WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED LAST YEAR?
Palestine Timeline
UNDATED. None of this began on October 7th. Seventy-six years after the Nakba, Israel occupies Gaza, blockading air, land, and sea routes in and out and crippling Gaza’s economy. Israeli settlers routinely destroy villages and kill Palestinians in the West Bank. Millions of Palestinians live in exile, many in cramped refugee camps, unable to return to their homes.
October 7, 2023. Hamas launches an invasion of Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 252 captive.
October 9, 2023. Israel announces a total blockade of Gaza’s water, food, and electricity. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares, “We are fighting human animals and are fighting accordingly.”
October 28, 2023. Israel begins a full-scale invasion of Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth, where two million Palestinians live.
November 1, 2023. The IOF bombs the Jabalia refugee camp, killing dozens of refugees. This bombing marks the first of continuous attacks on the camp.
November 9, 2023. Israel agrees to allow daily four-hour pauses of airstrikes to permit aid to enter and civilians to evacuate.
November 15, 2023. The IOF raids Al-Shifa Hospital, where around 15,000 displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
November 24, 2023. A seven-day ceasefire mediated by Qatar takes effect, in a deal between Hamas and Israel.
December 1, 2023. The ceasefire ends after Israel rejects a hostage deal. Israel begins bombing Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where many Palestinians have fled from Gaza City.
December 8, 2023. The U.S. vetoes a second UN resolution for an immediate ceasefire. By this point, 85 percent of Palestinians — 1.5 million people — are displaced.
December 15, 2023. Israel admits that it killed three of its own hostages, who were waving a white flag when they were shot.
January 26, 2024. The International Court of Justice issues a ruling there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Israel is committing a “plausible genocide” in Gaza, after South Africa raised the case against Israel.
January 27, 2024. The U.S., along with eight other countries, cuts aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the only UN organization providing aid to Palestinian refugees.
February 29, 2024. In the “Flour Massacre,” Israeli tanks open fire on a crowd of thousands waiting for aid trucks, killing at least 112 Palestinians and injuring 760.
March 28, 2024. The ICJ rules unanimously that Israel must immediately allow the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza.
April 1, 2024. The IOF drone strikes a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven aid workers.
May 5, 2024. Israel shuts down Al Jazeera’s operations in the country.
May 7, 2024. The IOF launches its offensive in Rafah, which President Biden previously denoted as a “red line.”
May 26, 2024. In the “Tent Massacre,” the IOF bombs a refugee camp in Rafah — previously designated a “safe zone” — setting tents on fire, killing 45 Palestinians, and injuring over 200 others.
July 18, 2024. The U.S.-built Gaza aid pier is shut down after being installed just two months prior. 96 percent of Gaza’s population remains food insecure.
August 15, 2024. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been martyred.
Sept. 2, 2024. Today. There is no sign that the Zionist entity’s murderous campaign will stop. Yet we also know that Palestinian existence cannot be extinguished. The future is in our hands. Palestine will be free within our lifetime.
Harvard Timeline
October 8, 2023. The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee releases a statement cosigned by over 30 student groups, holding the “Israeli regime entirely responsible for unfolding violence.”
October 10, 2023. Members of the PSC and other student groups face urgent safety threats and rampant doxxing.
October 12, 2023. The “doxxing truck” makes its first of many appearances in Harvard Square. It displays the faces and names of students, some of whom were not affiliated with the statement.
October 18, 2023. At a PSC protest, a counterprotestor records protestors. Harvard retaliates against a graduate student who blocked the counterprotestor’s camera, evicting and firing him from his job as a proctor.
November 10, 2023. Gay issues a University-wide email condemning the phrase “from the river to the sea” as “imply[ing] the eradication of Jews from Israel.”
November 16, 2o23. Jews for Palestine organizes a 24-hour occupation of University Hall, which ends without any of the group’s demands being met by administration. Nine students face disciplinary action for participation.
December 5, 2023. Gay appears before Congress, along with the presidents of MIT and UPenn, to testify about campus antisemitism.
January 2, 2024. At the request of the Harvard Corporation, Gay resigns.
April 23, 2024. Harvard suspends the PSC for not registering an on-campus rally.
April 24, 2024. The Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine coalition establishes the “Liberated Zone,” an encampment at the heart of the University. HOOP’s manifesto calls for Harvard to disclose, divest, and drop charges from student protestors.
April 30, 2024. The Administrative Board, Harvard’s disciplinary body, sends charge letters to over 60 student protestors.
May 8, 2024. After nearly two weeks with no communication from administration beyond disciplinary threats, more than 300 faculty and staff sign a letter urging Garber to negotiate with HOOP. Garber finally arranges a meeting with students, which results in an impasse.
May 10, 2024. Garber places at least 20 student protestors on involuntary leave of absence. They have a day to vacate their dorms and all Harvard property and lose access to campus resources.
May 14, 2024. HOOP ends its encampment on the condition that students placed on involuntary leave are reinstated. Garber says he will encourage the Administrative Board to evaluate cases “under existing practices and precedents.”
May 18, 2024. In an unprecedented move, College disciplinary proceedings prevent at least 15 seniors from graduating. Five students are suspended and 20 more placed on probation.
May 23, 2024. People’s Commencement 2024. Over 1,000 students walk out on President Garber, in solidarity with Palestine and their classmates — who only received their degrees months later.
Sept. 2, 2024. Today. While Harvard’s primary academic operations were on pause, its endowment continues to aid the genocide of Palestinians. We as students, despite our efforts, remain complicit due to our ties to this University. We will leverage these ties, force a conscience onto Harvard, and not cower in the face of disciplinary action. We will continue to fight for a free Palestine. Join us.