Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended the war

Israel killed a senior Hamas leader in an air attack on his home on Thursday, striking its first deadly blow against the top ranks of the Islamist group in a Gaza offensive that has claimed more than 400 Palestinian lives.

Here is a timeline of events since Hamas ended a truce earlier in December:

Dec. 14 ? Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal says the group will not renew a six-month-old truce with Israel.
Dec. 18 - Hamas Islamists declare the end of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, which expires the next day with a surge of cross-border fighting.

Dec. 24 - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip ratchet up rocket fire towards Israel.

Dec. 27 - Israel launches air strikes on Gaza in response to almost daily rocket and mortar fire that intensified after Hamas ended the ceasefire.

A home in the town of Netivot is hit by a grad missile, killing one Israeli and leaving four with moderate to serious injuries.

Dec. 28 - Hamas says an Israeli air strike destroys a laboratory building at the Islamic University, a significant cultural symbol of Hamas.

Israeli aircraft bomb some 40 smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip that provide a lifeline to the outside world.

Dec. 29 - Israel steps up its air strikes and bombs the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, the first air strike targeting a government building in the offensive.

Israel declares areas around the Gaza Strip a "closed military zone".

Palestinian militants fire rockets deeper into southern Israel.

A Bedouin construction worker is killed in a rocket attack in Ashkelon.

An Israel Defense Forces soldier is killed in a mortar strike in a western Negev base and a woman is killed in a rocket attack on the city of Ashdod.

Dec. 30 - Israeli warplanes press on for the fourth day with attacks on Hamas targets.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum urges Palestinian groups to respond using "all available means" against Israel.

Israel says its attacks herald "long weeks of military action".

Dec. 31 - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh tells Palestinians that "victory is near".

Emergency session of United Nations Security Council to consider resolution drafted by Arab countries calling for immediate ceasefire adjourns without a vote.

Jan. 1 - Israel kills Nizar Ghayan, a hardline Hamas leader, in an air attack on his Gaza Strip home.


Source : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052228.html