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 (2008-12-27) – January 18, 2009 (2009-01-19) Location Gaza Strip and Southern Israel Status Israel and Hamas declare separate unilateral ceasefires.
Belligerents
Israel	Gaza Strip
Commanders and leaders
Ehud Barak (DefMin) Gabi Ashkenazi (CoS) Yoav Galant (SoCom) Eyal Eisenberg (Gaza)	Ismail Haniyeh Mahmoud az-Zahar Said Seyam (KIA) 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: 518 Soldiers: 336 Civilians: 182	Total killed: 1,330 (MoH) 1,200 (IDF) Militants and policemen: 390* (PCHR), 580 (IDF) Civilians: 940**(PCHR), 300 (IDF) Total wounded: 5,300(MoH)
One Egyptian border guard officer killed and three guards and two children wounded.

The 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, part of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, started when Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008. Codenamed Operation Cast Lead (Hebrew: מבצע עופרת יצוקה), the aim was to stop Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel and included the targeting of Hamas' members, the police force, and infrastructure. In the Arab World, the conflict has been described as the Gaza Massacre (Arabic: مجزرة غزة).

A fragile six-month truce between Hamas and Israel expired on 19 December 2008. Hamas and Israel could not agree on conditions to extend the truce. Hamas blamed Israel for not lifting the Gaza Strip blockade, and for an Israeli raid on a purported tunnel crossing the border into israel from Gaza Strip on November 4, which it held constituted a serious breach of the truce. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the truce citing the frequent rocket and mortar attacks on Israel cities.

The Israeli operation began with an intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas bases, police training camps, police headquarters and offices. Civilian infrastructure, including mosques, houses and schools, were also attacked. Israel said many of these buildings stocked weapons. Hamas intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against targets in Israel throughout the conflict, hitting previously untargeted cities as Beersheba and Ashdod. On January 3, 2009, the Israeli Defence Forces ground invasion began.

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. Human rights groups and aid organisations have accused Hamas and Israel of war crimes and called for independent investigations and lawsuits.

It is estimated that 1,200 or more Palestinians and 13 Israelis died in the conflict. The number of combatant and non-combatant casualties is a subject of ongoing contention. It has been difficult to verify casualties figures due to the limited amount of journalists allowed in Gaza during the conflict. In the days following the ceasefire, the BBC reported that more than 400,000 Gazans were left without running water. The BBC further reported that 4000 homes had been ruined, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

The conflict came to an end on January 18 after first Israel and then Hamas announced unilateral ceasefires. On 21 January, Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Background

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

See also: List of rocket and mortar attacks in Israel in 2001 through 2007, List of rocket and mortar attacks in Israel in 2008, 2009

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea bordering Egypt and Israel. It is one of the most densely populated places on earth. According to the CIA Factbook as of July 2008, it holds a population of 1,500,202 on an area of 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi).

Hamas assumed administrative control of Gaza following the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and its 2007 military victory over Fatah, the secular Palestinian nationalist party. Subsequently, Egypt closed the Rafah Border Crossing when EU monitors left. Israel closed off all remaining access to Gaza in July 2007. The blockade allowed Israel to control the flow of goods going into Gaza, including power and water. Israel halted all exports and only allowed shipments into Gaza to avert a humanitarian crisis. Palestinian groups were partially able to bypass the blockade through tunnels, some of which were used for weapons smuggling.

Between 2005 and late 2008, Palestinian groups launched over 6,000 rockets and mortars into Israel. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 116 Israeli civilians and IDF personnel were killed in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories in "direct conflict related incidents" and 1,509 were injured. During this time, 1,735 Palestinians, including both civilians and militants from various groups, were killed while 8,308 were wounded from Israeli attacks.

2008 lull

Main article: 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire

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 its rocket attacks upon Israel and enforce the lull on its Gazan factions 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 around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70, but much less than the 500 to 600 daily trucks that entered Gaza daily prior to 2005 election. Hamas believed the terms of the cease fire meant that truck shipments entering Gaza would be allowed to return to the 2005 level of 500 to 600 trucks per day. .

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. 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. The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported a total of 223 rockets and 139 mortar shells fired from Gaza during the lull (20 rockets and 18 mortar shells before November 4). The UN recorded seven IDF violations of the ceasefire from June 20 to June 26, and three violations from June 23 to 26 from non-Hamas Palestinian groups.

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 near Israel on the Gazan side of the border. The IDF claimed it was intended for the capture of Israeli soldiers. According to Robert Pastor and his recounting of one IDF source, Hamas asserted that 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, head of Israel's internal security agency, said he thought Hamas was "interested in continuing the truce, but wants to improve its terms...It wants us to lift the siege of Gaza, stop attacks, and extend the truce to include the West Bank."

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, a senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar, said in an Egyptian newspaper interview 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, After Israel had "wrapped up preparations for a broad offensive", Israeli Prime Minister 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 that 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 27 Israeli offensive took Hamas by surprise, thereby increasing their casualties.

Campaign

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

Israeli offensive

Israel had planned its military operation up to 6 months in advance, collecting intelligence, developing a detailed plan of action. To take Hamas by surprise, the IDF sent out disinformation.

Propaganda and psychological warfare

Before Israel launched its military air strikes on December 27, the Israeli military used its radio channels, to broadcast talk of a "lull" and pulled troops back from the border. This tactic enabled Israeli bombers to attack “hundreds of Hamas security men inside their compounds.” Israeli defense officials have since then acknowledged “it was a psychological warfare tactic or a "con" to lure Hamas fighters out of hiding.”

Israel’s propaganda and psychological warfare operations included the use of telephone calls to Gaza residents, leaflets being dropped in the war zone, and text messages. Calls from the Israeli military were recorded messages or live. They were used against Gaza residents telling them that “their problems were due to Hamas.” Other calls warned people “they have just minutes to evacuate before they bomb the house.” A human rights lawyer at the Palestinian Human Rights Centre said that “despite the hundreds of phone calls to families warning their house is about to be blown up, only 37 have been destroyed.” Leaflets contained similar messages and a phone number and e-mail address to call in tips about the whereabouts of militant leaders and weapons caches.

Air strikes

On December 27, a force including more than 50 F-16 fighter jets and Apache 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 building 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 along with at least 15 civilians. Children were reportedly among the casualties. Israel justified its attacks on police on the grounds that they are "combatants." However, human rights groups say that police affiliated with Hamas do not represent legitimate targets unless they are actively engaged in hostilities.

Prior to airstrikes on buildings inhabited by civilians, the IDF issued warning calls, in a practice codenamed "roof knocking". Typically, intelligence officers contacted the residents of a building where military assets were suspected of being stored. The residents were told that they had 10 minutes to leave the premises, although in some cases the strikes occurred only 5 minutes after the warning call. Given the high population density in Gaza and the proximity between their homes, this has caused "considerable" panic and uncertainty among residents. However, only 37 houses have been destroyed after roof knocking.

Some Palestinians call this day Massacre of the Black Saturday because of the large number of casualties. The Israeli attack was the deadliest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict with the Palestinians.

In the week following the initial air raids, the Israeli Air Force continued to inflict massive damage to Palestinian infrastructure. Ninety percent of Gaza's cellular service was down, as well as many landlines, because of frequent power cuts and the inability of technicians to reach work sites.

Targets included ministerial buildings, Hamas training camps, offices of the Popular Resistance Committees, and homes of Hamas commanders. 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 died along with their families in their homes. By January 3, 2009, the death toll among Palestinians stood at 400, with 25 percent thought to be civilian casualties.

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. No safe haven or bomb shelters existed, making this one of the rare conflicts where civilians had no place to flee.

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 Israeli civilians.

On January 3, the IDF shelled the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque in Beit Lahiya after the evening prayer. Witnesses say that over 200 Palestinians were inside the mosque at the time of the attack. Thirteen people, including six "believed to be under the age of 18," were killed, and 30 wounded. Israel has accused Hamas of using this and other mosques, to hide weapons and ammunition, and as cover for firing on the IDF.

On the evening of January 3, Israel launched a ground operation by sending troops into Gaza for the first time since the start of the conflict. According to the IDF, the intention of the ground invasion, termed the 'second stage' of Operation Cast Lead, was to secure areas within the Gaza strip from which militants continued to launch rockets even after the Israeli air strikes.

Explosion in Gaza, January 12, 2009

Israeli ground troops entered Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza in the early hours of January 4. 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 that it targeted forty sites, including weapons depots and rocket launch sites.

Another three Hamas commanders were killed on January 4: Hussam Hamdan, Muhammad Hilou and Mohammed Shalpokh.

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. One Israeli soldier was killed in an exchange with Hamas militants and an additional 3 Israeli soldiers were killed and 20 wounded when an Israeli tank misfired on their position. The tank crew had believed that the position was occupied by enemy fighters. Another Israeli officer was also killed by friendly fire after being fatally wounded by a misfired Israeli artillery shell.

That same day the UN accused the IDF of hitting an UNRWA school and causing many casualties inside the school. The incident became one of the most controversial events in the conflict. Weeks later, after the ceasefire had been declared, the UN backtracked from its original position and clarified that IDF fire had struck outside the school compound and that no casualties had taken place inside the school.

Despite the IDF ground operation, Hamas continued rocket attacks against southern Israel from the center of Gaza city.

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

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 metres 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 al-Hawa neighborhood.

The headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was also shelled on January 15. 3 people were injured and hundreds of tons of food and fuel were destroyed. Israel claimed Hamas fired from the site, but apologized for the "very sad consequences" calling its attack a "grave mistake". After the UNRWA dismissed the Israeli claim as "nonsense" Israel ordered an army investigation into the incident. Because of this, the United Nations stopped humanitarian aid in and outside the Gaza Strip.

Humanitarian ceasefires

Israel faced mounting international pressure for a ceasefire due to high civilian casualties, and announced a three-hour "humanitarian truce". On January 7 a "humanitarian corridor" was opened 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 found that the IDF was not to blame, and UN sources subsequently 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

Preparation

Militants booby-trapped houses and buildings and built an extensive system of tunnels in preparation for combat. A Hamas fighter reported that the group had prepared a tunnel network in Gaza city that would allow Hamas to engage the IDF in urban warfare. Some houses were booby-trapped with manneqins, explosives and adjacent tunnels: Israeli officers said that houses were set up this way so that "Israeli soldiers would shoot the mannequin, mistaking it for a man; an explosion would occur; and the soldiers would be driven or pulled into the hole, where they could be taken prisoner". A colonel estimated that one-third of all houses encountered were booby-trapped. IDF Brigadier-General Eyal Eisenberg said that roadside bombs were planted in TV satellite dishes, adding that Hamas booby-trapping of homes and schools was "monstrous" and "inhumane". 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. Israel claims to have found a map showing "the deployment of explosives and Hamas forces in the Al-Attara neighborhood in northern Gaza." This map allegedly shows that Hamas placed many explosives and firing positions in residential areas, several mosques, and next to a gas station.

Engagement with Israeli forces

Hamas representatives said 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. Hamas and Islamic Jihad manufactured a variety of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), some of which were anti-personnel bombs and others were planted on the sides of roads or underground to be activated against tanks and armored personnel carriers. Some of the IEDs were manufactured from medicine bottles transferred to the Gaza Strip as humanitarian aid by Israel.

Hamas hoped to bog Israeli forces down in heavy fighting and inflict heavy casulties on the Israelis. 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."

Rocket attacks into Israel

The strike range of Hamas rockets had 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 factory-made 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. A source close to Hamas described the movement's use of stealth when firing: "They fired rockets in between the houses and covered the alleys with sheets so they could set the rockets up in five minutes without the planes seeing them. The moment they fired, they escaped, and they are very quick." It is reported that 102 rockets and 35 mortars were fired by Fatah, Hamas's chief rival.

While the Qassam Brigades of Hamas were the major fighting force, other factions have claimed responsibility for rockets fired into Israel and attacks on Israeli soldiers, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed wing affiliated with Fatah, as well as the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Councils. A Fatah official stated that the rocket attacks by his faction contradicted the official position of Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah leader and President of the Palestinian National Authority. Abbas had called on both sides to cease hostilities unconditionally. Political representatives for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, Saiqa, the Popular Struggle Front, the Revolutionary Communist Party, Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Fatah's 'Intifada' faction, and a number of other Palestinian factions in Syria formed a temporary alliance during the offensive, issuing a statement that refused "any security arrangements that affect the resistance and its legitimate right to struggle against the occupation" and refused the presence of international forces in Gaza. The coalition also affirmed that any peace initiatives must include an end to the economic blockade, and an opening of all of Gaza's crossings, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

On December 27 a rocket hit a house in Netivot, killing one and wounding five. Another rocket hit a synagogue in the Eshkol Regional Council on the same day. On December 29 a Grad rocket hit Ashkelon, killing an Israeli-Arab construction worker and seriously wounding three other people. Rockets killed two more Israelis after nightfall. On December 30 a Grad missile landed in an empty kindergarten in Beersheba, causing damage. On the following morning, a rocket hit the Makif Alef high school in the city. Neither incident resulted in casualties, as schools in the area were closed due to rocket threats. On January 3, rockets hit, among other targets, an apartment building in Ashdod, wounding two, as well as a playground in Ashkelon and a cafeteria in a kibbutz bordering the Gaza Strip. On January 6, a rocket hit Gedera for the first time, injuring a child. On January 11, several rocket barrages were fired during the temporary cease-fire, one hitting the outer wall of a kindergarten in Ashdod and another exploding adjacent to a school in Sderot which had recently been reopened.

Psychological warfare

Before the end of the pre-conflict ceasefire, Hamas started boasting that it had countless surprises awaiting Israeli troops, should they advance. At the start of the conflict, Hamas declared that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit had been wounded by Israeli fire, later announcing that his condition was "no longer of interest to us". Throughout the conflict, Hamas repeatedly released messages that they had killed or captured Israeli soldiers; no Israeli soldiers were actually captured during the fighting. The Times Online reported that Hamas was "sending messages in Hebrew to Israeli citizens' mobile phones warning: 'Rockets on all cities, shelters will not protect you.'"

Attacks on Israel from outside Gaza

In addition to the rockets fired from Gaza, Israel has experienced other attacks along the borders with Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

Unilateral ceasefires

On 17 January, Israeli officials announced a unilateral ceasefire, without an agreement with Hamas. In a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the ceasefire effective that night, at 0000 GMT on the 18th January. The Israeli 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 that the military objectives had been met.

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 the 18 of January, in the 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.

On January 21, Israeli troops completed their pullout from the Gaza Strip.

"Tit-for-tat" attacks continued from both sides causing damage along with casualties to both combatants and civilians.

Continued negotiations

Egyptian mediators held discussions with Israel and Hamas about extending the cease-fire by a year or more. Hamas and Fatah met in an effort to create a mechanism that would allow both to play a role in rebuilding. Israel began pressuring Egypt to do more to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza, the halting of which is one of Israel's central demands in extending a cease-fire. However, on 27 January, Foreign Minister of Egypt Ahmed Aboul Gheit discouraged Britain, France and Germany from sending warships to patrol the waters off Gaza, which the three European nations felt could help halt seaborne smuggling. Gheit said such efforts would harm Europe's relations with the Arab world. Egypt also reacted coolly to suggestions that European troops should be stationed on the border between Gaza and Egypt to monitor smugglers' tunnels.

Israel, along with many Western and some Arab countries, wanted international aid groups to control aid from donations around the world, so that Hamas would not receive credit for the rebuilding. Hamas, in order to speed up reconstruction, agreed on 27 January that it would not insist on collecting reconstruction money itself and would allow donated money to flow through different avenues based on the various alliances, although Hamas ultimately expected to administer the aid. But advisors to senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Israel's willingness to open the border only for humanitarian aid was unacceptable, as Hamas would need much more to rebuild its economy and produce relief to citizens. Haniyeh officials said the cease-fire is contingent on a full border opening.

President of the United States Barack Obama directed George J. Mitchell, his newly appointed special envoy to the Middle East, to visit Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia for peace talks. Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on 27 January and Obama said his visit was part of the President's campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and work toward a Middle East peace deal. However, in a continuation of a George W. Bush administration policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas, but instead focus on talks with the more moderate Palestinian Authority. A spokesman for Haniyeh said he respected Mitchell, but was disappointed with the envoy's decision not to hold discussions with Hamas.

Casualties

Casualty figures are disputed and changing. See the main text for other estimates. Click the chart for more info on the chart sources.

Palestinian girl killed during the conflict.

Woman wounded in Gaza during the conflict.

The Gaza based Palestinian Ministry of Health (PMoH), has stated that a total of 1,324 Gazans were killed of which "most" were civilians. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) puts the death toll at 1,285 with 895 civilians deaths. An IDF report on February 17, 2009 stated that Israel has identified 1,200 of the Palestinian deaths, of which 300 were identified as noncombatants. 580 of the deaths were stated to be from Hamas and combatants from "other groups". The PCHR said that of the 390 non-civilian fatalities, 167 were members of Hamas' civil police and 223 were combatants. The IDF has said that 700 militants including police were killed.

The PMoH stated that 437 children under the age of 16, 110 women, 123 elderly men, 14 medics, and four journalists were among those killed. The wounded include 1,890 children and 200 people in serious condition. The IDF stated that they have identified 300 noncombatant women, children under the age of 15, and men over the age of 65 that were killed in the conflict.

Israel has stated that 13 Israelis were killed during the fighting, including three civilians. 182 Israeli civilians were wounded during the conflict. Hamas has claimed that it killed at least 80 Israeli soldiers. Israeli military casualties were 10 killed and 336 wounded. Out of those figures, 5 were killed engaging Hamas combatants, 4 were killed by friendly fire, and 1 was killed when Hamas rockets hit a military base inside Israel.

Disputed figures

John Holmes, an Under-Secretary General of the UN and the Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations, said in his statement to the United Nations Security Council that the Governance of the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health figures have not been seriously challenged. Journalist Lorenzo Cremonesi wrote in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the Palestinians had distorted casualty claims, estimating the number of wounded to be "far lower than 5,300", the number quoted by the PMoH and repeated by the UN and the ICRC. Israel accuses Hamas of significantly inflating the civilian death toll and of playing down the number of Hamas operative casualties.

Other casualties

The World Health Organization reported that over the course of the offensive 16 health personnel were killed and 22 injured. The UNRWA reported that five of its staff members, including one Job Creation Programme (JCP) beneficiary and three contractors, were killed, and that an additional eleven staff members, including two JCP beneficiaries and four contractors, were injured. The World Food Programme reported that one of its contractors had been killed and that two had been injured.

One Egyptian border guard was killed and one was wounded by Hamas gunmen on December 28. Two border guards and two Egyptian children were wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli air strike targeting Hamas tunnels. Among the civilians killed in the Gaza Strip were also two foreigners, a Ukrainian woman and her child.

Reprisal attacks

Main article: 2009 Hamas reprisal attacks

Hamas has been accused of executing several Fatah members and Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. Fatah officials in Ramallah reported Hamas executed at least 19 party members and more than 35 Palestinians. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated on January 31 that "it had credible reports that Hamas operatives killed six members of Fatah" and that another "35 were shot in the knees or beaten." The Hamas government in Gaza endorsed the killing of Israeli collaborators but denied allegations it had attacked members of Fatah during the conflict. A Hamas spokesperson said that the internal security service "was instructed to track collaborators and hit them hard." Hamas also said that "the government will show no mercy to collaborators who stab our people in the back, and they will be held accountable according to the law...if any collaborator is sentenced to death, we will not hesitate to carry it out."

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. The United Nations Development Programme warned that there will be long-term consequences of the attacks on Gaza because the livelihoods and assets of tens of thousands of Gaza civilians have been affected.

Early estimates by independent contractors in Gaza say that Gaza lost nearly $2 billion in assets, including 4,000 homes destroyed, about 1,500 factories and workshops, 24 mosques, 31 security compounds, and 10 water or sewage lines. The World Health Organization said that 34 health facilities (8 hospitals and 26 primary health care clinics) were damaged over the course of the offensive and the UNOCHA said that over 50 United Nations facilities sustained damage, of which 28 reported damage in the first three days of the operation.

Gaza Humanitarian Crisis

See also: International reaction to the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict § Humanitarian aid

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs states that the Gaza strip humanitarian crisis is significant and should not be understated. It also states that the situation is a "human dignity crisis" in the Gaza strip, entailing "a massive destruction of livelihoods and a significant deterioration of infrastructure and basic services". Fear and panic are widespread; 80 percent of the population cannot support themselves and are dependent on humanitarian assistance. The International Red Cross said the situation was "intolerable" and a "full blown humanitarian crisis." The importation of necessary food and supplies continues to be blocked even after the respective ceasefires. According to the World Food Programme, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and Palestinian officials, between 35% and 60% of the agriculture industry has been wrecked. Extensive damage has occurred to water sources, greenhouses, and farmland. It is reported that 60% of the agricultural land in the north of the Strip may no longer be usable. More than 50,800 Gazans were left homeless.Extensive destruction was caused to commercial enterprises and to public infrastructure. According to Palestinian industrialists, 219 factories were destroyed or severely damaged during the Israeli military operation. Of the three per cent of industrial capacity that was still operating after the 18-month Israeli blockade, much has now been destroyed.

On January 3, prior to the IDF ground operation, Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni stated that Israel had taken care to protect the civilian population of Gaza, and that it had kept the humanitarian situation "completely as it should be", maintaining Israel's earlier stance. The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, criticised Livni for the statement and further criticised the Security Council for not responding faster to the crisis. On subsequent reports, the UN stated that "only an immediate cease-fire will be able to address the large-scale humanitarian and protection crisis that faces the people of Gaza".

The Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations has stated that after the end of the Israeli operation, at best, only 120 truckloads get into Gaza, instead of the normal daily requirement, including commercial traffic, of 500 trucks at minimum. It is also reported in his statement and other UN humanitarian office reports that essential items such as construction materials, water pipes, electrical wires, and transformers continue to be effectively banned, or only allowed infrequently. He has also stated that commercial goods must be allowed in and out, since Gaza Palestinians "do not want or deserve to be dependent on humanitarian aid" and that the "limited trickle" of items into Gaza continue the effective collective punishment of the civilian population and force the counter-productive reliance on tunnels for daily essentials.

As a result of the conflict, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and over 50 nations donated humanitarian aid to Gaza, including the United States which donated over $20 million. On 3 February, blankets and food parcels were confiscated by Hamas police personnel from an UNRWA distribution center, and on 4 February, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator demanded that the aid be returned immediately. The Hamas government issued a statement stating that the incident was a misunderstanding between the drivers of the trucks and has been resolved through direct contact with the UNRWA. On 9 February, UNRWA lifted the suspension on the movement of its humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after the Hamas authorities returned all of the aid supplies confiscated. The UN humanitarian office has described the Israeli procedures for humanitarian organizations entrance to Gaza as inconsistent and unpredictable ones that impedes the ability of organizations to effectively plan their humanitarian response and obstructs efforts to address the humanitarian crisis brought by the 18 months blockade and Israel's military operation. The UN also reports that international organizations has faced "unprecedented denial" of access to Gaza by Israel since 5 November and that humanitarian access remains unreliable and needs to be granted everyday without restriction.

In a damage assessment by the World Health Organization, 48% of the 122 health facilities assessed were found to be damaged or destroyed. 15 of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 41 primary health care centers has suffered damage. Two centers were destroyed, and 29 ambulances have been partially damaged or destroyed. Injured patients needing referral outside Gaza for specialized care were evacuated exclusively through the Egyptian Rafah border crossing. Gaza Ministry of Health reported that between 29 December and 22 January, 608 injured were evacuated through Rafah. The Israeli Erez crossing was closed much of the period and only 30 patients were able to exit during the crisis. An initial survey conducted by the UN Development Programme estimates that 14,000 homes, 68 government buildings, and 31 non-governmental organization offices (NGOs) were either totally or partially damaged. As a result, an estimated 600,000 tonnes of concrete rubble will need to be removed. Since 2007, construction material have not permitted entry into Gaza, adversely affecting UN projects, in particular UNRWA and UNDP which were forced to suspend more than $100 million in construction projects due to lack of materials.

Israel

The Israeli Home Front Command issued detailed emergency instructions to Israeli citizens for preparing for and dealing with rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The instructions included orders to stay within a certain distance of bomb shelters based on proximity to the source of the rockets. Hamas' Grad rockets' increased range of 40 km put more than 700,000 Israelis within strike range, prompting 40% of the residents of the southern city of Ashkelon to flee the city, despite official calls to stay. Beginning December 27, schools and universities in southern Israel closed due to rocket threats. Palestinian rockets landed on Israeli educational facilities several times during the conflict resulting in no casualties. Studies officially resumed on January 11. Only schools with fortified classrooms and bomb shelters were allowed to bring students in, and IDF Home Front Command representatives were stationed in the schools; attendance was low. The largest hospital on Israel's southern coast, Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital, forced its critical treatment facilities into an underground shelter after a Gaza-fired rocket struck beside its helicopter pad on 28 December 2008.

International law

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 control of the Gaza strip's airspace, land borders (with the exception of the Philadelphi Route) as well as Gaza's territorial waters.

Human rights experts say that one of the main pitfalls of international law is that enforcement is nearly impossible, even when the law is clear.

Israelis

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. Israeli's definition of a justifiable target has been criticized for being too broad. Professor Philippe Sands of University College London says that "once you extend the definition of combatant in the way that IDF is apparently doing, you begin to associate individuals who are only indirectly or peripherally involved" as in the case of the Israeli strike on the police station. The IDF justifies the strike, which killed at least 40 trainees, claiming that the policemen participate in Hamas military activities, but the IDF was unable to provide any information to substantiate this allegation. Human Rights Watch argues that even if the Israeli claim is true, it is not legal to target policemen that were not engaged in combat. B'Tselem disputes the IDF's claim, stating in a letter to the Israeli attorney general, that the policemen killed were "trained in first aid, human rights and maintaining public order."

A study by Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies claimed that Israel did not violate the laws of war during its operation in Gaza. However, Norman Finklestein said that Cordesman's study lacked credibility. 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.

The Israeli reasoning behind their targeting of public buildings including education institutions also drew criticism from human rights groups B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch. Israelis defended their strikes by citing Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions which defines a site a legitimate target if it is being used for military activities. According to the BBC, "Israel simply argues [the education, interior and foreign ministries and the parliament building] are part of the Hamas infrastructure – and there is no difference between its political and military wings." B'Tselem describes Israel's reasoning as being "legally flawed" as a simple Hamas' affiliation does not make the buildings legitimate targets.

Israel used white phosphorus munitions during the conflict

The United Nations, 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 at first strenuously denied but later admitted to using white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip, stating that it "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 or in civilian areas 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. White phosphorus spread burning phosphorus, which burns at over 800 degrees celsius (1,500 degrees fahrenheit), over a wide area up to several hundred square metres. The weapon has a potential to cause particularly severe and painful burns or slow painful death. Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons bans the use of incendiary weapons, such as white phosphorus, against any military objective located within a concentration of civilians.

Amnesty International has stated that the Israeli army used flechette shells in densely populated civilian areas resulting in the injuries and deaths of civilians. These anti-personnel weapons spreads between 5000 and 8000 4 cm long metal darts over an area 300m wide and 100m long.

Palestinians

UN Humanitarian chief John Holmes stated that Hamas attacks on Israel violated International law. Former Canadian justice minister, McGill University law professor and past president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Irwin Cotler, told the Jerusalem Post that "The deliberate targeting of civilians is in and of itself a war crime, and [as are] Hamas attacks [from within] civilian areas and civilian structures, whether it be an apartment building, a mosque or a hospital, in order to be immune from a response from Israel."

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. 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 violate the Geneva Convention's Laws of Armed Conflict.

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." On January 14 it was reported that Palestinian militants had fired mortar shells containing phosphorus explosive into the Eshkol Regional Council area in Negev.

Media

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

Media facilities in Gaza, both foreign and domestic, have come under Israeli fire since the military campaign began. Hamas fired grad rockets from a location near the television studios in the Al-Shuruk tower in Gaza City. On December 29, the IDF destroyed the facilities and headquarters of Al-Aqsa TV (though broadcasts continue from elsewhere), and on January 5, the IDF bombed the offices of the Hamas-affiliated Al-Risala newsweekly. On January 9, the IDF hit the Johara tower of Gaza City, which houses more than 20 international news organizations, including Turkish, French, and Iranian outlets.

Media relations also played an important role, with the use of new media (up to and including cyber warfare) on the part of both Israel and Hamas. In an effort to improve Israeli public relations, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption has recruited 1,000 volunteers with the objective of flooding news websites and blogs that the ministry term as anti-Israeli with pro-Israeli opinions. As part of its PR campaign, Israel has also posted videos on the popular website [[Youtube]. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit opened a Youtube channel “through which it will disseminate footage of precision bombing operations in the Gaza Strip, as well as aid distribution and other footage of interest to the international community.”

Reactions

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

See also: Antisemitic incidents occurring during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

See also: Incidents in the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on 28 December 2008 calling "for an immediate halt to all violence". The Arab League, the European Union and many nations made similar calls. On 9 January 2009, following an earlier, failed attempt at a ceasefire resolution, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1860 calling for "an immediate, durable and fully respected cease-fire" leading to a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to Gaza arms smuggling, by 14 votes to one abstention (the United States). The resolution was ignored by both Israel and Hamas.

Most of the world condemned both belligerents, or neither of them. 34 states condemned Israel's attacks exclusively, three of them expressed support for Hamas' operations or defined them as falling within its right of resistance. Bolivia, Jordan, Mauritania and Venezuela significantly downscaled or severed their relations with Israel in protest of the offensive. Nineteen states condemned Hamas' attacks exclusively, thirteen of them expressed support for Israel's operations or defined them as falling within Israel's right to self defense.

The conflict was marked by worldwide civilian demonstrations for and against both sides, with many protesters disagreeing with their governments' official position on the conflict. Protests in Egypt led to controversial police detentions of Islamist protesters.

The Israeli offensive "prompted a wave of reprisal attacks against Jewish targets in Europe". The number of recorded antisemitic incidents during the conflict more than tripled the number of such incidents in the same period of the previous year, marking a two-decade high. Violence against Muslims and Arabs was reported in France and in Israel.

See also

• 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza foreign involvement
• Military equipment of Israel
• Palestinian domestic weapons production
• Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing)

External links

• Special reports 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
• Hamas military wing - English site

Resources

• Gaza crisis: key maps and timeline, BBC News.
• Hamas's arsenal of rockets, Reuters.
• TIMELINE - Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended, Reuters.
• B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
• Al Jazeera Creative Commons Repository, daily reports from Gaza