The Gaza Crisis: a timeline of the humanitarian impact and response
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has unfolded with devastating speed and scale, leaving millions of people in urgent need of aid.
This timeline highlights key events in the conflict, the struggles faced by communities, and the life-saving work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Gaza crisis timeline
October 2023: attack in Israel, escalation of conflict in Gaza and Red Cross appeal launched
January 2024: humanitarian crisis worsens
May 2024: field hospital set up in Rafah
July 2024: millions face starvation
September 2024: hundreds killed as conflict escalates in Lebanon
January 2025: ceasefire allows for aid delivery and hostage releases
March 2025: aid delivery suspended
May 2025: mass casualty events increase
The Magen David Adom (MDA) team mobilising to areas affected by the violence. PHOTO: ICRC / MDA.
7 October 2023: attack in Israel and escalation of conflict in Gaza
Early in the morning on 7 October 2023, communities in Israel endured a brutal and horrific attack which killed almost 1,200 people. Over 200 hostages were taken.
From the first moments of the tragedy, 10,000 Magen David Adom first responders mobilised, saving countless lives by providing lifesaving first aid and transporting casualties to the hospital.
In the weeks that followed, conflict escalated rapidly in Gaza. Airstrikes and ground operations resulted in widespread destruction and loss of life.
The humanitarian situation deteriorated quickly, with limited access to food, water, medical care, and electricity. The Palestine Red Crescent Society began responding under extremely dangerous conditions, providing emergency medical services and supporting displaced families.
In response, we launched the Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory Appeal. Donations to this appeal helped to support Magen David Adom in the aftermath of the attacks in Israel and to support the Palestine Red Crescent in Gaza.
In July 2024, this was replaced by the Gaza Crisis appeal to reflect the vast humanitarian needs in Gaza.
November 2023: a short ceasefire agreement
A seven-day ceasefire was agreed, allowing for an increase in humanitarian aid and the release of 70 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and 210 Palestinian detainees in Israel.
The Red Cross continued to call for the release of hostages and to allow visits and family contact. The Red Cross stood ready to assess the hostages’ wellbeing and deliver essential medication, but permission was not granted.
Learn more about what the Red Cross is doing to help hostages taken from Israel.
January 2024: humanitarian crisis worsens
The months that followed saw an escalation of the conflict in Gaza, resulting in a catastrophic humanitarian emergency. People in Gaza were struggling to access medical care due to the overwhelming demand for health services and the collapse of most functioning health facilities.
May 2024: Rafah border crossing closed, and a new field hospital set up
The Rafah border crossing was closed. It was one of the largest and most important aid crossings, and UNRWA reported the monthly number of trucks entering Gaza had reduced by 63 per cent since 7 October 2023.
The closure exacerbated an already dire situation in Gaza.
In response to the collapse of health services, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) set up a field hospital in Rafah, which began treating patients from mass casualty events and continues to do so.
This field hospital was partially funded by donations to the Gaza Crisis appeal.
The field hospital is based in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million displaced people have been sheltering from the conflict for months. It has 60 beds and was set up to respond to mass casualty events. It provides triage, emergency surgical care, and outpatient services.
It is also delivering vital services to women and children, including maternal, newborn, and paediatric care.
The field hospital complements the essential work of the Palestine Red Crescent.
A surgeon doing the morning round at the wards for planning the operations at Rafah field hospital. PHOTO: Olav A. Saltbones / Norwegian Red Cross.
July 2024: a million people face starvation
More than nine months into the conflict, the unmet humanitarian needs in Gaza were immense. More than a million people began to face starvation, and the entire country was facing acute hunger. Medical care had all but collapsed, and there was nowhere safe to go.
In response to this escalating crisis, we launched the Gaza Crisis appeal. This replaced the Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory appeal, which we launched in October 2023 that supported Magen David Adom in Israel and the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza and the West Bank.
As the situation in Gaza became increasingly dire, the Gaza Crisis appeal was created to focus specifically on the urgent and growing needs there.
Read more about the launch of the Gaza Crisis appeal.
September 2024: hundreds killed as fighting escalates in Lebanon
The escalation of conflict spread in Lebanon, with fighting across the border between Israel and Lebanon intensifying. After a sudden increase in hostilities, more than 90,000 people fled Southern Lebanon as people tried to escape the fighting. More than 110,000 people had already been displaced from the area.
According to Lebanon’s health minister, around 500 people were killed on 23 September, making it the deadliest day of conflict in Lebanon for nearly 20 years.
In the following weeks, the Lebanese Red Cross provided around the clock support to communities across Lebanon, and deployed 254 ambulances and 810 emergency medical volunteers across Lebanon to support in the increasing number of casualties.
On 27 November, a ceasefire agreement was signed by Israel and Lebanon and several mediating countries.
Read more about the escalation of conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
Teams from Egyptian Red Crescent Society delivering aid. PHOTO: Egyptian Red Crescent.
January 2025: ceasefire allows for aid delivery and hostage releases
On 19 January 2025, a ceasefire agreement was put into place. It gave millions of people in Gaza respite from relentless suffering. Families that were torn apart were reunited or able to put their loved ones to rest.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the transfer of hostages from multiple locations in Gaza to Israeli authorities, and detainees from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank.
This brought hope and relief to families who were desperately awaiting news of their loved ones.
The ceasefire allowed for a significant increase in the volume of aid crossing the border.
From the start of the ceasefire agreement to 1 February, the Palestine Red Crescent received 164 trucks through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
March 2025: aid delivery suspended
In March 2025, aid delivery was suspended, and the humanitarian crisis worsened.
“No aid, including food, medicine, and essential humanitarian supplies, has entered Gaza," said Gabriel Karlsson, the British Red Cross's country cluster manager for the Middle East and North Africa. "The aid getting into Gaza was already entirely insufficient to meet the dire needs.”
In addition, eight Palestine Red Crescent medics were tragically killed while on duty in Gaza, with a ninth missing. They were ambulance workers responding to casualties.
Every day, Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent staff and volunteers work tirelessly to support those affected by this conflict and must be protected.
Find out more about Red Cross and Red Crescent colleagues killed in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
Inside the operating theatre when a nerve repair is being done. PHOTO: Sarah Davies / ICRC.
May 2025: mass casualty events increase
Gaza saw a sharp surge in mass casualty incidents linked to aid distribution sites, which have overwhelmed Gaza’s shattered healthcare system, pushing its already-diminished capacity past its limit.
Since the launch of these aid distribution sites, there have been more than 21 separate mass casualty events with toddlers, teenagers, the elderly and mothers among the wounded.
People were being shot while risking their lives to reach aid distribution sites to find food for their families. The Red Cross field hospital in Rafah treated an unrelenting tide of injuries, the vast majority caused by gunfire.
June 2025: field hospital in Al-Mawasi set up
The Palestine Red Crescent began operating its Al-Mawasi field hospital, west of Khan Younis. The hospital is equipped with 60 beds, two operating rooms, an emergency department, a laboratory, and a radiology unit.
On its first day, the hospital received many patients, providing immediate medical care to dozens of cases and performing three successful surgical operations. This shows the urgent need for such facilities in the area.
The al-Mawasi field hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. PHOTO: Palestine Red Crescent.
A doctor pushes a child to the operating room at the PCRS medical centre, Gaza. PHOTO: Arete/British Red Cross.
July – August 2025: malnutrition reaches catastrophic levels
By July, malnutrition reached catastrophic levels. Palestine Red Crescent medical teams continue to battle severe child malnutrition.
At the same time, since the launch of new aid distribution sites in May, mass casualty events have rapidly increased.
From July, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has seen an unprecedented rise in patients, treating over 2,200 in a month, the vast majority caused by gunfire. That’s more than 2024 in total.
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