Iran and Israel have a history of enmity. What key recent events led to Iran's assault on Israel?

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Iran's dramatic aerial attack on Israel follows years of enmity between the countries and marks the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel. The hostility between the countries has only worsened in the six months since Hamas launched its attack on Israel, which set off a war that continues to threaten to drag the entire region toward a broader conflict.

Here is a look at the key events leading up to Iran's assault:

Oct. 7 - Thousands of Hamas-led militants storm across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 captive, according to Israeli authorities. The assault triggers a devastating war that has killed more than 33,700 people, mostly women and children, according to local health officials. In launching the assault, Hamas hopes other regional enemies of Israel's will join. U.S. President Joe Biden warns Israel’s regional foes not to get involved and sends military support to the Middle East.

Oct. 8 - A day after Hamas’ attack, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah begins firing toward Israel, setting off months of low intensity but deadly cross-border fighting that displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

November - The Yemeni rebels, who are supported by Iran, launch a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping assets in the Red Sea beginning in November, describing their efforts as a way to pressure Israel to end the war against Hamas. They also fire missiles toward Israel, although those largely fall short or are intercepted.

Apr. 1 - Two Iranian generals with the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards are killed in the Syrian capital in a strike on an Iranian consular building that is widely blamed on Israel, although it does not publicly acknowledge it. Iran promises revenge.

April 14 - Israel says more than 300 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles are launched by Iran, an extraordinary assault that is thwarted almost entirely by Israel’s aerial defense array and a coalition of countries repelling the onslaught. While no major damage is caused, the world braces for Israel’s response.

FILE - Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central Israel, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel on Saturday. Israel says more than 300 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles are launched by Iran, an extraordinary assault that is thwarted almost entirely by Israel’s aerial defense array and a coalition of countries repelling the onslaught. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg, File)

FILE - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, right, leaves after the opening of the new Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 8, 2024. On April 1, two Iranian generals with the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards were killed in the Syrian capital in a strike on an Iranian consular building that is widely blamed on Israel, although it does not publicly acknowledge it. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)

FILE - This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. Yemen's Houthis have seized the ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen after threatening to seize all vessels owned by Israeli companies. (Houthi Media Center via AP, File)

FILE - Hezbollah supporters ride their motorcycles, as they pass on a hill that overlooking to the Israeli town of Metula, at the Lebanese side of the Lebanese-Israeli border in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. A day after Hamas’ attack, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah begins firing toward Israel, setting off months of low intensity but deadly cross-border fighting that displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - The fence of an Israeli military position is seen damaged after Hezbollah's rocket attacks, on an occupied hill of Kfar Chouba village, southeast Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. A day after Hamas’ attack, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah begins firing toward Israel, setting off months of low intensity but deadly cross-border fighting that displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian armed militants who entered from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands of Hamas-led militants storm across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 captive, according to Israeli authorities. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

FILE - Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the southern Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 captive, according to Israeli authorities. (AP Photo/Yousef Masoud, File)

FILE - Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands of Hamas-led militants storm across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 captive, according to Israeli authorities. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

Wall Street continued to push higher Thursday after markets swung to a mixed finish a day earlier on news that the Federal Reserve was delaying cuts to interest rates.

Futures for the S&P 500 surged 0.6% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.4% higher.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said it will likely take “longer than previously expected” to get confident enough to cut rates, a move that would ease pressure on the economy and investment prices.

At the same time, Powell said it was unlikely that a rate hike was coming at the Fed's next policy meeting in June, calming fears swirling in the market.

Traders themselves had already downshifted their expectations for rate cuts this year to one or two, if any, after coming into the year forecasting six or more.

Powell had already hinted rates may stay high for a while. That was a disappointment for Wall Street after the Fed earlier had indicated it was penciling in three cuts to rates during 2024.

In premarket equities trading, DoorDash tumbled 11% after the food delivery app issued a profit forecast that came in below analyst targets. Investors also seemed concerned about rising costs for the company, which said it increased both marketing and research spending during the quarter.

Carvana jumped 38% in off-hours trading after the online used car dealer trimmed its losses by selling a record number of cars last quarter.

Connected exercise company Peloton rose 7.8% before the bell after it announced that it's cutting about 400 employees worldwide, or 15% of its headcount, as part of a restructuring effort. The New York company, whose shares hit all-time lows last week around $3 each, also said its CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down.

Now that the Fed rate decision has passed, outside of corporate earnings investors will be focused on labor market data. Coming later Thursday is the government's latest weekly tally of layoffs, followed by its more comprehensive April jobs report on Friday.

The labor market appears to be softening in recent months, one of the Fed's goals in its bid to corral inflation. Earlier this week, the government reported that job openings fell to their lowest level in three years.

In Europe at midday, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1% and closed at 38,236.07.

The Japanese yen surged as much as 2% in early Asia hours Thursday, driven by speculation of another round of yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities and a weaker U.S. dollar following the Fed meeting. Later, the yen reversed its course and erased most of those gains. The dollar was trading at 154.81 yen, down from 154.91 yen.

In South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.3% to 2,683.65 after official data showed consumer prices in April rose 2.9% year on year, a slower pace compared to March.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 2.4% to 18,187.56. Other markets in China remained closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,587.00.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude ended three days of declines, climbing 71 cents to $79.71 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 82 cents to $84.26 a barrel.

In currency trading, the euro cost $1.0703, down from $1.0709.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,018.39. The index had rallied as much as 1.2% after the Fed's news conference, but gave up those gains at the end of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 37,903.29, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.3% to 15,605.48.

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as pedestrians are reflected on a glass window Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)