TIMELINE: Almost a year into Israel's war on Gaza, death toll exceeds 41,500 (1)

FILE FOOTAGE: Israel's brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip has lasted almost a year, resulting in considerable casualties, severe infrastructure destruction, and an unprecedented wave of displacements. Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its war following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year. Nearly 41,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,200 others injured, according to local health authorities. The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine. Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities including schools, hospitals and places of worship amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip. Under the rules of war, targeting such facilities can constitute a war crime. South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention. Accordingly, on Jan. 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from all acts of killing, attacks, and destruction against Gaza residents and to take all measures to prevent genocide. The court's decision, announced on May 24, also ordered Israel to halt its military attacks on Rafah and to keep the Rafah border crossing open to allow the unhindered delivery of urgently needed services and humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, has continued to violate the court's decisions and attack Palestinians. Tel Aviv's failure to comply with the decisions of the top court of the world's largest international organization has further fueled criticism that the international system is ineffective. (Footage by AA/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)