Timeline of the Gaza War (2008–2009)

Timeline of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. For events pertaining to the conflict which occurred before 27 December 2008, see 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict#Background.

Timeline

27 December 2008

Israel launched its military operation at 11:30 a.m., December 27, when more than 50 fighter jets and attack helicopters entered Gazan airspace, killing 225-292 Palestinians and wounding more than 1,000. The IAF, which claimed to be responding to Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel, dropped more than 100 bombs on 50 targets, which included Hamas paramilitary bases, training camps, and underground Kassam launchers. It also hit Hamas headquarters, government offices and police stations.

The aircraft used were F-16 fighter jets and AH-64 Apache helicopters. About 140 members of Hamas security forces were killed, including police chief Tawfiq Jabber, the head of Hamas’ security and protection unit and the police commander for central Gaza, along with at least 15 civilians. Children were among the casualties. The bombed areas included a ceremony for new police officers. About 40 graduates were killed. A mosque in Gaza City was also targeted in the airstrikes and two Palestinians were killed. Israeli military spokesmen claimed that the mosque was being used for "terrorist activities".

Sixty Israeli planes also targeted Hamas security and military training compounds, as well as weapon storage buildings, and dropped more than 100 tons of bombs. Some of the bombs used on 27 and 28 December were the U.S. built GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, the first shipment of which arrived in Israel at the beginning of the month. It was the most extensive attack on Gaza since 1967.

Hamas later fired 700 rockets and mortars at Israel. One of the rockets hit the town of Netivot, killing an Israeli man, destroying a house and wounding six other people. Another rocket hit a synagogue in the Eshkol Regional Council, injuring two men, one seriously. In the evening, two men in the Israeli community of Mivtahim were injured from a direct hit of a Hamas rocket; one was seriously wounded.

According to United Nations officials, fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip through the Nahal Oz crossing were suspended, with the last delivery taking place a day previous on 26 December.

Palestinians refer to December 26th as the Massacre of the Black Saturday as it produced the highest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict.

28 December 2008

Twenty-five airstrikes were carried out on Sunday by Israel, raising the number of casualties to 287 dead and 900 wounded. According to the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the situation was further complicated by Hamas' refusal to allow the wounded to leave Gaza for medical treatment. One rocket shot by an F-16 fighter jet on a mosque near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, from which rockets were reported by Israeli media to be launched, killed four Hamas militants. In Gaza City, 5 daughters from the same family were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli jets bombed tunnels in the Rafah area. These tunnels were reportedly used to smuggle civilian goods and weapons after Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade of Gaza in June 2007. The main road of Sallah el-Dein in northern Gaza Strip was bombed. The road leads to the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia. No injuries were reported.

An Israeli air-to-ground rocket destroyed a metal workshop in northern Gaza City which, according to Israel, was used in manufacturing Qassam rockets fired at Israel. The Al-Noor organisation in Gaza City, belonging to the Hamas movement, was bombed, causing severe damage to the building. The main building of the Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV station was struck. The station continued broadcasting via a "mobile unit". Aidan White, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists condemned the destruction of the television station, stating that international law "forbids attacks on media installations, even when they are instruments of propaganda". The IAF attacked Jabalia and northern Gaza killing two more people and wounding others.

Al Saraya, a building in Gaza City which contained government offices, security offices and a prison, was attacked. Four people died. A fuel lorry traveling in Rafah near the Egyptian border was destroyed, killing six people. IDF also confirmed an attack on tunnels in Philadelphi Route and claimed successful destruction of 40 of them. Missiles also hit near the Beit Hanoun City Hall.

Rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, the range of which were extended. Three rockets landed near the city of Ashdod – the fifth largest Israeli city and a main sea port. The border with Egypt was breached and inhabitants from Gaza moved into Egypt. One Egyptian border policeman was killed by Palestinian gunmen, and several Palestinians were wounded by Egyptian gunfire and taken to hospital in Egypt.

The United Nations Security Council held a closed door meeting convened at the request of Libya. The meeting lasted four hours, and resulted in a press statement calling "on the parties to stop immediately all military activities ... [and] to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures, including opening of border crossings."

29 December 2008

Just after midnight on 29 December, Israeli forces made six separate airstrikes against the Islamic University of Gaza, a "cultural symbol" of Hamas, though the university had evacuated days in advance. According to The Jerusalem Post, the university hosts Hamas military laboratories under the auspices of professors and its buildings were used for storing rockets and explosives. According to the IDF and the Shin Bet, one compound near the Islamic college, which was bombed twice, was being used as a chemical lab and as a Hamas explosives lab; Isreal claimed that Hamas had been working to improve rockets and manufacture mortar shells. Israel asserted that the university chemistry laboratory was a "fair target", even if it could not show conclusively that those inside the laboratory at the time of the attack where engaged in making weapons.

The death toll rose to 415 that morning, as reported by the Associated Press. The Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza building was hit by Israeli missiles at dawn. The university and the ministry are both located in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

A mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp was also bombed by the IAF. The building was destroyed and five young girls whose house neighboured the mosque were killed. Ziad Abu-Tir, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad's military wing was killed in a strike in the Khan Younis area.

The International Red Cross reported that hospitals in the Gaza Strip were overwhelmed and unable to cope with the casualties. Red Cross spokesman in Gaza Iyad Nasr said Gaza needed more supplies to be brought in urgently, "in particular the hospitals have been depleted and stretched to the maximum because of the closure imposed". According to the IDF, Israel permitted a number of Turkish-donated ambulances from the West Bank to be transported to the Gaza Strip, as well as Red Cross, UNRWA, World Food Programme and Doctors Without Borders medical supplies.

The Israeli city of Ashkelon was hit by a Grad rocket, killing an Israeli-Arab construction worker and seriously wounding three other people. Rockets from Gaza killed two Israelis after nightfall, increasing pressure on the government as the army amassed infantry and armored forces along the border.

Israel's military intelligence chief claimed that Hamas' ability to fire rockets had been reduced by 50 percent, but that Hamas continued to command "some 20,000 fighters".

The foreign ministry of Senegal reported that exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was ready to sign an immediate ceasefire with Israel, provided Israel lifted its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

On 29 December an IDF spokesperson confirmed for the first time that, apart from maintaining the naval blockade on Gaza, the Israeli Navy was taking an active part in the operation. A video taken by the Israeli Navy and published on several news sites showed the Israeli Navy attacking the Gaza coast line, using both Typhoon Weapon System and surface-to-surface missiles.

According to Haaretz, among the targets hit by the Israeli Navy were Ismayil Haniah's offices, several command and control centers used by Hamas, and a Hamas patrol boat. On 31 December, the Israeli Navy "targeted a number of Hamas outposts and rocket launching sites", according to the IDF spokesperson. On January 4, Israel extended the naval blockade from 6 to 20 nautical miles (11–37 km; 6.9–23.0 mi) to prevent all vessels from entering the Strip.

Dignity incident

On 29 December 2008, the Free Gaza Movement sailboat Dignity set sail from Cyprus, carrying aid to Gaza. The boat, which carried Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly, former United States Representative and 2008 Green Party nominee for U.S. President Cynthia McKinney, journalists from Al Jazeera and CNN such as Karl Penhaul, and three surgeons including Dr. Elena Theoharous, a member of the Cyprus Parliament, attempted to enter the Gaza Strip, carrying 3.5 tonnes (3.9 short tons) of medical supplies. Its passengers stated that several Israeli naval vessels approached their boat. Free Gaza member David Halpin said that Israeli officers on board asked the captain to halt the Dignity's course to Gaza, but he refused. According to CNN reporter Penhaul an Israeli vessel rammed the sailboat, causing heavy damage. Other passengers claimed that several Israeli vessels fired machine guns into the water. The activists stated that their boat was clearly in international waters, about "70-80 miles" or "90 miles" from the Gaza Strip coast. McKinney claimed that the Israeli vessel had rammed the boat "approximately three times, twice in the front and once in the side".

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor claimed that no shooting had occurred, and that the sailboat was inside Israeli territorial waters, and that the boat had failed to respond to Israeli naval radio contact. Palmor claimed that the the Dignity had crashed into an Israel vessel while attempting to outmanoeuvre it. Palmor also claimed that the fact that the ship was carrying journalists, including a CNN crew that had already broadcast live three times, proved that the incident was a provocation on the part of the media. Immediately after the incident, the boat turned back. Palmor stated that the naval ship offered to assist the passengers but that they had declined the offer. Palmor also stated that Israeli ships escorted the damaged boat to Cypriot territorial waters. It did not have enough fuel to return to Cyprus and ended up docking in Lebanon, where it was greeted with cheering crowds.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou stated that Cyprus would lodge a formal complaint regarding the incident. In a written statement, the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast USA, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said that McKinney "has taken it upon herself to commit an act of provocation", endangering herself and the crew, and called her behavior "irresponsible".

30 December 2008

Israeli air-strikes struck five ministerial buildings, another structure owned by Islamic University, a sports center, two Hamas training camps, the home of a senior Hamas commander (who was not present), and offices of the Popular Resistance Committees. 10 fatalities were reported. The "whole compound" of ministerial buildings in Gaza City, including the Ministries of Finance, Interior and Education, were "completely destroyed" by 30 December. A reporter for the International Middle East Media Center stated that the ministries were "not 'terrorist' or military sites" and that the buildings were "civilian buildings that served the population in civil matters". The premises of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) were destroyed.

Gazans claimed that most Israeli strikes came without warning, but Israeli forces claimed that they offered "general" warnings by dropping leaflets and by interrupting radio broadcasts telling Gaza residents to flee their homes if they were hiding weapons or militants. Amnesty International argued that "there are no 'safe' places in Gaza for civilians to seek shelter".

Israel kept schools closed within a radius of about 50 km (24 miles) from the Gaza border, citing concerns about further rocket fire. Residents were told to remain indoors and on the alert for alarms heralding incoming rockets. Hamas launched Chinese-made rockets at Beersheba, a city in southern Israel. A Grad missile landed in an empty kindergarten, causing damage. 24 Qassam rockets and 11 mortars were fired into Israel, causing some damage but no injuries.

Egypt said it would only fully open its border with the Gaza Strip if the crossing post were to come under the control of Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority.

Israel had banned reporters from entering the Gaza strip since November 2008, citing "security" reasons. A petition made by 400 foreign journalists to enter the Gaza strip was filed with Israel's supreme court.

Israel permitted 100 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies to enter the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing. Five new ambulances donated by Turkey were also allowed entry.

31 December 2008

Forty Palestinians, including at least five civilians, were killed during continued air strikes, as UNRWA reported that at least 25 percent of the dead thus far in the conflict had been civilians. Israel continued bombing, striking "dozens of targets" including smuggling tunnels along the Gaza–Egypt border.

During the morning, two more rockets launched from Gaza hit the city of Beersheba; one of the rockets hit a school, causing severe damage to the building, but no casualties, as Israeli authorities instructed schools to remain closed. Two rockets landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, causing light injuries to two people; another rocket hit the town of Ofakim; several more landed around these cities and the cities of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi and Ashdod. Altogether, more than 60 Katyusha and Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel.

According to UN humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard, Gaza's hospitals were facing severe strain dealing with "their largest ever trauma caseloads under some of the most adverse conditions imaginable". Douglas Alexander, Britain's International Development Secretary is quoted saying "Thousands are suffering. Medical items are in short supply. Fuel shortages have led to power cuts which in turn are affecting hospitals and other essential services. And UN stocks of food are very low. The limited aid that is getting through cannot be distributed properly because of bombing from the air and rocket attacks launched from inside Gaza". A seriously injured six-year-old Palestinian boy was allowed to be transferred from Gaza to an Israeli children's hospital for treatment.

Israel rejected international appeals proposed by the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to grant a 48-hour cease-fire, saying that conditions were not right for the ceasefire. Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha told the AFP agency that Hamas is open to any ceasefire proposition that will end the Israeli airstrikes and stop the Gaza blockade. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, threatened to halt peace talks if they go against the Palestinian interests and offer support for "aggression".

In a briefing to the Israeli cabinet, Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin said that Hamas has suffered significant damages and its rule over Gaza has been compromised, and that many Hamas operatives are hiding in hospitals, posing as medical staff, or hiding in mosques and using them as headquarters, since they assumed Israel won't attack them there. According to the Israeli air force, Hamas cells have been firing rockets from within densely populated areas and attempting to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Cells have been detected in neighborhoods in Gaza City, Jabalya, Khan Younis and Rafah. The Israel Defense Forces has distributed flyers to the Palestinian population in Gaza, warning civilians not to stay close to any Hamas related buildings, for their own safety. The Israeli Air Force bombed a Gaza Strip mosque. According to the IDF the mosque was used by Hamas as a storage site for missiles and explosive materials and that rocket cells were firing at Israel from the mosque area and from nearby sites. According to ynet, the attack on the mosque was carried out after legal consultation with IDF experts on international law.

Israel's supreme court, in response to a court petition heard the previous day, "gave the Israeli government until 10 a.m. Thursday to allow a small group of reporters into the Gaza Strip. The court warned that the reporters would be in the embattled area at their own risk". The ruling "went against a government decision six weeks ago to keep foreign reporters out of Gaza until rockets fired against Israel were halted".

Ninety-three trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies and food donated by Jordan and international organisations were allowed entry to the Gaza Strip, through the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The World Food Programme notified the IDF that it was not in need of any further food shipments, as its warehouses were filled to capacity.

Top UN aid officials urged Israel to allow for the resumption of fuel deliveries into the Gaza Strip, noting that the fuel shortage resulting from the suspension of deliveries had caused the main power plant in Gaza to shut down on 30 December, affecting 350,000 people in Central and Northern Gaza, who live with 16 hours or more of powercuts per day.

The United Nations Security Council met for two hours to hear statements from the Secretary General, the representatives of Palestine, Israel and the other members of the Council.

1 January 2009

Palestinian Legislative Council building

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza's parliament building, and the offices of the education and justice ministries, leaving four dead and 25 wounded. A pre-dawn strike against the home of a Hamas operative resulted in the death of a Palestinian woman. Palestinian reports also mention missiles landed on a workshop and several money changers' offices, one of which was close to a children's hospital, slightly damaging it. In Rafah, air strikes destroyed five smuggling tunnels and a police command center, while in Gaza City, an alleged weapons manufacturing center and storage facility was destroyed. Dozens of Israelis received text messages from Hamas in the morning warning that the offensive on Gaza would only bring about massive rocket fire on Israel. According to Israeli military sources, Hamas launched more than 50 rockets into Israel without causing casualties. Rockets hit Beersheba and Ashdod, damaging a residential building in the latter city.

An Israeli warplane dropped a one-ton bomb on the home of Nizar Rayan, a senior Hamas political leader, in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing him, 9 women (including his four wives), his 11 children, and wounding another 30. As a liaison between the political and armed wings of Hamas and advocate of renewing suicide bombings, Rayan is the most senior political figure to be killed by Israel since 2004. According to the IDF, Rayan's house was used as an arms cache, a communications headquarters and concealed a tunnel's opening. The International Herald Tribune reported that among those killed were Rayan's four wives and nine of their twelve children. On 2 January, the Times Online reports instead that two of his four wives and four of his 12 children were killed. UN OCHA reports that 13 of his family members, including 11 of his children, were killed and 12 were injured. There were reports that the family was warned by the IDF to leave the building but that they had refused to do so. According to ynet, recent deliberations by the IDF resulted in a decision that striking homes used as weapons storages when sufficient warning is given to the residents falls within the boundaries of international law and is legitimate. Rayan had sent his son to carry out a suicide attack in the community of Elei Sinai in 2001 in which two Israelis were killed, and was behind the bombing in the Ashdod Port in 2004 which left 10 Israelis dead.

Ninety trucks carrying food and medical supplies provided by international organisations entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom border crossing. Egypt blocked the entry of humanitarian aid from Qatar to pass through the Rafah crossing, however, Israel announced it would allow several aircraft from Qatar to land in Israel and the aid will be sent by truck to Gaza.

2 January 2009

Hamas called for a "Day of Wrath" against Israel, bringing thousands of protesters out onto the streets of Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli air strikes on Friday targeted the homes of 20 Hamas officials, including that of Imad Akel in Nuseirat and Mohammed Madhoun. One of the strikes in Khan Yunis killed five civilians. Israel began to bomb the ground near its boundary in an attempt to clear it of landmines, increasing speculation that a ground offensive was imminent. Israel briefly opened the Erez crossing to allow about 440 residents with foreign passports to leave the Gaza Strip. Foreign journalists continued to be barred entry to Gaza; those who had lined up at the Erez crossing intending to enter after a court decision supported their right to do so when the crossing is open, were turned back by Israeli authorities. At around 10:45, in a repeat attack south-west of Deir al-Balah, an International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement ambulance, which had arrived to transport survivors following an initial attack, was destroyed by a second Israeli attack. The two crew members in the ambulance were injured and hospitalised.

Throughout the day, thirty rockets were fired at Israel; three people were lightly injured, and several buildings sustained heavy damage. In Jerusalem, men under the age of 50, or those who didn't hold Israeli ID were unable to access prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

3 January 2009

Early on Saturday, an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip killed a senior commander of Hamas' armed wing, Abu Zakaria al-Jamal. He was commander of Gaza City's rocket-launching squads. In another air strike, Jamal Mamduch, commander of the Gaza City battalion, was killed. Many of the killed Hamas leaders have died along with their families in their own homes.

Thirteen Palestinians, including six children, were killed and dozens wounded when the Israeli Air Force bombed the Maqadna Mosque in Beit Lahiya, in which about 200 people had gathered for evening prayers. Witnesses said over 200 Palestinians were praying inside at the time. Another person was killed as large parts of the American International School in that city were destroyed.

At least 34 rockets were fired at Israel during the day, damaging several buildings, and lightly injuring one woman in Netivot. A number of Hamas rockets hit the city of Beersheba (population 186,000) in southern Israel, with one exploding on an empty school.

Israel stepped up its offensive on Gaza and launched its first artillery strikes, as its campaign entered its second week. Israel has now carried out more than 700 strikes on Gaza since launching the offensive a week ago, the AFP news agency says. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza.

The UN has warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis, and believes 25% of the more than 400 Palestinians killed by Israel so far were civilians.

On the evening of 3 January, Israeli ground troops began entering Gaza for the first time since the operation began. The intention of the ground invasion, termed the 'second stage' of Operation Cast Lead, according to the Israeli Defense Forces website, is to secure areas within the Gaza strip from which rockets have been launched even after the previous Israeli operations.

The United Nations Security Council held another closed-door meeting which failed to produce an official statement or an on-the-record debate or vote on a resolution. Speaking outside the meeting, the President of the General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann said "Once again, the world is watching in dismay the disfunctionality of the Security Council."

4 January 2009

Israeli ground troops entered Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza in the early hours. Israeli forces reportedly bisected Gaza and surrounded Gaza City, but restricted their movements to areas that were not heavily urbanised. The Israeli military said forty sites had been targeted, including targets for weapons depots and rocket launch sites. Despite a Supreme Court ruling to allow a limited number of journalists into the warzone, Israel is refusing to allow journalists into the area at all. Heavy fighting was reported near Gaza City. The IDF reported that 30 of its soldiers were wounded (28 from a single mortar shell which landed next to a Golani regiment), with two out of those 30 badly injured, one later died of his wounds. The Israeli government also claimed to have killed at least 50 Hamas militants in the overnight ground operation, and wounded dozens more. Later on Sunday, as a result of the earlier mortar incident, one Israeli soldier was reported killed: . Staff Sergeant Dvir Emmanueloff, from Givat Ze'ev, near Jerusalem. Palestinian medical sources claimed that at least 21 Palestinians were killed in the fighting. Additionally, Palestinian health ministry officials state at least 17 people were killed and 130 injured when Israeli shells fell near a school and the main market in Gaza City. A tank shell fired in northern Gaza killed 12 people, apparently including civilians. An Israeli missile hit a house in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, killing a mother and her four children. On the morning, an ambulance of Al-Awda hospital in the northern city of Beit Lahiya was shelled, seriously injuring 4 medical staff. Meanwhile, at least 41 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel from Gaza, targeting communities close to the border. Three Israeli civilians were lightly wounded.

Three senior Hamas leaders were killed on Sunday: Hussam Hamdan, who according to the IDF was responsible for the organisation's rocket fire and the man behind the firing of Grad missiles towards the cities of Beersheba and Ofakim; Muhammad Hilou, who according to the IDF was responsible for Hamas' special forces in Khan Younis and for the firing of long-range rockets; and Mohammed Shalpokh, who commanded Hamas forces in Rafah.

Also on January 4, the director of Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, told the cabinet that Hamas leaders both at home and in exile felt that their organisation was facing an "existential threat" and was "willing to reach an agreement" on a cease fire. However, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Israel did not intend to conclude a "diplomatic product" with Hamas. Such a move had been avoided in the past out of fear of legitimising Hamas as a negotiating partner.

Hamas sources told The Jerusalem Post that members of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were participating in the fighting against the IDF, and that they were making use of U.S. and Israeli weapons confiscated from members of Fatah in the 2007 Battle of Gaza.

According to medical sources, the total Palestinian death toll for the day was 42, most of them civilians.

Zeitoun incident

According to survivors' eyewitness reports, on January 4, Israeli troops ordered about 110 Palestinians, mostly women and children (separately detaining the men), into a single building without running water or food in the Zeitoun district, only to shell the building 24 hours later, killing a total of 70 people. The United Nations confirmed the reports of on January 9. According to the Red Cross, ambulances were not given permission to enter the neighborhood to retrieve the injured from the building that day, but did so a day later. Three children had later died after they were transported to hospital. After the attack, ambulances found four children clinging to their mothers' corpses for 48 hours, though Israeli soldiers were stationed nearby. The Telegraph reported that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance convoy found 70 dead, and other newspapers reported that the survivors of the incident were treated at Shifa hospital, Gaza..

The IDF stated that it had no knowledge of the incident, and that its forces weren't present in the area on January 4th. The Israeli television reported that Gaza hospitals had no knowledge of the incident. Reports of the incident were given to the media by Norwegian doctors stationed in the Shifa Hospital, Gaza, as early as Tuesday, January 5th.

The UN's OCHA said that if it was true it was "one of the gravest incidents" in the conflict, calling an investigation into the incident, but did not make any "accusations of deliberate action" at this time. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, said that the incident displayed elements of a war crime, and called for "credible, independent and transparent" investigations into possible violations of humanitarian law.

5 January 2009

As Israeli tanks and troops seized control of large parts of the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of Gazans fled their homes amidst artillery and gunfire, and flooded into the heart of Gaza city. Gun battles reportedly broke out between Israel and Hamas on the streets of Gaza, as Israel surrounded the city. BBC reporters stated that this is preventing essential medical supplies from reaching hospitals and casualties.

An air strike hit an ambulance belonging to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza City, killing three paramedics. Israeli tank shelling killed at least 24 civilians in the Gaza Strip, 13 of them children belonging to two families. A family of seven were killed by an Israeli air strike in al-Shati Camp east of Gaza City. In Gaza's Zaytun neighborhood, seven members of another family were killed and in separate incident, a pregnant Palestinian woman and her four children were killed.

Papers have reported that Israel is using the controversial substance white phosphorous over civilian targets during the course of its military operation. Some of the papers have claimed that Israel used the substance as a smokescreen which is a legal use. Israel used white phosphorus in Lebanon in 2006, and the UK and the US have used it elsewhere. Israel has denied using the substance. According to Ha'aretz and the UN humanitarian chief, Israel had also used cluster bombs.

Hamas said it will send a delegation to Egypt for talks, as France spearheaded diplomatic efforts to obtain a 48-hour truce. Israel refused to let journalists enter the Gaza Strip, despite a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court to admit a limited number of reporters. According to the Jerusalem Post, Defense Minister Ehud Barack defined the Israeli aim in the following terms: "No terror activity from Gaza - either against civilians or against our soldiers, a dramatic change in weapons smuggling and quiet in the South."

Major fighting began at around 6:30 PM in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. According to preliminary information gathered by the IDF, Hamas attacked with mortar shells that exploded near Israeli troops. They then apparently took shelter behind the wall of a building, after which a large explosion took place. Hamas responded with additional mortar fire. In one of the strikes, near the border, two Israelis were wounded, one of them moderately.

Over 40 Qassam and Grad rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel striking Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot, Kiryat Malakhi, near Ofakim, Netivot and Beersheba. Hamas also fired rockets at the area between Ashdod and Gedera. A number of people in Sderot were treated for shock, and in Ashdod a rocket nearly destroyed a kindergarten.

Hamas initially claimed to have killed 5 Israeli soldiers, but later increased the number 9 Israeli troops killed. Hamas also claimed to have captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel dismissed the claims, accusing Hamas of engaging in "psychological warfare". By evening, the Israeli Defense Forces claimed that during the course of the day they had killed between 80-100 Hamas operatives in ground fighting, and that a further 100 "wanted gunmen" had been taken prisoner. Nonetheless, Palestinian rocket launching cells still managed to fire nearly 40 rockets and mortar shells at Israel, injuring four Israelis.

An IDF spokesperson confirmed that three Israeli soldiers were killed in a friendly fire incident, when an Israeli tank fired a live round at a building where the troops were staying, after erroneously identifying Israeli soldiers as terrorists. About 20 soldiers were injured in the incident including Colonel Avi Peled, commander of the Golani Brigade who sustained minor injuries. Another IDF officer was killed in a separate friendly fire incident.

UN officials say that an Israeli airstrike on the grounds of a UN school which is serving as a makeshift refugee camp for hundreds of displaced Palestinians, killed three Palestinian men. An official from the Danish charitable organization DanChurchAid reports that three mobile clinics set up to help hospitals in Gaza cope with the wounded were bombarded in Israeli airstrikes Monday night, despite being clearly marked as humanitarian vehicles.

A total of 30 Palestinian civilians were known to have been killed on January 5, and the total Palestinian death toll at the end of the day was 540, until details of the Samouni family incident (below) emerged several days later.

Samouni family

The Telegraph reports that in Zeitoun, massive civilian casualties were sustained after the Israeli army entered Gaza. Palestinian witnesses said that about 100 members of the Samouni, an extended family clan, were ordered to gather in a single house early in the morning on January 4, 2009. The next day at 6:35am, the house was repeatedly shelled. Between 60 and 70 family members were killed by shrapnel and falling masonry. A few survivors, some wounded, others carrying some of the dead or dying, managed to reach Gaza's main north-south road where they were able to get lifts to the hospital. The site of the killings could not be reached until January 7, 2009. Mohammed Shaheen, a volunteer with Palestinian Red Crescent, confirmed accounts from survivors of the extended Samouni clan who said they feared between 60 and 70 family members had been killed. He said that paramedics also found fifteen people still alive but injured that they took to the hospital, but that eight injured people were left behind because "we could not get to them and it was no longer safe for us to stay."

6 January 2009

According to Palestinian sources, 20 people were killed in a number of IDF attacks on Tuesday morning. Palestinian medical workers said that an Israeli attack on Deir al-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp killed ten Palestinians, including a father and his three children. In an attack on Gaza beach, YNET reports that witnesses said it was carried out either by the Israeli navy or Israeli tanks, and that four of those killed were Hamas gunmen, while the rest were members of Islamic Jihad. An IDF soldier was killed Tuesday morning and four were lightly injured during the IDF operation in northern Gaza City. According to YNET, the head of Hamas' artillery forces and a senior member of Hamas' military wing, Ayman Siam, were both hit and believed to have been killed in an aerial attack on a building in the Jabaliya neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip.

At least 30 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, despite the IDF presence in the strip. Gedera, Template:Km to mi south of Tel Aviv, was hit by Palestinian militants for the first time. A Grad rocket landed near a house, lightly injuring a 3-month old baby girl.

John Ging, the UN's senior official in Gaza said that 1 million Palestinians were now without electricity and 700,000 without water. He told world leaders: "You are not to sleep, eat or drink until you stop the killing of innocent people in the Gaza Strip," adding that, "There's nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone is terrorized and traumatized."

Israel continued to refuse foreign journalists' access to the Gaza Strip, despite an Israeli Supreme Court ruling that called for the government to allow a limited number of reporters access through the Erez crossing. The continuing ban on foreign media access drew criticism from journalists that Israel is trying to manage the story. Israel asserts that opening border crossings for journalists would endanger staff at the terminals, which have been targeted by militants previously. While the Associated Press and some other news organizations have Palestinian reporters, photographers and cameramen based in Gaza, many media outlets have no reliable source of independent information.

Medics report that an Israeli airstrike on a 4-story building in Gaza City the night before had killed 12 members of the same extended family; the bodies of 7 children aged one to twelve years old, 3 women and 2 men from the Daya family were pulled from the rubble on Tuesday.

Senior Israeli defense officials claimed that Hamas contributed to the shortage in medications by pilfering a "significant portion" of the aid provided by Israel in medications. Nevertheless, they say Israel will continue sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

IDF forces have found a lot of tunnels, weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, grenades, explosive devices, and weapons, partly in urban areas. They also stated to have encountered booby-trapped homes and that a booby-trapped mosque had been blown up.

The United Nations Security Council held a four hour meeting in New York attended by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, the UN Secretary-General, David Miliband (foreign secretary of the United Kingdom), and Condoleezza Rice (US Secretary of State), where all sides stated their view of the situation.

UNRWA school Incident

See article:Al-Fakhura school incident

Palestinian medics in Gaza stated that 43 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school run by UNRWA on Tuesday afternoon. Two tank shells exploded outside the school, spraying shrapnel on people inside and outside the building, where at least 350 Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants. The strike took place near the Al-Fakhura school in Jabaliya in northern Gaza and was the third deadly Israeli attack near United Nations-run schools on 6 January.

The IDF said mortars from inside the school were fired at Israeli forces, and that Israeli soldiers were responding to them. The IDF also stated that numerous Hamas gunmen were inside, utilising the civilian refugees as human shields, and claimed to have found their bodies following the attack. Hamas rejected the claims of any fire from the school, calling them "baseless".

UNRWA spokesperson Christopher Gunness stated that UNRWA is "99.9% certain" that there were no militants or military activity in the school Gunness also added that this "does not necessarily contradict Israel's claim that the militants were operating close by". Previously, on 29 Oct. 2007, Israel Defense Forces had released a drone footage of Mortar Bombs Shot from UNRWA Beit Hanoun Elementary school for boys. Israel warned Ban Ki Moon about such danger and requested him to investigate.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had ordered officials to look into taking Israel to international courts over the "massacre".

The U.N. wanted an inquiry into both the assault and the Israeli allegations about militants firing from its schools Ban Ki Moon condemned the attack, saying it was "totally unacceptable".

7 January 2009

At least 12 Palestinians were killed in fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip. At least 15 rockets hit Israel, causing no casualties.

Due to problems with distribution of aid to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, Israel initiated a three-hour "humanitarian truce". The Israeli army refrained from attacks from 1 to 4 pm, though there are reports of some exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hamas during that period. During the temporary truce, Israel allowed 80 aid trucks to enter the strip, and delivered industrial fuel for Gaza's power plant. Additionally, access was granted to previously closed regions, to allow residents to stock up on supplies. According to Israeli sources, they plan to repeat this move daily. Fighting resumed immediately following the end of the truce.

8 January 2009

At least two dozen Israeli airstrikes were reported, killing at least 4 Palestinians and wounding at least 22. UN officials said at least one Palestinian civilian contractor hired to drive a truck forming part of a UN aid convoy was killed after the convoy was fired upon by Israeli forces. The UN claimed the attack happened in spite of co-ordinating its movements with the IDF. It subsequently said it would suspend all relief activities in Gaza until receiving improved guarantees of the safety of its staff from Israel.

Israel announced the deaths of two soldiers, bringing the total number of soldiers killed to eight. A company commander was killed and another soldier wounded when an anti-tank missile was fired by Palestinian gunmen at the building they were entering close to the Kissufim crossing. A Staff Sergeant with the Armored Corps was also killed, apparently by Palestinian sniper fire in northern Gaza.

Three Katyusha rockets from Lebanon territory were fired at the northern Israeli city of Nahariyya. Two civilians were injured. The IDF returned fire at the launch sites in southern Lebanon. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for this attack.

9 January 2009

The Israeli offensive continues, despite the passing of UN Security resolution calling for an immediate and durable ceasefire which both Hamas and Israel have rejected. Israel has dismissed the Security Council resolution passed Thursday as impractical, while Hamas, whose government in Gaza is not recognized internationally, is angry it was not consulted about the diplomatic efforts. In Israel's first official response to the U.N. resolution, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said more Hamas rockets fired Friday "only prove that the U.N.'s decision is not practical and will not be kept in practice by the Palestinian murder organizations." "Nobody consulted Hamas or talked to Hamas. Nobody put Hamas in the picture and yet Hamas is required to accept it. This is unacceptable," Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas official based in Syria, told Al-Arabiya television.

Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of at least 30 rockets at southern Israel on Friday, just hours after the United Nations passed a resolution calling for an immediate truce between Israel and Hamas. Hamas claimed to have hit the Tel Nof airbase, some Template:Km to mi from Tel Aviv, which if true, would make it the farthest ever strike to date. Hamas also announces that Mahmoud Abbas' term as President has expired, and that while they do not expect Abbas to step down while the war continues in Gaza, they no longer recognize his legitimacy. Abbas says that he still has another year, citing a law that says presidential and parliamentary elections should be held at the same time.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it is difficult to protect civilians in a place as densely populated as Gaza — an area just 25 miles long and roughly six miles wide. "It's also an area in which Hamas participates in activities like human shields and using buildings that are not designated as military buildings to hide their fighters."

A three-hour truce took place on January 9th as well. Palestinians fired three Grad-type rockets at Ashdod, shortly after 1 pm, the truce's start-time. While supplies were being transferred through Kerem Shalom border crossing, Palestinian militants fired several mortar shells at the terminal. No casualties were reported.

On January 9th, the UN said its aid workers will resume movement in the Gaza strip, having received assurances from Israel that they are not being targeted.

At around 23:00, an Israeli drone destroyed a Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) car that was clearly marked with the NPA logo, outside the home of an NPA employee, Mahmoud Hamada, at al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza. Nobody was injured. Surrounding buildings were severely damaged. The Secretary-General of NPA, Petter Eide, said that there are no military targets in the area. Raymond Johansen of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the incident was a "clear violation of international law."

10 January 2009

No rockets were fired into Israel overnight, a sharp drop from the dozens of projectiles that were launched in the early days of the offensive; during the morning, three rockets struck the southern city of Ashkelon, lightly wounding two people. Six additional rockets landed in open areas, with no casualties.

The Israeli military said that in Gaza it had killed more than 15 militants and that IDF aircraft had attacked more than 40 targets throughout Gaza striking ten rocket-launching sites, weapons-storage facilities, smuggling tunnels, an anti-aircraft missile launcher and gunmen. Although Palestinian hospital officials could confirm only four deaths they also stated that fighting has hindered paramedics from collecting bodies and treating the wounded. Palestinian medical officials said that eight people were killed by Israeli tank fire Saturday in the town of Jebailiya and the dead appeared to be civilians per paramedics on the scene.

The Israeli military said it would halt the fire in Gaza for three hours on Saturday to allow the territory's besieged residents to leave their homes and stock up on supplies. Medics use the lull to rescue casualties in areas of fighting, and aid groups also rush through food distribution.

The Palestinian Authority president urged both Israel and Hamas to agree to an Egypt-brokered truce Saturday, but he singled out Israel, saying it would be responsible for a "waterfall of blood" if it didn't accept the deal.

On January 10 the IDF stated that Hamas fighters are suffering from exhaustion. An IDF military commander said that Hamas militants are beginning to desert battle and refuse orders. Israeli military claims that Hamas younger operatives refused to venture outside to lob mortars against Israeli forces, prompting a senior Hamas leader, Amir Mansi, to operate the mortar himself. After IDF soldiers identified the source of fire, they shot and killed Mansi, wounding two others involved in the attack. Amir Mansi has been reported as an expert in the Grad rocket launching program, having been trained by Hezbollah. Also, the IDF stated that more than 300 Hamas fighters have been killed so far in the operation, the highest estimate so far, and at least 120 have been captured. According to the reports, entire Hamas companies have been eliminated by the Israeli forces. A senior Israeli officer said that "complete battalions that have just been erased", adding that Hamas fighters are afraid to come out to fight, with many going AWOL and abandoning the battlefield.

11 January 2009

The IAF attacked overnight a mosque in the town of Rafah, which according to Israel was being used as a Hamas training camp, a meeting place and a weapons cache. The IDF reported that the mosque contained machine-guns and antiaircraft missiles.

Israeli and Palestinian officials report that at least 40 Hamas gunmen were killed in a battle with IDF soldiers in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sheikh Ajalin. According to reports, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants ambushed IDF forces in Sheikh Ajalin, which lead to "some of the heaviest fighting" since phase two of the operation began. Palestinians reported that four people had been killed in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. The IDF reported hitting dozens of gunmen across the Gaza Strip on January 10 and 11. Additionally, the IAF reported that Hamas operatives have tried to shoot down an IAF fixed wing aircraft with anti-aircraft missiles for the first time since operation in Gaza begun.

Two rockets landed in the city of Beersheba, a half an hour before the city's high schools were to reopen after being closed for more than 10 days. Some 65% of Beersheba's 11 and 12th graders (about 2.700 students) were to return to school and study in bomb shelters.

Three Palestinians were killed (two militants and one woman) in southern Gaza Strip. Dozens were injured in attacks near the village of Khouza to the east of Khan Younis. Palestinian medics in the area said that the injured suffered from burns and gas inhalations, symptoms indicating exposure to white phosphorus. Israel rejected the claim.

There have been rumors circulating in the Egyptian media that IAF strikes have wounded the captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. A spokesman of Hamas politburo, Moussa Abu Marzuk, said that Shalit's condition is no longer a concern for Hamas. An Israeli Defense Ministry official dismissed the comments as "psychological warfare". Vice Premier Haim Ramon in an interview with Army Radio added that Hamas is using Shalit as a "bargaining chip" hoping for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the captured soldier.

On January 11, the IDF started to deploy thousands of reservists into the Gaza Strip for the first time since Israeli offensive against Hamas begun 16 days ago. The Israeli government announced that it had approved tens of thousands of call-ups of its reserve forces before the ground operation started on the 3rd of January. The troops have been refreshing on their urban training since then, and the bulk of the fighting has been done by Golani and Givati brigades. Analysts comment that this suggests Israel is intensifying its military efforts against Hamas.

An Israeli patrol came under fire on the Syrian border on Sunday. The soldiers did not return fire and no casualties were reported, although the vehicle they were traveling in sustained damage. The IDF assessed that the Syrian army was not involved, believing it was Palestinians protesting the Gaza operation. It was the second cross-border attack in three days after three Katyusha rockets slammed into northern Israel on January 8 from Lebanon. Israel filed a complaint to the UNDOF in Syria which sent a team to investigate the reports.

The IDF reported that it had uncovered an explosive device rigged with a timer that was hidden in a Palestinian school. A fuse attached to the explosives extended to a zoo located dozens of yards away. The soldiers managed to neutralize the bomb before it went off. According to the IDF, numerous weapons, including RPG launchers, grenades and AK-47 assault rifles were found inside the school.

In the afternoon, during the "humanitarian corridor" - a time in which the Israeli army holds it fire and allows civilians in Gaza to receive aid - Hamas militants fired several rocket barrages. A rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip hit a wall surrounding a kindergarten in Ashdod. There were no reports of damage or injury, but a few people were treated for shock. Other rockets were fired at Ashkelon, Sderot, Kiryat Malachi, and Eshkol Regional Council.

12 January 2009

The IDF reported on January 12 that four soldiers were wounded, one seriously. The troops were part of a paratrooper unit that was operating in northern Gaza. The military said they launched an inquiry whether this incident was caused by friendly fire. According to previous reports friendly fire has so far killed four soldiers in separate incidents on January 5. Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade, claimed to have destroyed two Israeli tanks in the Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitun, and that they killed many soldiers in the village of Khuzaa, near the Israeli border. The Israeli army refuted these claims.

Another paratrooper unit discovered and eventually destroyed a tunnel in Gaza that, according to the IDF, was meant to transfer suicide bombers into Israel. The tunnel was found some 300 meters from the fence on the border with Israel. It was also reported that the soldiers shot and killed a female would-be suicide bomber. During the day the military, backed by the IAF, targeted over 25 sites on Monday, including tunnels and weapon caches, killing 9 Palestinians, five of whom, according to Palestinian officials, were civilians.

US President Bush threw his support behind Israel once more on January 12. The President was quoted with saying that he believes a sustainable ceasefire will only be achieved if Hamas stops firing rockets at Israel and that it is solely Hamas' choice to make. He reiterated Israel's right to defend herself but hoped she "continued to be mindful of the innocent folk" and help with humanitarian aid transfer into Gaza. Meanwhile it was reported that Hamas raided over 100 trucks with humanitarian aid meant for civilians and sold it to the highest bidder. Israeli forces stopped several attempts to smuggle prohibited goods into Israel, namely electronics, since Defense Minister Ehud Barak said they do not classify as humanitarian aid. Israel still allows certain repair items to flow into Gaza to repair the damaged electric grid.

Israel is considering establishing a field hospital outside of the Gaza Strip to facilitate medical aid for Palestinians civilians wounded in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Under the plan, Israel is also considering bringing the facility inside the Palestinian territory to make it more accessible for the Palestinians seeking treatment. The hospital would be run by the IDF Medical Corps. Througout the conflict, IDF has allowed the passage of over 900 trucks and faciliated with the transfer of over 20,000 tons of basic food and supplies.

As the Palestinian death toll exceeded 900, in a statement the IDF said it believes 400 of those are known Hamas fighters, adding that a "significant number are also Hamas operatives" in the remaining 500 dead.

13 January 2009

An unidentified gunman opened fire at an Israeli Border Guard patrol from the Jordanian side of the border north of Eilat early Tuesday morning. The Border Guards returned fire. No one was injured in the incident, the first such shooting in more than a decade.