The 7 October attack by Hamas left hundreds of Israelis massacred, and 250 taken hostage. It triggered an overwhelming response.
The Israeli military unleashed a devastating air campaign, followed by a fuel and food blockade, followed by a land invasion.
One part of Gaza after another was evacuated, but civilians appeared to be mercilessly shunted into firing zones. Over 70,000 tonnes of ordinance were dropped on Gaza, laying waste to entire swathes of civilian areas.
Over 46,000 people have been killed, at least half women and children. Famine has been a regular danger.
Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel, while to the North Hezbollah launched missiles from Lebanon.
Eventually that prompted a partial invasion of southern Lebanon and yet another deadly air campaign that killed thousands.
Despite international outrage, a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, and arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister and defence minister, Israel pressed ahead.
Its military claimed it was successfully decapitating both Hamas and Hezbollah, killing the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Hostilities with Iran, the main sponsor of proxy groups fighting Israel, exploded into the open after Israel killed a senior Iranian in Damascus. The region was on the brink of all-out war.
Yet, a weakened Hezbollah meant that in Syria, the Assad regime had lost a key ally. In December it dramatically, and bloodlessly, collapsed - another consequence of the Gaza War.
Around half of the Israelis taken hostage on 7 October are thought to have been killed. The survivors and their families have been going through their own agony.
With the largely unremitting support of the US, Israel has successfully projected its power deeper into the Middle East, and may even have ushered in a new regional order.
The price paid by civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon has been horrific.
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