TIMELINE: Israeli-Hamas violence since ceasefire ended

(Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events since a six-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended last month.

December 19, 2008 - Ceasefire expires.

December 24 - Gaza Palestinian militants fire rockets at Israel.

December 27 - Israel launches air strikes on Gaza in response to the rocket and mortar fire, killing at least 229 Palestinians.

December 28 - Israeli air strikes hit the Islamic University and target smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

December 31 - Emergency U.N. Security Council session on Arab resolution calling for ceasefire adjourns without a vote.

January 1, 2009 - Israel kills Nizar Rayyan, a hardline Hamas leader, in an air attack on his Gaza Strip home.

January 3 - Israel launches a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas.

January 4 - Israelis cut the strip in half from the border fence to the Mediterranean. Troops and amour ring Gaza City.

January 5 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a peace mission, and U.S. President George W. Bush, appeal for a ceasefire.

January 6 - Israeli shelling kills 42 Palestinians at a U.N. school in Jabalya refugee camp where civilians had taken shelter.

-- Egypt, backed by France and other European powers, proposes an immediate ceasefire.

January 7 - Violence resumes after a three-hour Gaza truce.

-- Israel says it views "positively" talks with Cairo over a wider ceasefire plan promoted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Sarkozy.

January 8 - Rockets fired from Lebanon strike northern Israel, wounding two people.

-- The U.N. Security Council votes for a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but the United States abstains, citing Egyptian-mediated talks on a truce.