by the Gaza war and by jihadist propaganda.

• Hostage talks lurch forward and back amid disputes over the identities of prisoners to be freed and the scope of a Gaza ceasefire.

• Student-led protests and reservist strikes escalate across Israel, with organisers accusing the government of dragging its feet on both the war and domestic reforms.

• Two Israeli embassy employees are murdered at a Jewish event
in Washington, DC, prompting nationwide US security warnings for Israeli and Jewish sites.

• David Zini is appointed as the new head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, following the controversial dismissal of his predecessor, Ronen Bar.

• UN Security Council ceasefire efforts continue in fits and starts, with draft texts demanding an “immediate, permanent” truce and full hostage release.

• Netanyahu’s approval rating hits a new low as Likud ministers warn the coalition may not survive the next hostage deal or draft showdown.

Emergency personnel work at the site where, according to the US Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli Embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, May 21, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan ErnsJune 2025

• Israel launches an unprecedented 12-day military campaign against Iranian nuclear sites aimed at curbing Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran responds with a barrage of ballistic missiles, killing 28 Israelis. The US enters the fray, bombing Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear reactor before facilitating a ceasefire.

• Jewish communities grapple with security after attacks and attempted plots in multiple US states.

• Coalition crisis deepens as centrist parties threaten a no-confidence vote, demanding elections once the war with Iran stabilises.

• France and Canada announce they will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

• US domestic politics also shift, with senior figures floating tougher conditionality on Israel tied to ceasefire progress.

• In Israel, protests swell again as tens of thousands march against the government, demanding elections and an end to what they call “coalition blackmail” by ultra- Orthodox and far-right parties.

August 2025

• With recognition bids looming, mediators push for a durable Gaza ceasefire tied to comprehensive hostage releases, but core disagreements remain unresolved.

• Security agencies continue to warn Jewish communities worldwide to stay vigilant as threats linked to the conflict persist.

• Netanyahu narrowly survives a no-confidence motion after Charedi parties recommit to the coalition in exchange for watered-down draft reforms.

• Israel announces a major military operation in Gaza city, aimed at rooting out Hamas terrorists and freeing the remaining hostages.