Gaza War (2008–2009)

2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Map of Gaza; Map of Region
Date December 27, 2008 – January 18, 2009 Location Gaza Strip & Southern Israel Status Israel and Hamas each declare a unilateral ceasefire; Israeli forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip
Belligerents
Israel (IDF)	Hamas (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades) Islamic Jihad in Palestine File:Logoprc.jpg Popular Resistance Committees File:Fateh-logo.jpg Fatah (Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades) File:PFLP flag smoothed.svg Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Commanders and leaders
Ehud Barak (DefMin) Gabi Ashkenazi (CoS) Yoav Galant (SoCom)	Ismail Haniyeh Mahmoud az-Zahar Ahmed al-Ja'abari
Strength
176,500 (total) Backed by tanks, artillery, gunboats, and aircraft.	Hamas: 20,000 (total)
Casualties and losses
Total killed: 13 Soldiers: 10 Civilians: 3 Total wounded: 424 Soldiers: 242 Civilians: 182	Total killed: 1,414* Militants and policemen: 500** (IDF) Civilians: 906+***(PCHR) Total wounded: 5,300****(MoH)
One Egyptian border guard officer killed and three guards and two children wounded. Over 50,800 Gaza residents displaced.
*Casualty figures and the civilian/combatant breakdown in Gaza cannot yet be independently verified. **231 policemen were killed (138 during initial airstrikes), they were considered by the IDF as enemy combatants while the PCHR saw them as civilians. ***The stated 906 deaths don't include policemen, who were regarded as civilians by the PCHR. Around 725 of the deaths are: 4 UN and 13 medical workers, 4 journalists, 3 top football players, 414 children, 110 women, 97 elderly people, Also, two foreigners, a Ukrainian woman and her child were among the dead. ****Among the wounded there were 1,855 children and 795 women.

Template:Campaignbox Arab-Israeli conflict The 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, part of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, began on 27 December 2008 (11:30 a.m. local time; 9:30 a.m. UTC) when Israel launched a military campaign codenamed Operation Cast Lead (Template:Lang-he), with the stated intent of targeting the members and infrastructure of Hamas. The conflict has been described as the Gaza Massacre (Template:Lang-ar) in the Arab World.

A six-month truce between Hamas and Israel expired on 19 December 2008. Contending that Israel had not lifted the Gaza Strip blockade and following an Israeli raid on a proported cross-border tunnel in the Gaza Strip on November 4, Hamas reinstated its rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. Hamas and Israel could not agree on conditions to extend the truce.

On 27 December 2008, Israel launched its military operation with the stated objective of halting Hamas rocket fire. Hamas demands the cessation of Israeli attacks and an end to the Israeli blockade.

On the first days of the Israeli operation, the Israeli Air Force, supported by the navy, bombed Hamas bases, training camps, headquarters and offices in all of the Gaza strip. Civilian infrastructure, including mosques, houses and schools, have also been attacked; Israel claims that many of these buildings hid weapons or personnel and that it is not targeting civilians.

Hamas has intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against civilian targets in Israel throughout the conflict, hitting such cities as Beersheba and Ashdod.

On January 3, 2009, the Israeli Defence Forces ground invasion began, with mechanised infantry, armor, and artillery units, supported by helicopter gunships, entering Gaza.

International reactions during the conflict have included calls for an immediate ceasefire as in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1860, and concern about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the hindrances in delivering aid.

Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire with Hamas on January 18 which came in effect at 0000 UTC (2 a.m. local time). Palestinian militants fired about 20 rockets over the border after the Israeli ceasefire announcement. Israel retaliated with an airstrike. Hamas offered its own one-week unilateral ceasefire. On 21 January, Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

As of 19 January 2009, 13 Israelis have been killed during this conflict, including three civilians. On the Palestinian side, it is estimated that 1,314 individuals have been killed (0.089% of the population), including 904 civilians, among them 410 children and 85 women (according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health).

Human rights groups and aid organisations have accused Hamas and Israel of war crimes and called for independant investigations and law suits.

In the days following the ceasefire, the BBC reported that more than 400,000 Gazans were left without running water. As a result of the bombings, 4,000 Gazan buildings were razed and 20,000 severely damaged), more than 50,800 Gazans were left homeless.

Background

Main articles: 2008 Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Gaza–Israel conflict, 2007–2008 Israel–Gaza conflict, and Blockade of the Gaza Strip

See also: List of Palestinian fatalities resulting from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in 2008, List of rocket and mortar attacks in Israel in 2008, 2009

The Gaza strip is one of the most densely populated places on earth. According to the CIA Factbook as of June 2007, it holds a population of 1,482,405 on an area of only 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi). Almost half of the population are children aged 14 or younger (44.7% as of June 2007).

Following its victory in the 2006 municipal legislative elections and the military conflict between Fatah and Hamas, Hamas assumed administrative control, and Israel and Egypt sealed their border crossings with Gaza and imposed a blockade on the territory, prohibiting all exports and allowing only enough goods to avert a humanitarian or health crisis.Imposing a blockade constitutes an act of war under international law. . In response to the blockade, hundreds of underground tunnels between Egypt and Israel were developed. While Egyptian sources claimed that these tunnels were mainly employed to import food, the IDF has released videos that show that these tunnels were indeed used for weapons smuggling. Hamas and other Palestinian paramilitias increased the number of Qassam rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza strip into Southern Israel. Israel conducted airstrikes on Gaza during 2007 and 2008, against Hamas and other targets.

Hamas considers Israel an illegitimate state and is doctrinally committed to its destruction, while Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group that must be dismantled.

2008 Lull

On June 19, 2008, an Egyptian-brokered pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, consisting of a six-month 'lull', translating the Arabic term Tahdia, went into effect 'for the Gaza area'. According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire.

The June 19 agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks upon Israel in exchange for an end of the blockade and for commerce in Gaza to be restored to the level preceding Israel's withdrawal in 2005 and Hamas's electoral victory. Israeli policy tied the easing of the blockade to success in reducing rocket fire. Israel re-opened supply lines gradually, permitting a 20% increase in goods trucked into Gaza in the pre-lull period.

Israel accused Hamas of continuing the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza strip via tunnels to Egypt, pointing out that the rocket attacks had not completely ceased, and complained that Hamas would not continue negotiating the release of Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit, held illegally by Hamas in Gaza since kidnapping him in 2006. Hamas criticized Israel for maintaining the Blockade of the Gaza Strip. On the 18th of December, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Hamas, reported 185 Israeli violations in the lull period.

Rocket fire decreased 98% in the four and a half months between June 18 and November 4 in comparison with the four and half months preceding the ceasefire. The Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center notes that "Hamas was careful to maintain the ceasefire" until November 4, when the ceasefire was "seriously eroded." . Hamas denied responsibility for the rockets that were fired and, 'even imprisoned some of those who were firing rockets'. Nevertheless, Human Rights Watch complained to Hamas that some rocket firing militants were summarily released without an explanation.

Conflict Escalates

On November 4, 2008, Israeli military raided a Hamas-dug tunnel between Gaza and Israel on the Gazan side of the border. The IDF claimed it was intended for the capture of Israeli soldiers, while Hamas, and according to Robert Pastor one IDF source, maintained it was for defensive purposes. As six members of Hamas were killed, it considered this attack a "massive breach of the truce," and rocket attacks towards Israeli cities around Gaza increased sharply in November 2008, approaching the pre-truce levels. According to a November 17 article in The Telegraph, "since violence flared on Nov 5, Israeli forces and militants, some of them from Hamas, have engaged in almost daily tit-for-tat exchanges."

On December 13, 2008, Israel announced that it was in favor of extending the cease-fire, provided Hamas adhered to its conditions. The conditions posed by a Hamas delegation in Cairo on December 14, were that the parties return to the original Hamas-Israel ceasefire arrangement. Hamas would undertake to stop all rocket attacks against Israel if the Israelis would agree to open up the border crossings, not to reduce commercial traffic thereafter, and not to launch attacks in Gaza. At an Israeli Cabinet meeting on December 21, Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's internal security agency, confirmed the seriousness of Hamas’s interest in maintaining the truce.

On December 20 Hamas officially announced that they would not be extending the cease-fire, which had expired on December 19, citing Israeli border closures as the primary reason, and resumed its shelling of the western Negev. Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade, under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza. Israel said it initially began easing the blockade, but resumed it when Hamas failed to fulfill the agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.

On December 23, in an Egyptian newspaper interview Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, said that his group was willing to renew the hudna if Israel refrained from operating in Gaza, and lifted its blockade of the Gaza strip. The same day the IDF killed three Palestinian militants, stating that the militants were planting explosives on the Gaza border. Israel was also reluctant to open the border crossings, which had been closed since November. On December 24 the Negev was hit by more than 60 mortar shells and Katyusha and Qassam rockets, and the IDF was given a green light to operate. Hamas claimed to have fired a total of 87 rockets and mortar rounds that day at Israel, code-naming the firing "Operation Oil Stain".

On December 25, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister, after Israel had "wrapped up preparations for a broad offensive", Ehud Olmert delivered a 'Last Minute' Warning in an interview with the Arabic language satellite channel al-Arabiya. "I am telling them now, it may be the last minute, I'm telling them stop it. We are stronger," he said.

On December 26, 2008, Israel reopened five crossings between Israel and Gaza for humanitarian supplies. At the same time, militants fired about a dozen rockets and mortar shells from Gaza at Israel on Friday. Fuel was allowed in for Gaza's main power plant and about 100 trucks loaded with grain, humanitarian aid and other goods were expected during the day. Rocket attacks continued — about a dozen rockets and mortar bombs were fired from Gaza into Israel, one accidentally striking a northern Gaza house and killing two Palestinian sisters, aged five and thirteen, while wounding a third. According to Israeli defense officials, the subsequent December 27th Israeli offensive took Hamas by surprise, thereby increasing their casualties.

Campaign

Main article: Timeline of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

Israeli offensive

Air strikes

Israel launched its military operation, Operation Cast Lead, 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 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.

Destroyed orphan centre in Gaza, January 12, 2009.

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 reported among the casualties. Attacks on police in Gaza were justified by Israel on the grounds that they are "combatants"; however, human rights groups say that police, even if affiliated with Hamas, are not combatants and do not represent legitimate targets unless they are actively engaged in hostilities.

Some Palestinians call this day Massacre of the Black Saturday because of the magnitude of casualties inflicted. The Israeli attack is considered to be the bloodiest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict with the Palestinians.

Following the first day of air raids, the Israeli Air Force continued to inflict massive damage in the coming week to the Palestinian infrastructure. Among their targets were ministerial buildings, Hamas training camps, offices of the Popular Resistance Committees, of homes of Hamas commanders (roof knocking). The IDF sources noted: "Destruction of hundreds of Hamas leaders' homes as one of the keys to the offensive's success. The homes serve as weapons warehouses and headquarters, and shelling them has seriously hindered Hamas capabilities." A number of high-ranking Hamas commanders were killed in the attacks, including: Nizar Rayan, Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, Jamal Mamduch and others. Many of the killed Hamas leaders had died along with their families in their own homes. By January 3, 2009, the death toll among Palestinians was at 400, 25% of them civilians.

Airstrikes continued throughout the ground invasion that followed. The Independent reported that as of January 15, Israeli forces had carried out 2,360 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Ground invasion

IDF infantry and armor units amassed near the Gaza border on December 28, engaging in an active blockade of the strip. On December 29, Hamas fired rocket barrages into Israeli territory, killing an Israeli soldier and three civilians. On the evening of January 3, Israel launched its ground operation with troops 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.

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. One Israeli soldier was killed in the offensive and another seriously wounded. The Israeli military said forty sites had been targeted, including targets for weapons depots and rocket launch sites.

On January 3, the IDF attacked the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque in Beit Lahiya after the evening prayer. Witnesses said over 200 Palestinians were inside at the time. Thirteen people, including six "believed to be under the age of 18,", were killed, and thirty wounded. Israel has accused Hamas of using this mosque, and others, to hide weapons and ammunition. Another three Hamas commanders were killed on January 4: Hussam Hamdan, Muhammad Hilou and Mohammed Shalpokh.

Smoke in Gaza, January 12, 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 broke out between Israel and Hamas on the streets of Gaza as Israel surrounded the city. On January 6, at least 125 Palestinians were killed. 1 Israeli soldier was killed in an exchange of fire with Hamas militants, with an additional 4 Israeli soldiers killed and 24 wounded when an Israeli tank mistakenly fired on their position. The crew had believed that the position was occupied by enemy fighters. In response to incoming mortar fire, the IDF shelled a U.N. school resulting in the death of over 40 Palestinian civilians.

Despite the ground operation by the IDF rocket attacks by Hamas continued against southern Israel.

Attack on Gaza City

On the morning of January 11, the IDF started the third stage of the operation with an attack on the suburbs of Gaza City. Israeli forces pushed into the south of the city and reached a key junction to its north. During their advance Hamas and Islamic Jihad ambushed Israeli troops at several locations and heavy fighting ensued. Additionally, the IAF reported that Hamas operatives had tried to shoot down an IAF fixed wing aircraft with anti-aircraft missiles for the first time since operations in Gaza began. Heavy machine gun fire against helicopters had also been unsuccessful.

On January 12, the IDF reported that it started deploying reserve forces in Gaza.

Palestinians in a Gaza city neighbourhood on Day 18 of the War in Gaza (Source: Al Jazeera English)

On January 13, Israeli tanks continued their advance toward the headquarters of Hamas' preventative security building from the al-Karramah neighborhood in the northwest and the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in the northeast. Before dawn, during the night, troops advanced 300 yards into Tel al-Hawa, a neighborhood which has several high-rise buildings. As troops entered the narrow streets heavy street fighting with militants ensued leaving 3 Israeli soldiers wounded and 30 Hamas militants dead or wounded, according to the IDF. By morning IDF soldiers were still advancing slowly towards the city center and several buildings were in flames in Tel al-Hawa, where most of the fighting took place.

On January 15, Israeli artillery started a bombardment of the city while fighting was still going on in the streets. Three high-rise buildings were shelled. The Israeli military reported to have killed dozens of militants, since breaching the city limits four days earlier, while they suffered 20-25 soldiers wounded. Among buildings shelled were the al-Quds hospital, Gaza's second-largest, in the Tal El Hawa district; the Al-Shuruq Tower's 13th floor, housing journalists: and the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Because of this, the United Nations stopped humanitarian aid in and outside the Gaza Strip.

Humanitarian ceasefires

After Israel faced mounting international pressure for a ceasefire in the wake of the UNRWA school attack, it announced the three-hour "humanitarian truce" on January 7, and opened a humanitarian corridor to allow aid supplies to reach Gazans. The Israeli army promised to refrain from attacks between 1 and 4 pm (UTC+2). Hamas responded that they would respect (this initial) ceasefire, 80 aid trucks entered the strip, and Israel delivered industrial fuel for Gaza's power plant. Israel has repeated this ceasefire either daily or every other day. Fighting at large resumed immediately following the end of the truce. Aid officials and the UN welcomed the truce, praising it, but said it was not enough.

Despite the cessation of hostilities, a UN aid convoy was fired upon, and two aid workers were killed. The UN initially placed blame on Israeli tank fire, though on January 10, an Israeli investigation stated that the IDF was blameless, and the UN's sources admitted "that they were not sure in which direction the truck was headed when it was hit, and could also not say with certainty that tank shells were responsible." The UN said the delivery had been coordinated with Israel, and Chris Gunness, a UN spokesman, said that aid shipments were being suspended until the safety of UN staff could be guaranteed. As of January 8, four UNRWA aid workers had been killed over the course of the offensive. On January 9, the UN said its aid workers will resume movement in the Gaza strip, having received assurances from Israel that they are not being targeted. A report in the Israeli media alleged that Hamas fired mortar shells on January 10, as supplies were crossing the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Palestinian military activity

Rocket attacks into Israel

Rocket launch from Gaza City into Israel.

A Grad rocket hit in Beer Sheba, Israel on January 7th, 2009.

Palestinians increased their rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities and communities during the conflict. The strike range of these rockets has increased from 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to 40 kilometres (25 mi) since early 2008. These attacks have resulted in civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. Palestinian militants also began to deploy improved Qassam and Grad rockets with a range of 40 kilometers.. Rockets reached major Israeli cities Ashkelon, Beersheba and Gedera for the first time, putting one-eighth of Israel's population in rocket range and raising concerns about the safety of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Israel's largest population center. As of January 13, Palestinian militants had launched approximately 565 rockets and 200 mortars at Israel since the beginning of the conflict, according to Israeli security sources. It is reported that 102 rockets and 35 mortars were fired by Fatah, Hamas's chief rival. Qassam strikes included a direct hit on an apartment building in the center of Ashkelon, while Grad rockets struck the Makif Alef high school in Beersheba, and a home in Ashkelon on January 12.

Engagement with Israeli forces

Hamas representatives claimed they were fighting with the aid of armored vehicles and weapons confiscated from the Palestinian National Authority, given by Israel, the United States and other countries. A Hamas fighter reported that the group has prepared a tunnel network in Gaza city that would allow Hamas to engage the IDF in urban warfare. Other tactics include suicide bombers, wearing civilian clothes and attempts to capture IDF soldiers. Ron Ben-Yishai, an Israeli military correspondent embedded with invading ground forces, stated that entire blocks of houses were booby-trapped and wired in preparation for urban confrontation with the IDF. Hamas has sent messages to Israeli citizens' mobile phones, warning "rockets on all cities, shelters will not protect you." BBC News quoted Hamas run media sources saying that Hamas captured two IDF soldiers during the ground offensive, though the Israeli army has declared this to be an attempt at spreading demoralising disinformation.

The New York Times quotes a study about to be published by the Israel-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an independent research group that has close ties to the Israeli military establishment, saying that Hamas has methodically built its military infrastructure in the heart of population centers. According to the study, Hamas not only hides among the population, but has made a main component of its combat strategy “channeling” the army into the most densely populated areas to fight.

In a January 13 story, a Hamas militant who was willing to be anonymously interviewed by The New York Times reporters stated that “I’m a civilian, and I’m a fighter". He claimed that the small and enclosed nature of the Gaza strip meant that he had nowhere to stay except in civilian areas, saying that “Where do we go... There are no other places.” He also claimed that most Palestinian residents accept and shelter Hamas militants who hide amongst them. The New York Times stated on January 10 that "Unwilling to take Israel’s bait and come into the open, Hamas militants are fighting in civilian clothes; even the police have been ordered to take off their uniforms."

Israel claims to have found a map, which, it argues, shows "'the deployment of explosives and Hamas forces' in the Al-Attara neighborhood in northern Gaza." This map allegedly shows that Hamas has placed many explosives and firing positions in residential areas, several mosques, and even next to a gas station. Israel concedes these are designed to kill Israeli soldiers, but says that they put the local population in extreme danger.

The house of Muhammed Barud, a senior member of the Popular Resistance Committees, was attacked on December 30. Secondary explosions indicated the home's dual-purpose as a weapons storehouse. Nizar Rayyan and his family were killed during the attack. Israel alleges that their presence was designed to ward off Israeli attack. It pointed Arab media reports that civilians had, back in 2006, taken shifts serving as "human shields" of the Barud residence.

Israel alleges that Hamas used the Jabaliya mosque to store ammunition, and fire rockets, as evidenced by a series of secondary explosions following its bombardment. It further states that, "the Hamas police force operations room in the northern Gaza Strip was moved to the Kamal Adwan hospital, and operatives of Hamas’s naval police were situated in a school in Khan Yunis."

Executions of Palestinians

During the conflict Hamas executed Gazans it classified as being collaborators with Israel. In a 24-hour period at the end of December, Hamas militants executed six Palestinians in Shifa Hospital. By January 3, sources close to Hamas claimed the group had executed more than 35 Palestinians On January 6-7, Hamas executed six suspected collaborators, among them three brothers. According to an eyewitness, the three were executed on the street after confessing in the presence of their sister, who publicly condemned and disowned them. By January 8, estimates of the total number of those executed was 40-80, many of those in secret, followed by invitations to the victims' relatives to come and take away the bodies. Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin told the Israeli cabinet on January 11 that Hamas had killed 70 supporters of rival party Fatah under the cover of war.

In addition, Hamas arrested those it suspected of membership in rival party Fatah, as well as committing acts of violence against them including beating and systematic shooting in the legs. Fatah officials said that in the first week of the conflict, at least 75 Fatah activists were shot in the legs by Hamas, while others had their hands broken. Fatah members said that these actions were a part of a policy directed against Fatah as a whole. Following the ceasefire, eyewitnesses said that Hamas converted several hospitals and schools into "torture centers"; a Fatah official claimed that at least 100 of his men had been killed or wounded by Hamas and that some of them had been brutally tortured. Fatah alleged in a statement that Hamas continued to execute Fatah members and shoot their feet. Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ehab al-Ghsain called the allegations "lies" but said the group was rounding up suspected collaborators with Israel.

Attacks on Israel from outside Gaza

In addition to the rockets fired from Gaza, Israel also experienced other attacks from outside of Gaza. To date, no parties have claimed responsibility for these attacks.

On January 8, 2009, three Katyusha type rockets were fired at the northern Israeli city of Nahariyya from Lebanon, injuring two Israeli civilians in a Retirement home. IDF returned fire at the launch sites. No party has claimed responsibility for this attack. Hezbollah promised to undertake an investigation. The attack was condemned by the Lebanese government, which arrested seven individuals suspected of involvement.

On January 14, 2009, at least three Katyusha rockets were fired at Israeli towns from within Lebanon, sending civilians in the Golan and Galilee regions into shelters, and prompting IDF artillery response aimed at the rocket launchers. No casualties were reported and no responsibility for the attack was claimed.

On January 11, Israeli soldiers performing engineering work in the Golan Heights came under fire from unidentified gunmen from the Syrian-controlled parts of the Golan. On January 13, an Israeli army patrol on the Jordanian border was fired upon by unknown gunmen from the Jordanian side of the border. There were no casualties in either incident.

Incidents

File:GazaZeitoun.jpg

Injured victim of the Zeitoun shelling, according to Al Jazeera. The incident is disputed by Israel.

Main article: Incidents in the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

Incidents in the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict include the following:

• Dignity: On December 29, 2008, the Israeli navy confronted Dignity, a Free Gaza Movement sailboat carrying medical aid, and prevented it from reaching the Gaza Strip. The boat's passengers alleged that their boat was "rammed" and shot at by Israeli vessels, while Israel, though confirming that there was "physical contact" with boat, denied the allegation.
• 2009 Ibrahim al-Maqadna Mosque strike: On January 3, 2009, the IDF attacked the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque holding 200 worshipers, killing 12 people, including 6 children. Israel has previously accused Hamas militants of hiding in mosques.
• al-Fakhura school incident: On January 6, 2009, Israel struck a UNRWA run school holding 400 Palestinians, killing 40 civilians. A preliminary IDF investigation concluded that the school was hit by a stray tank mortar while shelling a team that had been launching Qassam rockets from a yard adjacent to the school. The UN had previously stated that no militants were inside the school.
• Zeitoun incident: Gazans, speaking to the UN and other news sources, claimed that on January 5, Israeli troops ordered nearly 100 Palestinians of the Samouni family into a building it was 24 hours later allegedly to shell, killing 30 people and wounding many more. The IDF said no Israeli troops were present at the time of the event.
• UN Headquarters: On January 15, the IDF shelling of the UN headquarters in Gaza, allegedly with white phosphorus, destroyed hundreds of tons food and fuel, drawing condemnation from European countries. UNRWA dismissed the Israeli claim that Hamas fired from the site and Israel called its attack a "grave error".
• On January 16, Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, an Israeli-trained doctor of Gaza, and regular figure on Israel’s Channel 10 where he reported on the medical crisis, broke down when contacted for his nightly report by informing viewers that he had just lost three daughters and a niece in the fighting, prompting numerous calls of concern to the station from people who know him. The cause is disputed, being either an IDF tank shell that hit his home, or a Hamas rocket. Two surviving daughters were transported for treatment of their wounds to Tel Ha-Shomer Hospital in Tel Aviv.
• Israeli tank fire hit a school run by UNRWA, sheltering 1,600 people, in the northern town of Beit Lahiya on January 17. Two children were killed, and 14 people were wounded. It was the fourth time a UNRWA school had been hit by Israeli fire in 22 days of fighting.

Ceasefire

On 17 January, Israeli officials announced a unilateral ceasefire, without an agreement with Hamas. In a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared a unilateral ceasefire effective that night at 2400 GMT. The unilateral ceasefire was first suggested by Livni and consists of two phases worked out by Ehud Barak: "First a ceasefire is declared. If Hamas stops firing rockets then Israel pulls its forces out of the Gaza Strip. If rocket fire resumes then the IDF goes back in, this time with the international backing gained by having tried a truce." Olmert declared the military objectives met, and explained, "Hamas in Gaza was built by Iran as a foundation for power, and is backed through funding, through training and through the provision of advanced weapons. Iran, which strives for regional hegemony, tried to replicate the methods used by Hizbullah in Lebanon in the Gaza Strip as well. Iran and Hamas mistook the restraint Israel exercised as weakness. They were mistaken. They were surprised."

Hamas initially "vowed to fight on", and responded that any continued Israeli presence in Gaza would be regarded as an act of war. Farzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said before the ceasefire began, "The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our land and lift his blockade and open all crossings and we will not accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price that it costs." Palestinian militants resumed rocket fire at Israeli communities the following Sunday morning, four of the supposed six fired landed in or near the town of Sderot. The Israeli military returned fire and carried out an air strike against the rocket launching squad in the northern Gaza Strip.

On Sunday afternoon, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other paramilitias stated they would stop launching rockets into Israel for one week, on condition that Israel would withdraw its military within this period.

The first death after the cease-fire was a Palestinian farmer who was shot dead by Israeli soldier while checking his farm in Khan Younis, on January 18 morning. The Israeli army said they shot the farmer because he was approaching land occupied at that moment by Israeli ground troops. Another incident took place on Tuesday afternoon when Gaza gunmen fired at IDF patrols in two separate incidents near the Kissufim border crossing, in central Gaza, and in southern Gaza - IDF returned fire. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. Also, eight mortar shells were fired from the central Gaza Strip. Most shells apparently landed in Palestinian areas. IAF targeted and hit one of the mortar launchers. Shelling of mortars continued Tuesday night and 3-4 shells were fired at Eshkol Regional Council. No casualties were reported. On the same day, another Palestinian farmer was shot dead by the IDF while approaching his farm in Jabalia and two children were killed in an explosive of an Israeli bomb left behind in Gaza City.

Casualties

Note: Data does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants

Gazan girl killed by the Israeli assault on Gaza Strip on the 14th day.

Gazans

According to Palestinian Ministry of Health and UN figures as of January 12, 1,024 Palestinians have been killed and 3,860 have been injured.

As of 19 January, 2009, the number of the dead is more than 1,300, according to Palestinian sources, with at least 95 bodies having been pulled from the rubble since Israel halted its assault.

Civilian

Of those killed, at least 670 have been reported as civilians and among them are: 4 UN and 13 medical workers, 4 journalists, 270 (B'Tselem) to 311 (Palestinian Health Ministry) children, 78 women, and 97 elderly people. Of the 4,250 injured: 1,497 are children, 626 are women, and 30 are medical workers.

Ayman al-Kurd, a former member of the Palestine national football team was killed by Israeli shelling.

Combatants

Israel claimed most of the deaths during phase one were members of Hamas security forces. Israel said it takes careful steps to avoid harm to bystanders. In a press conference in Gaza City on December 29, a de facto Hamas Interior Ministry spokesperson, Ihab al-Ghusein, stated that most of the victims of the attacks were "Gazans at work, not activists launching rockets." A police spokesperson, Islam Shahwan, stated that "at least 95% of the security services buildings" were destroyed, and that 138 police officers had been killed: nine in Rafah, 29 in Khan Younis, 70 in Gaza City and 30 "in the north." By the end of the conflict 231 policemen, including police chief Tawfiq Jabber, were killed. According to the New York Times, not all Hamas members necessarily fully accept the organisation's ideology; young men might be simply tempted by the steady work of the police force as jobs are scarce in Gaza due to an international embargo on Hamas.

Israeli military sources claimed to have killed 500 Hamas and other Palestinian militants during the operation. The number included policemen, because most police officers were Hamas operatives. According to The New York Times, Palestinian residents and Israeli officials say that Hamas is tending its own wounded in separate medical centers, not in public hospitals, and that it is difficult to know the number of dead Hamas fighters, many of whom were not wearing uniforms. Israel also claimed it had captured 120 Hamas gunmen.

Several prominent members of Hamas and its military wing had been killed during the offensive, including Chief of Gaza Police Tawfiq Jabber, Interior Minister Said Seyam, top religious cleric Nizar Rayyan, and head of the General Security Service Salah Abu Shrakh. Hamas gunmen publicly executed several suspected collaborators with Israel and Fatah members. Israeli and Fatah sources reported that in all between 40 and 80 Palestinians were executed and 75 wounded by Hamas.

Hamas confirmed 48 deaths on 19 January, but this number is being disputed by Israel. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed 34 deaths on 18 January, including Wajih Mushtahi, who had also been a member of Palestine's Olympic team. Fatah confirmed that their rocket cells commander, Ali Hijazi, had been killed. At least two fighters of the An-Nasser Brigades faction were also killed. In all, militant groups reported 158 of their fighters were killed, not counting the policemen.

Israeli

On the Israeli side, three civilians and one soldier have been killed by rocket and mortar attacks since the Gaza offensive began. Nine soldiers have been killed in fighting in Gaza itself, of which four were killed by friendly tank fire. 242 soldiers were wounded during Israel's ground offensive by January 18. Many other Israelis have been hospitalized for hysteria due to rocketfire

Other

One Egyptian border guard was killed and one was wounded by Hamas gunmen on December 28. In addition, two border guards and two Egyptian children were wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli air strike targeting Hamas tunnels on the border on January 11. Among the civilians killed in the Gaza Strip were also two foreigners, a Ukrainian woman and her child. At least one militant that has been killed by the IDF has been confirmed to be a foreigner, and has been identified as Abu Mohammed al-Marri from Saudi Arabia.

Warnings

According to the Israeli government and the UN, there were widespread warnings of attacks in the form of telephone calls or leaflets dropped by the IDF to the people of Gaza. In an attempt to reduce civilian casualties, Israel has employed what the IDF has named "roof knocking". Before a target is bombed, the building in question receives a telephone call in Arabic warning to evacuate the building. The procedure, which was used in the assassination of Nizar Rayan, has been described as a form of "psychological warfare" by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Following warnings, Hamas has asked residents to gather on rooftops in order to keep buildings from being bombed. The IAF has countered this tactic by firing dummy missiles designed specifically not to explode onto buildings in order to scare the residents into leaving, after which they can destroy the buildings.

In addition, Israel warns civilian residents in areas where military operation is being escalated by dropping leaflets that read, "The IDF is not working against the people of Gaza but against Hamas and the terrorists only. Stay safe by following our orders." The UN reported that in some cases the strikes occurred only five minutes after the flee call. Given the high population density in Gaza and the proximity between their homes, this has caused "considerable" panic and uncertainty among residents. Both Amnesty International and the United Nations report that in the densely populated areas of Gaza there are no "safe" places for civilians.

Effects

Main article: Effects of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

There are multiple economic, industrial and medical effects of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. Early independent estimates say that Gaza lost nearly $2 billion in assets, including 4,100 homes destroyed and some 16,000 damaged, about 1,500 factories and workshops, 20 mosques, 31 security compounds, and 10 water or sewage lines. In a conservative estimate, the Palestinian National Authority says 80 per cent of all agricultural infrastructure and crops were destroyed. In southern Israel, schools were closed for the majority of the conflict and many residents fled. The Israeli operation sparked many reprisal attacks against Jews, especially in Europe.

Media

Main article: Media and the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

Foreign press access to Gaza has been limited since November 2008 via either Egypt or Israel. On 29 December 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered that journalists be allowed into Gaza whenever the crossings were opened, but the IDF did not comply fully. Two journalists were arrested due to violations of wartime censorship in Israel. Media infrastructure, including Al-Aqsa TV transmission equipment and foreign and local press offices, were hit during the conflict. Media relations also played an important role, with the use of new media on the part of both Israel and Hamas.

Hacktivism

The conflict also engendered considerable propaganda, hacktivism and cyber warfare (on the part of both the combatants and polities directly involved and of independent, private parties) which resulted in numerous website defacements, denial-of-service attacks and domain name and account hijackings. These attacks were technologically notable in being amongst the first ever politically-motivated domain name hijackings. An opt-in anti-Islamist botnet created by Israeli students appeared, and new media diplomacy appeared on social networking sites such as Facebook and Second Life.

Reactions

Main article: International reaction to the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

Reaction to the conflict came from many countries and international organisations, and was notable in the level of civilian demonstrations all around the world against Israel's actions in Gaza; some protests supported Israel. Many protesters disagreed with their governments' official position on the conflict.

International law

Under international law warring parties are obliged to distinguish between combatants and civilians, ensure that attacks on legitimate military targets are proportional, and guarantee that the military advantage of such attacks outweigh the possible harm done to civilians. Violations of these laws are considered war crimes.

Also under international law occupying powers have certain responsibilities to those under occupation. Israel asserts that it ended its occupation of Gaza when it disengaged from the coastal strip in 2005. However, the UNRWA and Human Rights Watch disagree and consider Israel an occupying power. Israel maintains military control of the Gaza strip's airspace, land borders and territorial waters.

Israel

Israel has been accused of collective punishment by United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)'s Richard Falk; of targeting of civilians by Falk, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)'s Raji Sourani; of disproportionate military response by Falk and EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel; of failure "to care for and evacuate the wounded" by the Red Cross; and of the use of human shields when fighting in residential areas by Amnesty International - all of which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions "in regard to the obligations of an occupying power and in the requirements of the laws of war".

Israel's response is that its military action (use of force) in Gaza constituted acts of self-defense rather than being reprisals or punishment. Justus Weiner and Avi Bell of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs approve that Israel's actions do not constitute collective punishment and intentional targeting of civilians.

Deliberations by the IDF during the conflict resulted in a decision that striking homes that may be used to store weapons when "sufficient warning" is given to the residents falls within the boundaries of international law and is therefore legitimate.

UNRWA, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch charge Israel with the use of white phosphorus against civilians, a charge Israel rejects.

Human Rights Watch, B'Tselem, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, International Red Cross, UNRWA's John Ging, and Amnesty International said Israeli military used white phosphorus in the Gaza strip. Israel said it did not use white phosphorus in Gaza, and "wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics." The use of white phosphorus against civilians is banned under international law, but it is legal to use the substance in other conditions such as to illuminate areas during night or as a smoke screen. NGO Monitor criticized that 'evidence' was based entirely on innuendo and unverifiable 'eyewitness' reports".

Norwegian doctor and political activist Mads Gilbert suspects the Israeli military used Dense Inert Metal Explosive in the Gaza strip. The IDF and Israeli weapons experts deny this claim.

The Iranian government channel Press TV said on 4 January, that evidence of depleted uranium exposure has been found in wounds of casualties of the conflict.

Palestinians

The BBC reported on January 5 that "Witnesses and analysts confirm that Hamas fires rockets from within populated civilian areas, and all sides agree that the movement flagrantly violates international law by targeting civilians with its rockets." Amnesty International accused Palestinian gunmen of using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

In 2007 exiled Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal, called recent rockets attacks on Israel "self defense." Hamas leaders “argue that rocket attacks on Israel are the only way to counter Israel's policies and operations, including artillery strikes. But Human Rights Watch has said that, "Such justifications do not overcome the illegality of the attacks under international humanitarian law."

Hamas continues to hold Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. According to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, holding Gilad Shalit hostage is a war crime, since "international humanitarian law" prohibits "hostage taking". B'Tselem also said that the denial of Red Cross visits to the prisoner was a "blatant violation of international law".

Israel argues that Hamas blurs the line between civilians and combatants, and is therefore responsible for civilian deaths in Gaza. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "Hamas' use of human shields" and "operational use of heavily built-up and densely populated civilian areas" violates Article 8(2)(b)(xxiii) of the Rome Statute. This statute defines as a war crime the act of "Utilizing the presence of a civilian […] to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations." It also defines Palestinian attacks as terrorist in nature, because they kill civilians in order to "sow terror" within the broader civilian population. This would constitute violation of the Laws of Armed Conflict, as outlined in Article 51(2) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

On January 14th Israeli media reported that Palestinian militants had fired mortar shells containing phosphorus explosive into the Eshkol Regional Council area in Negev.

See also

• Military equipment of Israel
• Palestinian domestic weapons production
• 2008-09 Israel–Gaza Foreign involvement

External links

• Ongoing news coverage from Aljazeera, BBC News, CNN, Christian Science Monitor, Financial Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, ICRC, Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times, Palestine News Network, Radio France International.

Involved parties

• IDF Spokesperson's Unit postings on youtube
• Hamas War Against Israel reports from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Palutube: Hamas video site

Maps

• Gaza crisis: key maps and timeline. BBC News.