Gaza War (2008–2009): Difference between revisions

Gaza War
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 (IDF)	Gaza Strip (Principally Hamas)
Commanders and leaders
Ehud Barak (DefMin) Gabi Ashkenazi (CoS) Yoav Galant (SoCom) Eyal Eisenberg (Gaza)	Ismail Haniyeh Mahmoud al-Zahar Said Seyam (KIA) Ahmed al-Ja'abari
Strength
176,500 (total) Backed by tanks, artillery, gunboats, and aircraft.	Hamas: 20,000 (total) forbearance
Casualties and losses
Total killed: 13 Soldiers: 10(including 4 by friendly fire) Civilians: 3 Total wounded: 518 Soldiers: 336 Civilians: 182	Total killed: 1,417 (PCHR), 1,166 (IDF) Militants and policemen: 491* (PCHR), 709 (IDF) Civilians: 926 (PCHR), 295 (IDF) Total wounded: 5,303(PCHR),
One Egyptian border guard officer killed and three guards and two children wounded. Over 50,800 Gaza residents displaced. Over 4,000 homes destroyed; around $2bn worth of damage to Gaza
*255 policemen were killed (240 during initial airstrikes) (PCHR).

The Gaza War, part of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, started when Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008, codenamed Operation Cast Lead (Hebrew: מבצע עופרת יצוקה), with the stated aim of stopping Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel and arms smuggling into Gaza. The conflict has also been called the Gaza massacre in the Arab world (Arabic: مجزرة غزة).

A fragile six-month truce between Hamas and Israel expired on December 19, 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 the Gaza Strip from Israel 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 Israeli 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, medical facilities and schools, were also attacked, as Israel stated that many of them were used by combatants, and as storage spaces for weapons and rockets. Hamas intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against targets in Israel throughout the conflict, hitting previously untargeted cities such as Beersheba and Ashdod. On January 3, 2009, the Israeli ground invasion began.

International reactions during the conflict 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 between 1,166 to 1,417 Palestinians, and 13 Israelis, died in the conflict. The number of combatant and non-combatant casualties is a subject of ongoing contention. Casualty figures have been difficult to verify 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 January 21, Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. On March 2, it was reported that international donors had pledged $4.5 billion in aid for the Palestinians, mainly for rebuilding Gaza after Israel's offensive.

Background

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

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

Israelis killed by Palestinians in Israel (blue) and Palestinians killed by Israelis in Gaza(red)

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 the attempted ouster of Hamas by Fatah, the secular Palestinian nationalist party. Subsequently, Egypt closed the Rafah Border Crossing when EU monitors left in July 2007. Israel closed off all remaining access to Gaza around the same time. 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 2008, Palestinian groups launched over 7,200 rockets and mortars into Israel, according to the IDF.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between 2005 and 2008 116 Israelis, including 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 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 “lull” or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The term “lull” is a translation of the Arabic term Tahdia. According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire.

The agreement required Hamas to end rocket and mortar attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza. In addition, Israel insisted that the agreement includes an end to Hamas's military buildup in Gaza and movement toward the release of Corporal Shalit. In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to 2005 levels, which was between 500 and 600 trucks per day. Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day. The above increase in supply trucks never began to approach what Hamas thought it was going to get. Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.

The UN recorded seven IDF violations of the ceasefire between June 20 and June 26, and three violations by Palestinian groups not affiliated with Hamas between June 23 and 26. On December 18, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, reported 185 Israeli violations during 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, including 20 rockets and 18 mortar shells before November 4. It noted that "Hamas was careful to maintain the ceasefire" until November 4, when the ceasefire was "seriously eroded." Rocket fire decreased by 98 percent in the four and a half months between June 18 and November 4 when compared to the four and a half months preceding the ceasefire.

Hamas denied responsibility for the rocket fire during the 'lull'. However, Human Rights Watch reported that while Hamas security forces demonstrated an ability to curb rocket fire, some people detained for firing rockets were summarily released without explanation.

Conflict escalates

The remnants of Qassam rockets near Sderot municipality fired from Gaza before the conflict.

On November 4, 2008, Israeli forces raided a Hamas-dug tunnel near the Israel-Gaza border. The IDF claimed the tunnel was intended for the capture of Israeli soldiers while Hamas asserted that the tunnel served defensive purposes. The raid and the associated air strike killed six Hamas fighters. Hamas launched 35 rockets into southern Israel in what was described by a Hamas spokesman as a "response to Israel's massive breach of the truce". According to a November 17 article in The Daily Telegraph, "since violence flared on November 5, Israeli forces and militants, some of them from Hamas, have engaged in almost daily tit-for-tat exchanges." Rocket attacks targeted at Israeli cities near Gaza sharply increased during November 2008, approaching pre-truce levels.

On December 13, Israel announced that it was in favor of extending the cease-fire, provided Hamas adhered to the conditions. On December 14, a Hamas delegation in Cairo proposed that the parties return to the original ceasefire arrangement: Hamas would undertake to stop all rocket attacks against Israel if Israel would agree to open up the border crossings, not to reduce commercial traffic, and not to launch attacks into 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 it would not extend the cease-fire which had expired on December 19. It cited the Israeli border blockade as the primary reason and resumed shelling of the western Negev. Israel said that it had begun to ease the blockade, but reimposed it when Hamas failed to end all rocket fire and weapons smuggling.

On December 23, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud az-Zahar reiterated that Hamas was willing to renew the cease-fire under the original terms. That same day the IDF killed three Palestinian militants, claiming that they had been planting explosives on the Israel-Gaza border. On December 24, more than 60 Palestinian mortar shells and Katyusha and Qassam rockets hit the Negev. Hamas code-named the attacks "Operation Oil Stain" and claims it fired 87 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel that day.

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

On Friday, December 26, Israel reopened five border crossings between Israel and Gaza to supply fuel for Gaza's main power plant and to provide about 100 truck loads of humanitarian aid, including grain and other goods. That same day, militants fired approximately a dozen rockets and mortar shells from Gaza at Israel; one accidentally struck a northern Gaza house, killing two Palestinian sisters and wounding a third. According to Israeli defense officials, its subsequent December 27 offensive took Hamas by surprise, thereby increasing militant casualties.

Campaign

Main article: Timeline of the Gaza War

See also: Incidents in the Gaza War

Israeli offensive

Israel began planning for a military operation as early as six months before the conflict by collecting intelligence on potential targets. The IDF also engaged in a disinformation campaign to give Hamas a false sense of security and to take them by surprise. Defense minister Ehud Barak stated that the offensive was the result of Israel’s “patience running out” over the rocket attacks.

Air strikes

On December 27, 2008, the Israeli Air Force bombed over 170 targets in Gaza, including Hamas paramilitary bases, training camps, and underground Kassam launchers. The air strikes also hit Hamas headquarters, government offices and police stations, killing around 140 Hamas security forces, including the chief of police Tawfiq Jabber.

Destroyed building in Rafah, January 12, 2009

Photos of a destroyed school building in Rafah, January 12, 2009

At least 230 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 injured on the first day of air strikes. Civilians, including children, were among the casualties. Human rights groups critically note that the attacks began around the time that children were leaving school. The Israeli attack was the deadliest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict, which has led some Palestinians to call it the Massacre of the Black Saturday.

In the weeks following the initial air raids, the Israeli Air Force continued to target Hamas facilities while also inflicting massive damage to Palestinian infrastructure. The IDF also targeted homes of Hamas commanders, noting: "Destruction of hundreds of Hamas leaders' homes [is] 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." Several high-ranking Hamas commanders were killed, including Nizar Rayan, Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, and Jamal Mamduch. The Hamas leaders often died along with their families in their homes. According to a Hamas spokesperson and Rayyan's son, the IDF warned Rayan, by contacting his cell phone, that an attack on his house was imminent. An Israeli military spokesperson interviewed by The International Herald Tribune "could not give details or specify whether Rayyan's family had been warned."

According to the IAF, 80 percent of the bombs used by the IAF were precision weapons, and 99 percent of the air strikes hit their targets. A study by CSIS point out that whenever possible, IAF executed strikes using the smallest precision-guided weapons, and coordinated both air strikes and the use of artillery weapons using GPS, in a systematic effort to limit collateral damage.

Among IDF's measures to reduce civilian casualties were the extensive use of leaflets and phone messages to warn Palestinians, including families in high-risk areas and families of Hamas personnel, to leave the area or to avoid potential targets. In a practice codenamed roof knocking, the IDF issued warning calls prior to air strikes on civilian buildings. Typically, Israeli intelligence officers and Shin Bet security servicemen contacted residents of a building in which they suspected storage of military assets and told them that they had 10–15 minutes to flee the attack. At several instances, the IDF has also used a sound bomb to warn civilians before striking homes. In some cases, IDF commanders called off airstrikes, when residents of suspected houses have been able to gather on its roof. IAF developed small bomb that is designed not to explode as it was aimed at empty areas of the roofs to frighten residents into leaving the building. Some of the attacks took place sooner than the warning suggested and many calls were not followed up with attacks.

By January 3, 2009, the Palestinian death toll stood at 400, with 25 percent estimated to be civilian casualties. The air offensive continued throughout the ground invasion that followed, and as of January 15, Israeli forces had carried out 2,360 air strikes. 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 3 Israeli civilians.

On January 3, the IDF shelled the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque in Beit Lahiya. Thirteen people 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 inner parts 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.

Testimonies from Israeli soldiers admitting indiscriminate killings of civilians, as well as vandalizing homes, were reported. An Israeli NGO Breaking the silence confirmed it had also taken testimony, from soldiers who took part in the Gaza assault, of a similar nature. Soon after the publication of the testimonies, reports implying that the testimonies were based on hearsay and not on the first-hand experience started to circulate in Israeli media. At the same time, another kind of evidence was collected from several soldiers who took part in the fighting, that rebutted claims of immoral conduct on the military's part during Gaza War. Following investigation, the IDF issued an official report, concluding that alleged cases of deliberate shooting at civilians didn't take place. Consequently, the head of the Rabin Pre-Military Academy Danny Zamir told Jerusalem Post that he believes the IDF operated in a way in which it tried to protect civilians in the crowded Gaza Strip and that described acts of vandalism do not make the IDF an army of war criminals.

On January 6, Israel fired mortar shells at militants near the Al-Fakhura school. Initially reports mistakenly stated that the attack had directly hit the school and that the victims had taken refuge there to escape the fighting. This created a public outcry and prompted condemnation from Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon, members of the news media, and international aid agencies. The response before it was learned that the school itself was not attacked lead to a renewed push for a cease-fire in the conflict.

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 had 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.

Meanwhile, that same day in Jabalia, one Israeli soldier was killed and 19 were wounded, when a Hamas mortar round struck their position.

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 Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

The headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was also shelled on January 15. There were 3 people injured and tonnes of food and fuel intended for 750,000 Palestinian refugees was destroyed. The Associated Press initially reported that an anonymous Israeli military official stated that Gaza militants had fired anti-tank weapons and machine guns from inside the compound. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said “it is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it, I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry.” After the UNRWA dismissed the Israeli claim as "nonsense" Israel ordered an army investigation into the incident. Israeli officials afterwards “came forward to say that preliminary results showed that the militants ran for safety inside the U.N. compound after firing on Israeli forces from outside."

Humanitarian ceasefires

Due to the number of civilian casualties, Israel faced significant international pressure for a ceasefire. On January 7, Israel opened a "humanitarian corridor" to allow the shipment of aid into Gaza. The Israeli army promised to interrupt fighting for three hours and Hamas agreed not to launch missiles during the pause. Israel repeated the ceasefire either daily or every other day. Aid officials and the UN praised the truce, but said it was not enough as fighting usually resumed immediately following the humanitarian ceasefires.

On January 7, despite the parties’ agreement to halt fighting during aid deliveries, a UN convoy was fired upon, killing two aid workers. The UN initially blamed Israeli tank fire, though an Israeli investigation later cleared the IDF of responsibility. 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." As a result of the incident, the UN briefly suspended aid shipments but resumed them on January 9 after receiving assurances from Israel that they were not being targeted. On January 9, an Israeli media report alleged that Hamas fired mortar shells at Israel while aid shipments were taking place.

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-Atatra 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.

Several witnesses told an Italian reporter that on many roofs of the tall buildings that were hit by Israeli bombs, including UN building, there were rocket-launchers or Hamas look-outs.

On January 27, 2009, the Shin Bet released details given by Hamas captives, including the militants' use of mosques for weapon caches and military training. Militants admitted to the location of Hamas weapon storage sites, in tunnels, in the homes of activists, and in citrus groves and mosques, and told of theory instruction given in mosques as well.

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.

Some reports assume that Hamas fighters shed their uniform short after the start of the ground incursion.

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.

Some testimonies from local Gazan population, as well as IDF probe published on April 22, imply that Hamas operatives donned paramedic uniforms and commandeered ambulances. One ambulance driver told about attempts to lure the ambulances into the battle to transport fighters to safety. An IDF probe also revealed an incident when the UN vehicle had been used to transport a Palestinian anti-tank squad and was bombed after it unloaded the squad.

Rocket attacks into Israel

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The strike range of Hamas rockets had increased from 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to 40 kilometres (25 mi) since early 2008 with the use of improved Qassam and factory-made rockets. These attacks resulted in civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. Rockets reached major Israeli cities Ashkelon, Beersheba and Gedera for the first time, putting one-eighth of Israel's population in rocket range. As of January 13, 2009, 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 blockade, and an opening of all of Gaza's crossings, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Militants fired over 750 rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel during the conflict. Bersheeba and Gedera were the furthest areas hit by rocket or mortars. The rockets killed 3 civilians and 1 IDF soldier and wounded 182 people, with another 584 people suffering from shock and anxiety syndrome. The rockets also caused property damage, including damage to 3 schools.

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

Unilateral ceasefires

On January 17, 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 00:00 GMT on January 18. 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.

Rocket and mortar shells from Gaza into Israel, Ferbuary 2009
Source: Haaretz

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 January 18, 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.

Since the unilateral ceasefires were declared on January 17, militants have fired rockets and mortar shells from Gaza. The IDF has responded with airstrikes.

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 January 27, 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 January 27 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.

On January 20 2009, Barack Obama assumed the Presidency of the United States of America. Soon thereafter, 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 January 27 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.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that Israel would not agree to a long term truce or lift the blockade that it has imposed on Gaza without the freeing of Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier held captive in Gaza since June 2006. Hamas has insisted that Shalit's release be dependent on the release of 1,400 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and be kept separate from ceasefire negotiations.

Propaganda and psychological warfare

Hamas

Before and during the conflict, Hamas' senior representatives released number of statements designed to avert Israeli decision-makers from launching any military operation in Gaza and to cause demoralization among Israelis. Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) cite Khaled Mashal speaking from Damascus on March 1, 2008, promising to fight any Israeli aggression with 1.5 million people who will willingly die deaths of martyrs. Before the end of the pre-conflict ceasefire, Hamas boasted that it had countless surprises awaiting Israeli troops, should they advance. On the eve of the ground incursion by Israeli forces, Khaled Mashal assured that should IDF launch ground offensive, black destiny and abduction awaits Israeli soldiers. Hamas spokesman added that with the God's help Gaza will become a graveyard to Israeli troops.

During the war, Hamas' launches of homemade and Grad rockets into Israeli towns paralyzed life across Israel's south. On a video broadcasted on Al-Aqsa TV on January 10, showing the names of Israeli towns hit by rockets, it was implied Tel-Aviv is the next target and that 'all options are open'. Also, Hamas sent messages in Hebrew to Israeli citizens' mobile phones warning: "Rockets on all cities, shelters will not protect you."

Hamas used the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit further, declaring that he had been wounded by Israeli fire, later announcing that his condition was no longer of interest to them.

In a report compiled by ITIC, evidences of Hamas’s effort to perpetuate a victory myth in the warfare are produced: in the course of the fighting, Hamas released numerous announcements, exaggerating military success achieved by its fighters, claiming that more IDF soldiers were abducted; declaring destruction of 11 Israeli tanks; taking (false) responsibility for the fire that broke out at a chemical factory in Ashdod; hitting an IDF aircraft over the northern Gaza Strip. Following the end of the fighting, Hamas declared "remarkable victory", claimed that only 48 Hamas fighters were killed and estimated that no less than 80 IDF soldiers fell in Gaza, including 49 killed in direct clashes with its fighters. According to the ITIC, Hamas also prohibited the publishing of photographs, names or details of its members who got killed or injured in the fighting.

Israel

The day before the beginning of the offensive on December 27 the IDF pulled troops back from the border and used its radio channels to broadcast talk of a "lull" in order to achieve disinformation coup ("con") to lure Hamas fighters out of hiding. Israel also allowed trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza despite ongoing rocket attacks. A broadcaster in Islamic Jihad's Voice of Jerusalem radio station in Gaza City reported that IDF have been breaking into his station signal "least once an hour" during conflict intensification to broadcast messages to Gaza population that their problems were due to Hamas. The army also dropped leaflets with similar messages and contact info to report about the whereabouts of militant leaders and weapons caches. The leaflets also noted that "the Israeli army will respond if the rocket fire continues." In war zones, leaflets warned local residents that they had to flee, although they had no place to go. It also warned residents that their homes would be targeted if they were located near a house that was a target. Presumably, by January 5, the IDF said it had dropped some 400,000 leaflets. There was a mistrust of phone warning messages to people that they have "just minutes to evacuate before they bomb the house". According to a human rights lawyer at the Palestinian Human Rights Center, despite the hundreds of phone calls to families warning their house is about to be blown up, only 37 were destroyed, presumably as of the 3 January The Guardian article date."

Casualties

Palestinian girl killed during the conflict.

Palestinian woman wounded in Gaza during the conflict.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, a Gaza governmental office (PMoH), put death toll at total of 1,324 Gazans killed, of which "most" were civilians. 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 Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) puts the death toll at 1,417, of which 926 were civilian, 236 were combatants and 255 were members of the Palestinian security forces. According to PCHR, out of 926 civilians and non-combatants, there are 116 women and 313 minors under 18. The organization has also posted a list of the victims detailing their names, ages, jobs, place of residence, and time and place of the attacks that killed them.

An IDF report on March 26, 2009 listed 1,166 Palestinian fatalities, of which 295 were identified as civilians. According to IDF, out of 295 Palestinian non-combatants, there are 89 under the age of 16 and 49 women The IDF report stated that at least 709 of the deaths were members of a militant organization, including police. Additional 162 Palestinian men were listed by IDF as "unaffiliated," meaning that those names have not been attributed to any militant group.

Israel has stated that 13 Israelis were killed during the conflict, including four in two separate friendly fire incidents and three civilians. 182 Israeli civilians were wounded during the conflict. Hamas has claimed that it killed at least 80 Israeli soldiers. Israel stated that 10 IDF soldiers had been killed and 336 wounded. Out of those figures, five were killed engaging Hamas combatants, four were killed by friendly fire, and one was killed when Hamas rockets hit a military base inside Israel.

Other casualties

The World Health Organization reported that sixteen health personnel were killed and that 22 health personnel were injured over the course of the offensive. The UNRWA reported that five of its staff members were killed and that eleven staff members were injured. The World Food Programme reported that one of its contractors were killed and that two were injured.

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

Israeli woman injured during the conflict

Disputed Figures

On February 17, the UN announced that it will compile a casualty report to determine the exact figure of Palestinian casualties. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will lead the investigation, which will research "data on the number of casualties provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the IDF and Gaza-based human rights organizations." Due to its complexity, the work is expected to last "several weeks, if not months" one UN official stated.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has issued a statement contesting the IDF figures, saying that it regarded them as a "deliberate manipulative attempt" to distort the reality of the attacks, and to "disguise Israeli illegal actions". The PCHR civilian count included Hamas members killed in what the PCHR assessed were non-combat situations. Similarly, Israeli officials have stated that the PMoH significantly inflated the civilian death toll and played down the number of Hamas casualties. The PCHR's representative reaffirmed further its own figures, saying that extensive investigation and cross-checking was done in researching the numbers and identities of Palestinians killed; he assured that the fatalities list does not include deaths caused by "internal events" or natural causes, refuting allegations from some Israeli security sources. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes has stated that the PMoH figures have not been seriously challenged.

HRW stated that police are presumptively civilians but are considered valid targets if formally incorporated into the armed forces of a party to a conflict or directly participating in the hostilities. The IDF has made clear that it regards police under the control of Hamas in Gaza to be inherently equivalent to armed fighters, including them in the militant's count. The PCHR representative argued however that Israel wrongly classified 255 police officers killed at the outset of the war as militants, explaining that International Law regards policemen who are not engaged in fighting as non-combatants or civilians. Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center compiled a report alleging that during Gaza War many supposedly civil policemen were at the same time operatives in Hamas’s military wing.

The Israeli think-tank, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), has compiled a preliminary report following their research of the casualties, based on the list of fatalities published by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, supplemented by Hamas and Fatah websites and official Palestinian government online sources. The ICT claims that many of those listed by PCHR as civilians were in fact hailed as militant martyrs by Hamas and that some of the civilians killed were Fatah members killed by Hamas. Also, the ICT asserted many of the civil policemen killed also held operational ranks in the Hamas military wing. The ICT say they have identified so far 314 combatants; 18 of these identified combatants were younger than eighteen years of age (including 4 16-year-olds and 13 17-year-olds) and were counted as children by PCHR. Examining age distribution of the casualties, ICT estimated that 63% to 75% of the Palestinians killed in Gaza War appear to have been specifically-targeted, combat-aged males, and based on this finding conclude that PCHR’s own data refutes claim that Israel’s attacks were indiscriminate.

Hamas political violence

Main article: 2009 Hamas political violence in Gaza

Hamas has been accused of executing several Fatah members and Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. In April 20, 2009, HRW published its report titled Under Cover of War Hamas, Political Violence in Gaza, claiming at least 32 people were killed. 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." Hamas later accused Fatah of spying for Israel during the conflict, claiming that the espionage was what had enabled Israel to create massive damage and hit targets with precision.

Effects

Main article: Effects of the Gaza War

A satellite-based damage assessment of the Gaza Strip by the United Nations (UNOSAT). February 2009

There were multiple economic, industrial and medical effects of the Gaza War. 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. The IDF destroyed 600–700 factories, small industries, workshops and business enterprises throughout the Gaza Strip, 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.

A satellite-based damage assessment of the Gaza Strip by the United Nations revealed 2,692 destroyed and severely damaged buildings, 220 impact craters on roads and bridges with an estimated length of 167 kilometres (104 miles) of paved and unpaved roads damaged, 714 impact craters on open ground or cultivated land with an estimated land area of 2,100 hectares (21 square kilometres), 187 greenhouses completely destroyed or severely damaged with an estimated area of 28 hectares (0.28 square kilometres), and 2,232 hectares (22.32 square kilometres) of demolished zones targeted by IDF bulldozers, tanks and phosphorus shelling.

Gaza humanitarian crisis

See also: 2008-2009 Gaza Strip aid

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 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 Organization and Palestinian officials, between 35% and 60% of the agriculture industry was wrecked. With extensive damage occurring to water sources, greenhouses, and farmland. It is estimated that 60% of the agricultural land in the north of the Strip may no longer be arable. 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. They accounted as part of the 3% of industrial capacity that was operating after the Israeli blockade was imposed, which was mostly destroyed during the operation.

On January 3, prior to the IDF ground operation, Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni said 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 Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, criticized Livni's statement and further criticized 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 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 February 3, blankets and food parcels were confiscated by Hamas police personnel from an UNRWA distribution center, and on February 4, 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 February 9, 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 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 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 reported that international organizations have faced "unprecedented denial" of access to Gaza by Israel since 5 November and that humanitarian access remains unreliable and needs to be granted in a daily basis unrestricted.

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 suffered damages. 29 ambulances were 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 December 29 and January 22, 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

During the conflict, life in much of southern Israel was paralyzed. . 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. Schools and universities in southern Israel began to close due to rocket threats on December 27. Palestinian rockets landed on Israeli educational facilities several times during the conflict with 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, moved its critical treatment facilities into an underground shelter after a Gaza-fired rocket struck beside its helicopter pad on December 28.

International law

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.

Israelis

Israel has been accused of collective punishment by United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)'s Richard Falk; of targeting of civilians by Falk and Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)'s Raji Sourani; of war crimes by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, of disproportionate military response by Falk and EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel; of failing "to care for and evacuate the wounded" by the Red Cross by not allowing medics access to wounded civilians of using civilians as shields 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 ("anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate 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 an Israeli strike on a police station.

The IDF justified the strike, which killed at least 40 police trainees, by reasoning that the justification for an attack on them was based on police categorization as a resistance force in the event of an Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip; not on information about any of them as individuals. A senior IDF's international law division (ILD) figure elaborated, "underlying our rationale was the way Hamas used the security forces...actually one can look at the totality as the equivalent of the enemy's armed force, so they were not perceived as police. In our eyes, all the armed forces of Hamas are the equivalent of the army, just as in the face of the enemy's army every soldier is a legitimate target." HRW has stated that "under the laws of war, police and police stations are presumptively civilian unless the police are Hamas fighters or taking a direct part in the hostilities, or police stations are being used for military purposes." A spokesperson for HRW stated "Israel must not make a blanket decision that all police and police stations are by definition legitimate military targets ... It depends upon whether those police play a role in fighting against Israel, or whether a particular police station is used to store weapons or for some other military purpose."

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 rationale 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," stating that simple Hamas' affiliation does not make the buildings legitimate targets.

Amnesty International concluded that Israeli troops had engaged in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes. Israel's military said civilian buildings were destroyed because of military "substantial operational needs" such as when they were used by enemy combatants. Both Amnesty International and Breaking the Silence claimed that demolitions had been carried out when there was no immediate threat to soldiers.

Amnesty International stated that the Israeli army used flechette shells in densely populated civilian areas resulting in the injuries and deaths of civilians. The anti-personnel weapon spreads up to 8000 4 cm long metal darts over a 30,000 square meter area. The army has argued that it has used the weapons very selectively. Use of the munition is not forbidden under international law.

Sixteen human rights campaigners, including Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson sent an open letter to the United Nations calling for a "prompt, independent and impartial investigation [that] would provide a public record of gross violations of international humanitarian law committed." The letter stated that the signatories had been "shocked to the core" by the damage inflicted during the Israeli offensive. In response to criticism of using disproportionate force, OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant said, "800 terrorists and 300 civilians, who we did not want to harm, were killed ... This ratio of almost a quarter [of the individuals] uninvolved [in the fighting] is an achievement unmatched in the history of this kind of combat."

A study by military analyst 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. Norman Finkelstein, a political scientist, wrote that Cordesman's study lacked credibility because it was based almost entirely on official Israeli sources and ignored information that was readily available from the UN, NGOs and News reports.

In order to protect soldiers from charges for possible war crime charges, the IDF censor banned the publication of the identity of military leaders who fought Hamas in Gaza. In addition, a war crime defense team was set up to co-ordinate a legal defense for civilians and the military. Israeli human rights groups criticized the Israeli military for failing to properly investigate violations of the laws of war in Gaza, despite plenty of evidence of possible war crimes.

White phosphorus usage

Main articles: White Phosphorus and White phosphorus § 2008/9 Israel-Gaza conflict

Israel used white phosphorus munitions during the conflict

The Israeli military used white phosphorus munitions in the Gaza strip. The IDF repeatedly denied using white phosphorus munitions but acknowledged use after the conflict. Israel claims the use was in compliance with international law. 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. The weapon has a potential to cause particularly severe and painful burns or death.

On March 25, Human Rights Watch, published a report titled Rain of Fire, Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza providing, "witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza."

White phosphorus was also discovered in a mortar shell that Hamas had fired into Israel, but landed in an open area in the Negev, causing no damage.

Human shields allegations, medical ethics and UN facilities

On March 24, a report from the UN team responsible for the protection of children in war zones was released, it found "hundreds" of violations of the rights of children and accused Israeli soldiers of shooting children, using children as human shields, bulldozing a home with a woman and child still inside, and shelling a building they had ordered civilians into a day earlier.

One case involved forcing a 11-year-old boy as a human shield, by forcing him to enter suspected buildings first and also inspect bags. The report also mentioned the boy was used as a shield when Israeli soldiers came under fire. The Guardian has also received testimony from three Palestinian brothers aged 14, 15, and 16, who all claimed to have been used as human shields.

Richard Falk, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian territories, alleged that Israel had confined Palestinian civilians to the combat zone in Gaza and prevented them from leaving during bombardment. Such a practice was a "new crime against humanity", Falk said and called for Israel to be held accountable. Aharon Leshno Yar, Israel's ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, condemned the report, saying Israel found the report "to have no value except to narrowly further the politicized agenda of the Human Rights Council ... The report grossly and undeniably includes significant factual and legal errors and misrepresentations."

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel stated the Israeli military violated medical ethics codes during its offensive, not only refusing to evacuate besieged and wounded families, but also preventing Palestinian medical teams from reaching the wounded. PHR quoted figures issued by the World Health Organization which showed 16 Palestinian medical personnel were killed by Israeli fire during the offensive and that 25 were wounded while performing their duties. The IDF representative said in response that Hamas fighters had "methodically made use of medical vehicles, facilities and uniforms in order to conceal and camouflage terrorist activity, and in general used ambulances to carry terror activists and weapons." An IDF investigation, published on April 22, 2009, stated that seven Palestinian medical personnel have been killed by the IDF, of which five were Hamas operatives (including a nephew of the Health Minister in Gaza) and two were civilians.

Ban Ki-Moon ordered a UN Headquarters Board of Inquiry led by Ian Martin to independently investigate the nine most serious attacks on UN personnel and property. Israel was faulted in seven of the nine cases including an attack on a UNRWA school in Jabalia that killed between 30 and 40 people. The report accused Israel of "gross negligence amounting recklessness" men and stated that allegations that militants had fired from within U.N. premises "were untrue, continued to be made after it ought to have been known that they were untrue, and were not adequately withdrawn and publicly regretted." Hamas was found guilty in one of the nine cases. Ban will seek up to $11 million in damages from Israel.

Palestinians

A rocket is fired from Gaza to Israel in December 2008

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." UN Humanitarian chief John Holmes stated that Hamas's rocket attacks on southern Israel violate international laws.

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." The International Law Department of the IDF Military Advocate General's Corps also considers the firing of rockets by Hamas as a violation of the Geneva Convention, as its primary purpose is to spread terror among the civilian population.

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 International Law Department of the IDF Military Advocate General's Corps concluded 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."

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

The Foreign Press Association of Israel released a statement saying, “The unprecedented denial of access to Gaza for the world’s media amounts to a severe violation of press freedom and puts the state of Israel in the company of a handful of regimes around the world which regularly keep journalists from doing their jobs.”

Media facilities in Gaza, both foreign and domestic, came under Israeli fire in the military campaign. On one occasion a Grad rocket may have been launched from a location near the television studios in the Al-Shuruk tower in Gaza City. Although the Israeli recording of a reporter describing a missile launch was during the initial aerial bombardment phase the tower was only bombed in the final few days. 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. Haaretz reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni "instructed senior ministry officials to open an aggressive and diplomatic international public relations campaign in order to gain support for Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip." Israeli officials at embassies and consulates worldwide have mounted campaigns in local media, and to that end have recruited people who speak the native language. Israel has also opened an international media centre in Sderot. 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. Volunteers proficient in languages other than Hebrew were particularly sought after.

Foreign Press Branch head Avital Leibovich believes the "new media" is another war zone, stating, "We have to be relevant there." As part of its public-relations campaign, the Israeli army 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

International reaction to the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

  Israel-Gaza

  States that endorsed the Israeli position/defined Israel's action as falling within its right to defense.

  States that condemned Hamas action only.

  States that endorsed the Hamas position/defined Hamas' actions as falling within its right of resistance.

  States that condemned Israeli action only.

  States that called for an end to hostilities, and condemned neither/both belligerents.

  States that have made no official statement on the conflict.

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

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

The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on December 28, 2008 calling "for an immediate halt to all violence". The Arab League, the European Union and many nations made similar calls. On January 9, 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 governments condemned both belligerents, or neither of them. Thirty-four states condemned Israel's attacks exclusively; among those, Iran, Libya and North Korea 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. Among those, 13 states - Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Panama, and the United States - 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 also "prompted a wave of reprisal attacks against Jewish targets in Europe". The worldwide 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. A violent incident against Muslims was reported in France.

See also

• 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire
• 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza foreign involvement
• Military equipment of Israel
• Palestinian domestic weapons production
• Civil defense in Israel
• Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing)
• Smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip
• 2009 IDF T-Shirt controversy

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
• Rebuilding Gaza: Poor Prospects for the Economy
• B'Tselem's Guidelines for Israel's Investigation Into Operation Cast Lead

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

• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory
• Gaza crisis: key maps and timeline, BBC News.
• Hamas's arsenal of rockets, Reuters.
• TIMELINE - Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended, Reuters.
• Al Jazeera Creative Commons Repository, daily reports from Gaza