Posted By admin on November 4, 2015
Operation Protective Edge 2014 Part of the GazaIsrael conflict (left) A home in Gaza bombed by Israel (right) Iron Dome missile defense system in operation Date 8 July 26 August 2014 (49 days) Location Gaza Strip Israel Result
Victory claimed by both sides[9]
Gazan militant groups
Al-Qassam Brigades: 20,000[14]40,000[15]
Gaza Health Ministry: 2,203 killed [a][21][22] 10,626 wounded[21] UN HRC: 2,251 killed (referenced information from GHM)[b][23] ITIC: 1,552 killed [c][24] Israel MFA: 2,125 killed (interim findings)[d][25]
a 70% civilians[22] b 65% civilians[23] c 31% civilians, 30% combatants, 39% unidentified [24]
The 2014 IsraelGaza conflict, also known as Operation Protective Edge (Hebrew: , Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, lit. "Operation Strong Cliff")[note 1] was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.[note 2] Thereafter, following the IDF Operation Brother's Keeper, Hamas started rocket attacks, targeting Israeli cities and infrastructure, resulting in seven weeks of Israeli operations. The Israeli strikes, the Palestinian rocket attacks and the ground fighting resulted in the death of thousands of people, the vast majority of them Gazans.[18][31]
The stated aim of the Israeli operation was to stop rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, which increased after an Israeli crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank was launched following the 12 June kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by two Hamas members.[32][33][34] Conversely, Hamas's goal was to bring international pressure to bear to lift Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, end Israel's offensive, obtain a third party to monitor and guarantee compliance with a ceasefire,[35] release Palestinian prisoners and overcome its political isolation.[36] Some claim Israel was the first, on 13 June, to break the ceasefire agreement with Hamas that had been in place since November 2012.[37] However, Israel argues its air raids on Gaza are responses to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.[38]
On 7 July, after seven Hamas militants died in a tunnel explosion in Khan Yunis which was caused by an Israeli airstrike (per Hamas, Nathan Thrall, BBC and a senior IDF official[39]) or an accidental explosion of their own munitions (per the IDF), Hamas assumed responsibility for rockets fired into Israel and launched 40 rockets towards Israel.[40][41]
The operation officially began the following day, and on 17 July, the operation was expanded to an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza with the stated aim of destroying Gaza's tunnel system;[42] Israeli ground forces withdrew on 5 August.[43] On 26 August, an open-ended ceasefire was announced.[44] By that date, the IDF reported that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups had fired 4,564 rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel, with over 735 intercepted in flight and shot down by Iron Dome. Most Gazan mortar and rocket fire hit open land, more than 280 fell on areas in Gaza,[45] and 224 struck residential areas.[46][47] Militant rocketry also killed 13 Gazan civilians, 11 of them children.[48][49] The IDF attacked 5,263 targets in Gaza; at least 34 known tunnels were destroyed[46] and two-thirds of Hamas's 10,000-rocket arsenal was used up or destroyed.[50][51]
Between 2,142[52] and 2,310[21] Gazans were killed and between 10,626[21] and 10,895[53] were wounded (including 3,374 children, of whom over 1,000 were left permanently disabled[54]). 66 Israeli soldiers, 5 Israeli civilians (including one child)[55] and one Thai civilian were killed[18] and 469 IDF soldiers and 261 Israeli civilians were injured.[20] The Gaza Health Ministry, UN and some human rights groups reported that 6975% of the Palestinian casualties were civilians;[18][22][53] Israeli officials estimated that around 50% of those killed were civilians.[56][57] On 5 August, OCHA stated that 520,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (approximately 30% of its population) might have been displaced, of whom 485,000 needed emergency food assistance[58] and 273,000 were taking shelter in 90 UN-run schools.[59] The UN calculated that more than 7,000 homes for 10,000 families were razed, together with an additional 89,000 homes damaged, of which roughly 10,000 were severely affected by the bombing.[60] Rebuilding costs were calculated to run from 4-6 billions dollars, over 20 years.[61] In Israel, an estimated 5,000[62] to 8,000[63] citizens temporarily fled their homes due to the threat of rocketry from Gaza.[62] The economic cost of the operation is estimated at NIS 8.5 billion (approximately 2.5 billion USD) and GDP loss of 0.4%.[64] At the conclusion of hostilities 3,000-3,700 claims for damages had been submitted by Israelis, and $41 million paid out for property damage and missed work days.[46] Reconstruction costs were estimated at approximately $11 million.[65]
In 2005, then Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally withdrew Israeli forces and settlements from the Gaza Strip.[66] Nonetheless, the ICRC,[67] the UN[68] and various human rights organizations[69][70][71] consider Israel to still be the de facto occupying power due to its control of Gaza's borders, air space and territorial waters.[72][73]
The following year, Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislative elections. The outcome disconcerted Israel, the United States and the Quartet, and they demanded Hamas accept all previous agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist, and renounce violence; when Hamas refused,[74] they cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. In mid-2006 an Israeli soldier was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid. The United States, in response to Fatah moves in October 2006 to form a unity government with Hamas, tried to undo the elections by arming Fatah to overthrow Hamas in Gaza.[75] Hamas preempted the coup and took complete power by force.[76][77][78][79][80]
Israel then defined Gaza as a "hostile territory" forming no part of a sovereign state and put Gaza under a comprehensive economic and political blockade,[81] which also denied access to a third of its arable land and 85% of its fishing areas. It has led to considerable economic damage and humanitarian problems in Gaza.[82][83][84][85] The overwhelming consensus of international institutions is that the blockade is a form of collective punishment and illegal.[86][87][88][89][90] Israel maintains that the blockade is legal and necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons.[91][92][93][94][95] Israel carried out Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 with the stated aim of stopping rocket attacks from Hamas militants.[96] It led to a decrease in Palestinian rocket attacks.[97] The UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict concluded that the operation was "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability".[98] The Israeli government's analysis concludes that the report perverts international law to serve a political agenda and sends a "legally unfounded message to states everywhere confronting terrorism that international law has no effective response to offer them".[99]
Influenced in the Arab Spring and by demonstrations in Ramallah and Gaza, the gap between Hamas and Fatah was bridged in 2011. After the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared his willingness to travel to Gaza and sign an agreement, the IDF killed two Hamas activists in Gaza; the IDF stated the killings were in response to the launching of a single Qassam rocket, which hit no one, but Yedioth Ahronoth's Alex Fishman argued they were a "premeditated escalation" by Israel.[100][bettersourceneeded] In an interview with CNN, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the reconciliation talks were calls for Israel's destruction, and strongly opposed the idea of a unity government.[101]
On 14 November 2012, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defence in the Gaza Strip. The operation was preceded by a period with a number of mutual IsraeliPalestinian responsive attacks.[102] According to the Israeli government, the operation began in response to the launch of over 100 rockets at Israel during a 24-hour period,[103] an attack by Gaza militants on an Israeli military patrol jeep within Israeli borders,[104] and an explosion caused by IEDs, which occurred near Israeli soldiers, on the Israeli side of a tunnel passing under the Israeli West Bank barrier.[105][106] The Israeli government stated that the aims of the military operation were to halt rocket attacks against civilian targets originating from the Gaza Strip[107] and to disrupt the capabilities of militant organizations.[108] The Palestinians blamed the Israeli government for the upsurge in violence, accusing the IDF of attacks on Gazan civilians in the days leading up to the operation.[109] They cited the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the occupation of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as the reason for rocket attacks.[110] A week later, on 21 November, Egypt brokered a ceasefire to the conflict which contained the following agreements:[111][112]
Both Israel and Hamas argue that the other violated the 2012 ceasefire agreement, resulting in 1 Israeli and 8 Gazan deaths and 5 Israeli and 66 Gazan injuries. According to the Israeli Security Agency (Shabak) there was a sharp decrease in attacks from Gaza in 2013.[113] Nevertheless, 63 rockets (average 5 per month) were launched in 36 rocket attacks in addition to various mortar attacks, all prohibited by the November 2012 ceasefire. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)[114] reported monthly Israeli attacks involving drones, missiles, small arms fire and airstrikes. Six of the deaths in Gaza occurred in the border area's Access Restricted Areas (ARAs, non-demarcated zones within Gazan territory unilaterally defined by Israel as being of restricted access), despite the ceasefire's prohibition on Israeli attacks on these areas.[32][114] OCHAO, more broadly sourced data, reported 11 deaths in Gaza and 81 injuries for 2013.[115]
In the first three months after the IDF Operation Pillar of Defense, according to Ben White, two mortar shells struck Israeli territory, while four Gazans were shot dead and 91 were wounded by Israeli forces who fired inside Gazan territory on 63 occasions, made 13 incursions into the Strip, and attacked the Gazan fishing fleet 30 times.[116] Israeli attacks on Gaza steadily increased during the second half of 2013, notwithstanding the decrease in attacks from Gaza.[117][not in citation given]
From December 2012 to late June/early July 2014, Hamas did not fire rockets into Israel, and tried to police other groups doing so.[118] These efforts were largely successful; Netanyahu stated in March 2014 that the rocket fire in the past year was the "lowest in a decade."[32][118][119] According to Shabak, in the first half of 2014 there were 181 rocket attacks[120] compared to 55 rocket attacks in whole 2013.[113]
As occasional rocket fire continued, the blockade of Gaza continued in direct violation of the ceasefire agreement.[121] "Crossings were repeatedly shut and buffer zones were reinstated. Imports declined, exports were blocked, and fewer Gazans were given exit permits to Israel and the West Bank."[32]
Israel halted construction material going to Gaza after it stated that it had discovered a tunnel leading into Israel, some 300m from a kibbutz. The IDF said it was the third tunnel discovered that year and that the previous two were packed with explosives.[122]
According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were 85 rocket attacks in the first five months of 2014.[123] Most of the 85 rockets were fired in March, after the IDF killed 3 members of Islamic Jihad. The members of the PIJ say they were firing rockets in response to an incursion by Israeli tanks and bulldozers into Gazan territory east of the Khan Yunis area.[124][125][126] The IDF said they were conducting routine military patrols near the Gaza border when they came under fire, and thus responded with airstrikes.[127][128]
Leading up to the collapse of the 201314 IsraeliPalestinian peace talks, in the face of Netanyahu's perceived reluctance to make desired concessions, Mahmoud Abbas decided to forge a deal with Hamas.[129] With its alliance with Syria and Iran weakened, the loss of power by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt after a coup dtat in Egypt, and the economic impact of the closure of its Rafah tunnels by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,[129] on 23 April 2014, ending seven divisive years, Hamas agreed to reconciliation under a unity government with the other main Palestinian faction, Fatah.[130][131] The government accepted by Hamas was to be run exclusively by PNA technocrats.[129]
This Palestinian unity government was sworn in by 2 June 2014[132][133] and Israel announced it would not negotiate any peace deal with the new government and would push punitive measures.[134] Netanyahu took Palestinian unity as a threat rather than an opportunity.[129][135] On the eve of the agreement he stated that the proposed reconciliation would "strengthen terrorism", and called on the international community to avoid embracing it.[136] Most of the outside world, including the European Union, Russia, China, India, Turkey, France and the United Kingdom, proved cautiously optimistic, and subsequently expressed their support for new arrangement. The United States, more skeptical, announced it would continue to work with the PNA-directed unity government.[137] Israel itself suspended negotiations with the PNA[138] and, just after[139] the announcement, launched an airstrike, which missed its target and wounded a family of three bystanders.[133][140] Netanyahu had warned before the deal that it would be incompatible with IsraeliPalestinian peace and that Abbas had to choose between peace with Hamas and peace with Israel. When a reconciliation deal was signed, opening the way to the appointment of the new government, Netanyahu chaired a security cabinet which voted to authorise Netanyahu to impose unspecified sanctions against the Palestinian Authority.[133]
On 4 June, the day before Naksa Day, the Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry published tenders for 1,500 settlement units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a move Minister Uri Ariel said was an "appropriate Zionist response to the Palestinian terror government."[141][142]Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, alleged that Israel had hoped to disrupt the Palestinian national unity government between Fatah and Hamas by its operation.[143]
On Nakba Day, 15 May 2014, two Palestinian youth, Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu Daher, 16, were killed by Israeli sniper fire using live ammunition near Ofer military prison in the West Bank city of Beitunia. Many Palestinians say this was the first action that began the 2014 conflict,[citation needed] named Operation Protective Edge, by Israel. On 12 June 2014, three Israeli teenagers were abducted in the West Bank: Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, and Eyal Yifrah. Israel blamed Hamas, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he had "unequivocal proof" that Hamas was involved and that the abduction was linked to Palestinian reconciliation,[129] and the IDF stated that the two men Israel suspected of having kidnapped the teenagers were known members of Hamas.[145][146] No evidence of Hamas involvement was offered by Israeli authorities at the time.[32][129][147] High-ranking members of Hamas denied the group had any involvement in the incident,[148] and ex-Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin doubted Hamas had any involvement.[135] The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank attributed the abductions to the Qawasameh clan, notorious for acting against Hamas's policies and any attempts to reach an entente with Israel.[149] Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal said he could neither confirm nor deny the kidnapping of the three Israelis, but congratulated the abductors.[150] The kidnappings were condemned by human rights organizations.[151][152] Documents released by Israel suggest that Hamas member Hussam Qawasmeh organized the kidnappings with $60,000 provided by his brother Mahmoud through a Hamas association in Gaza, after requesting support for a "military operation".[153] On 20 August, Saleh al-Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader based in Turkey, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens: "Our goal was to ignite an intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as within the 1948 borders... Your brothers in the Al-Qassam Brigades carried out this operation to support their imprisoned brothers, who were on a hunger strike... The mujahideen captured these settlers in order to have a swap deal."[154] Palestinian security forces said the kidnappings were organized by Saleh al-Arouri.[155] Khalid Meshaal, head in exile of Hamas's political wing since 2004, acknowledged that Hamas members were responsible, but stated that its political leaders had no prior knowledge of the abduction, were not involved in military details and learnt of it through the ensuing Israeli investigations. He also said that while Hamas was opposed to targeting civilians, he understood that Palestinians "frustrated with oppression" were exercising a "legitimate right of resistance" against the occupation by undertaking such operations.[156][157][158][159] Israel states that the IDF and the Shin Bet have foiled between 54[160] and 64 kidnapping plots since 2013. The PA said it had foiled 43 of them.[161]
Withholding evidence in its possession suggesting that the teens had been killed immediately until 1 July,[129][162][163] Israel launched Operation Brother's Keeper, a large-scale crackdown of what it called Hamas's terrorist infrastructure and personnel in the West Bank,[164] ostensibly aimed at securing the release of the kidnapped teenagers. During the operation, 11 Palestinians were killed and 51 wounded in 369 Israeli incursions into the West Bank through to 2 July,[37][165][166][167][168][169] and between 350 and 600 Palestinians,[148][165][170][171] including nearly all of Hamas's West Bank leaders,[172][173][174] were arrested.[175][176][177] Among those arrested were many people who had only recently been freed under the terms of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.[178] Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner defended the arrests, stating that Hamas members had carried out 60 abduction attempts on Israelis in the West Bank "in the last year and a half", and that "Hamas does not need to give a direct order."[179] The arrests yielded no information about the abduction.[129]Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch stated that certain aspects of the operation amounted to collective punishment,[180][181] and B'tselem said in a press release that the actions have caused "disproportionate harm to the basic rights of Palestinians".[182] During the course of the operation, Israel said it had uncovered a Hamas plot to launch a massive wave of violence throughout the West Bank, with the goal of overthrowing the Palestinian Authority. The purported coup plotters were arrested and their weapons stockpiles were seized[183][184]
On 30 June, search teams found the bodies of the three missing teenagers near Hebron.[185][186][187] After their burial, an anti-Arab riot broke out, and a Palestinian teenager was murdered in revenge. His killing sparked Arab rioting.[188][189] Israel police arrested six suspects belonging to the Beitar Jerusalem F.C. supporters' group La Familia[190][191] and charged three of them with murder.[192][193]
As part of its crackdown, Israel conducted air strikes against Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas apparently refrained from retaliating, though it did not impede other factions from firing rockets towards Israel.[129] From 1 May to 11 June, six rockets and three mortar shells were launched from Gaza towards Israel. From 12 to 30 June 44 rockets and 3 mortar shells were launched from Gaza. On 29 June, an Israeli airstrike on a rocket crew killed a Hamas operative, while at least 18 rockets were launched from Gaza through the next day by Hamas according to both J.J. Goldberg and Assaf Sharon,[129] with Goldberg stating that it was the first time Hamas directly launched rockets since the conflict in 2012.[162] Overnight, on 30 June 1 July, Israeli airstrikes struck 34 Gaza targets in what officials stated was a response to the Sunday rocketry,[194] while Stuart Greer reported the strikes were revenge for the deaths of the three youths.[195] From the day of the abductions on 12 June through 5 July 117 rockets were launched from Gaza and there were approximately 80 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.[196][197]
Israel sought a ceasefire but refused to accept Hamas's condition that Palestinians arrested in the West Bank crackdown be released.[129] In a meeting held on 2 July to discuss the crisis, Hamas reportedly tried but failed to persuade armed factions in Gaza to uphold the truce with Israel.[198] Following escalating rocket fire from Gaza, Israel issued a warning on 4 July that it "would only be able to sustain militant rocket fire for another 24, or maximum 48, hours before undertaking a major military offensive."[199] Hamas declared it was prepared to halt the rocket fire in exchange for an agreement by Israel to stop airstrikes. Netanyahu said Israel would only act against further rocket attacks.[200] On 5 July, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said rocket fire would continue until Israel lifted its import restrictions on Gaza and the Palestinian Authority transferred money to pay Hamas civil servants.[201] Between 4 and 6 July, a total of 62 rockets where fired from Gaza and the IAF attacked several targets in Gaza.[202][203][204] The following day, Hamas assumed formal responsibility for launching rocket attacks on Israel.[32] Hamas increased rocket attacks on Israel,[121] and by 7 July had fired 100 rockets from Gaza at Israeli territory; at the same time, the Israeli Air Force had bombed several sites in Gaza.[205][206][207] Early on 8 July, the IAF bombed 50 targets in the Gaza Strip.[208] Israel's military also stopped a militant infiltration from the sea.[208] Brigadier General Moti Almoz, the chief spokesman of the Israeli military, said: "We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard."[118] Hamas insisted that Israel end all attacks on Gaza, release those re-arrested during the crackdown in the West Bank, lift the blockade on Gaza and return to the cease-fire conditions of 2012 as conditions for a ceasefire.[209]
As the Israeli operation began, and the IDF bombarded targets in the Gaza Strip with artillery and airstrikes, Hamas continued to fire rockets and mortar shells into Israel in response. A cease-fire proposal was announced by the Egyptian government on 14 July, backed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas;[210] the Israeli government accepted it and temporarily stopped hostilities on the morning of 15 July, but Hamas rejected it in "its current form", citing the fact Hamas has not been consulted in the formation of the ceasefire and it omitted many of their demands.[211][212] By 16 July, the death toll within Gaza had surpassed 200 people.[213]
On 16 July, Hamas and Islamic Jihad offered the Israeli government a 10-year truce with ten conditions centred on the lifting of the blockade and the release of prisoners who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap and were re-arrested; it was not accepted.[214][215] On 17 July, a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire, proposed by the UN, took place. Approximately five and a half hours prior to the ceasefire's effect, the IDF sighted 13 armed Hamas militants emerging from a Gazan tunnel on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. IDF destroyed the tunnel's exit, ending the incursion.[216][217] After the ceasefire, IDF began a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip focused on destroying tunnels crossing the Israel border. On 20 July, the Israeli military entered Shuja'iyya, a populous neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in heavy fighting.
On 24 July, over 10,000 Palestinians in the West Bank protested against the Israeli operation; 2 Palestinian protesters died.[218] 150 Hamas militants who surrendered to the IDF were being questioned about Hamas operations.[219] On 25 July, an Israeli airstrike killed Salah Abu Hassanein, the leader of Islamic Jihad's military wing.[220] On 26 July, another humanitarian ceasefire took place for twelve hours,[221] followed by a unilateral extension by Israel for another twenty-four hours, which was rejected by Hamas.[222] The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip topped 1,000.[223]
On 1 August, the US and UN announced that Israel and Palestine had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire starting at 08:00. There was dispute about the terms of the ceasefire: Israel and the US stated that they allowed Israel to "continue to do operations to destroy tunnels that pose a threat to Israeli territory that lead from the Gaza Strip into Israel proper as long as those tunnels exist on the Israel side of their lines"; Hamas said that it would not accept such a condition.[224][225] The ceasefire broke down almost immediately after it started. Israel blamed Hamas for violating the ceasefire, saying a group of Israeli soldiers were attacked by Palestinian militants emerging from a tunnel.[226] Palestinians said the IDF was the first to breach the ceasefire when at 08:30 it destroyed 19 buildings while undertaking work to demolish tunnels.[225] According to the PLO, the Palestinian Authority and Gazan sources, Hamas attacked an Israeli unit, killing an Israeli officer (Hadar Goldin, who was initially thought to have been captured) while Israeli forces were still engaged in military activities in Rafah on Gaza's territory before the truce came into effect. Tweets reported the battle in Rafah before the deadline for the cease-fire.[225] Hamas also killed two soldiers in a suicide bombing attack.[227] Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk accused Israel of creating pretexts to undermine the Gaza ceasefire and said that Palestinian fighters abducted the officer and killed the two soldiers before the start of the humanitarian truce,[228] which a Hamas witness has stated began at 7:30 and lasted five minutes,[229] while Israel said the event took place at 09:20, after the 08:00 start of the ceasefire.[230][231][232]
On 3 August, IDF pulled most of its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip after completing the destruction of 32 tunnels built by Hamas and other militants.[43][233][234] On 5 August Israel announced that it had arrested Hossam Kawasmeh on 11 July, and suspected him of having organized the killing of the three teenagers. According to court documents, Kawasmeh stated that Hamas members in Gaza financed the recruitment and arming of the killers.[235][236]
On 10 August, another Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire was negotiated and agreed upon Israeli and Palestinian officials, and on 13 August it was extended for another 120 hours to allow both sides to continue negotiations for a long-term solution to end the month-long fighting.[237] On 19 August, a 24 hour ceasefire extension renewal was violated just hours after agreement with 29 Hamas rockets fired in 20 minutes, with IAF airstrikes in response, killing 9 Gazans. The Israeli delegation was ordered home from Cairo.[238]
On 21 August, an Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed three of Hamas's top commanders: Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al Atar and Mohammed Barhoum.[239] During the period from 22 to 26 August, over than 700 rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel, killing 3 Israelis. On 26 August, Israel and Hamas accepted another cease-fire at 19:00.[240]
On 16 September, Mortar shell fired to Israel for the first time since the cease-fire. Citizens worried that the fighting would resume with the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the new year (Rosh Hashanah). Defense Minister, Moshe Yaalon estimated that fighting would not resume with the Gaza Strip at the end of this month.[241] Abbas call for UNSC resolution to end Mideast conflict. Hollande, French president show supported in his effort.[242] On Tuesday, 20 September, negotiations between Israel and Gaza will begin in Cairo.[243]
According to Palestinians on 1 October, Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip and fired upon Palestinian farmers and farms. No injuries were reported.[244][245][246]
IDF reported that on 31 October a rocket or a mortar shell was launched from Gaza into southern Israel without causing harm.[247]
On 23 November, a Palestinian farmer was shot dead in Gaza, marking the first time a Palestinian from Gaza had been killed by Israeli fire since a seven-week war between Israel and Hamas militants ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on 26 August. The Israeli army said two Palestinians had approached the border fence and had ignored calls to halt, prompting troops to fire warning shots in the air. "Once they didn't comply, they fired towards their lower extremities. There was one hit," a spokeswoman said.[248]
As of 20 July 2014[update], hospitals in Gaza were ill-equipped and faced severe shortages of various kinds of medicine, medical supplies, and fuel.[251] Egypt temporarily reopened the Rafah crossing with Gaza to allow medical supplies to enter and injured Palestinians to receive treatment in Egypt.[252] Due to the operation, prices of food, including fish and produce, rose dramatically.[253] A 21 July news report stated that over 83,000 Palestinians had taken shelter in UN facilities.[254] Fatah officials accused Hamas of mishandling humanitarian aid meant for civilians. According to them, Hamas took the aid, which included clothing, mattresses, medicine, water, and food, and distributed it among Hamas members or sold it on the black market for profit.[255][256]
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 273,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been displaced as of 31 July 2014, of whom 236,375 (over eleven percent of the Gazan population) were taking shelter in 88 UNRWA schools. UNRWA exhausted its capacity to absorb displaced persons, and overcrowding in shelters risked the outbreak of epidemics. 1.8 million people were affected by a halt or reduction of the water supply, 138 schools and 26 health facilities[58][257][258] were damaged, 872 homes were totally destroyed or severely damaged, and the homes of 5,005 families were damaged but still inhabitable. Throughout the Gaza Strip, people received only 2 hours of electricity per day. Power outage had an immediate effect on the public health situation and reduced water and sanitation services, with hospitals becoming dependent on generators. On 2 September, UNRWA reported that 58,217 people were sheltering in 31 of their school buildings, a fifth of their buildings.[259]
OCHA estimated that at least 373,000 children required psychosocial support.[18] "Intense overcrowding, compounded by the limited access of humanitarian staff to certain areas, is increasingly undermining the living conditions at many shelters and raising protection concerns. Water supply has been particularly challenging..."[260] More than 485,000 internally displaced persons were in need of emergency food assistance.[58]
Gaza City, home to 500,000, suffered damage to 20-25% of its housing. Beit Hanoun, with 70% of its housing stock damaged, is considered uninhabitable, with 30,000 residents there in need of accommodation. The only power station in the Strip was damaged on 29 July, and the infrastructure of power transmission lines and sewage pumps was severely damaged, with a major sewage pipe catering to 500,000 badly damaged. Among the infrastructure targeted and destroyed by Israel's bombing campaign were 220 factories in various industrial zones, including a major carpentry enterprise, construction companies, a major biscuit factory, dairy farms and livestock, a candy manufacturer, the orange groves of Beit Hanoun, Gaza's largest mosques, and several TV stations. Farms, as a consequence of damage or the presence of unexploded ordnance dropped during the conflict, are often inaccessible, and the damage to agriculture was estimated at over $200 million. 10 out of 26 hospitals closed.[261][262][263]
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, 203 mosques were damaged during the war, with 73 being destroyed completely.[264] Two of Gaza's three Christian churches were also damaged, with the third suffering some damage to peripheral buildings owned by the parish.[264] In the light of the damage to mosques, Manuel Musallam informed Muslims they could call their prayers from Christian churches.[265] In contrast to Operation Pillar of Defensive, which did not damage a single mosque, Israel maintained that Hamas had a routine military use of mosques and that made them legitimate military targets. According to the IDF, 160 rockets were launched from mosques during the war.[266][267] It also stated that mosques were used for weapon storage, tunnel entrances, training and gathering of militants.[268][269] In one Associated Press report, residents denied that mosques damaged by Israeli forces had been used for military purposes.[270]
Hamas and other Islamist groups in Gaza fired rockets and mortars at Israeli towns and villages. Despite Israel's use of the Iron Dome missile defense systems, six civilians were killed, including an Arab Israeli and a Thai civilian worker.[272] An Israeli teen was seriously injured in a rocket strike in the city of Ashkelon.[273] Medical health professionals have noted that Israeli teens prone to mental health problems suffer increasingly during both short-term and long-term conflicts. Experts have identified a number of mental health symptoms which rise during conflict, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, and paranoia. There is some doubt whether these issues will dissipate after the conflict is resolved.[274]
Rocket attacks from Gaza caused damage to Israeli civilian infrastructure, including factories, gas stations, and homes.[275]
At the onset of the operation, the Israeli government canceled all programs within 40km (24 miles) of Gaza, and requested all people stay at home or near shelter. All summer camps were closed and universities canceled their final exams.[276] Additionally, all gatherings of 300 or more people were banned.[277] Due to the trajectory of rocket fire from Gaza, many flights in and out of Ben-Gurion Airport were delayed or rerouted.[278] and flights to Ben-Gurion airport were interrupted for some days after a Hamas rocket struck an area in its vicinity.[279] Hamas called the FAA flight ban a "great victory".[280]Michael Ross wrote that the decision was driven by anxiety and caused considerably more damage than the potential danger it prevented.[281]
Nearly 3,000 claims of damage were submitted to Israel's Tax Authority, which paid $20 million for direct damage and $21 million for indirect damage such as missed work days as of[when?].[46]
The Bedouin communities in the Negev, many unrecognised by the Israeli government, were classified as "open areas" and so their 200,000 residents did not have warning sirens or anti-rocket protection.[282]
Reports of casualties in the conflict have been made available by a variety of sources. Most media accounts have used figures provided by the government in Gaza or non-governmental organizations.[283]
Current reports of the proportion of those killed who were civilians/militants are incomplete, and real-time errors, intentional data manipulation, and diverse methodologies produce notable variations in various sides' figures.[284][285][286] For example, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry has issued instructions for activists to always refer to casualties as "innocent civilians" or "innocent citizens" in internet posts.[287][288] However, B'Tselem has stated that after the various groups finish their investigations, their figures are likely to end up about the same.[57] UNICEF and the Gaza Health Ministry reported that from 8 July to 2 August, 296315 Palestinian children died due to Israeli action, and 30% of civilian casualties were children;[289][290] by 27 August, the total number of children killed had risen to 495[18]578,[31] according to OCHA and the Gaza Health Ministry. In March 2015, OCHA reported that 2,220 Palestinians had been killed, of whom 1,492 were civilians (551 children and 299 women), 605 militants and 123 of unknown status.[291] According to ITIC, 48.7% of the identified casualties were militants[56] and in some cases children and women participated in military operations.[292]
Human rights groups and the UN use the Gaza Health Ministry's number of Palestinians killed in Gaza as preliminary and add to or subtract from it after conducting their own investigations. For example, human rights groups say that the casualty count provided by the Health Ministry most likely includes victims of Hamas executions, domestic violence, and natural deaths,[285] but they (the human rights groups) remove the accused collaborators (who were shot as close range) from their own counts.[293] Israel contends that the Health Ministry's casualty count also includes deaths caused by rocket or mortar malfunctions.[285]
According to the OCHA 2015 overview, of the 2,220 Palestinians killed in the conflict, 742 fatalities came from 142 families, who suffered the loss of 3 or more family members in individual bombing incidents on residential buildings.[291] According to data provided by the Palestinian International Middle East Media Center, 79.7% of the Palestinians killed in Gaza were male, with the majority between 16 and 35 (fighting-age). In contrast, a New York Times analysis states that males of ages that are most likely to be militants form 9% of the population but 34% of the casualties, while women and children under 15, who are least likely to be legitimate targets, form 71% of the general population and 33% of the casualties.[285][295] Israel has pointed to the relatively small numbers of fatalities among women, children and men over 60, and to instances of Hamas fighters being counted as civilians (perhaps due to the broad definition of "civilian" used by the Gaza Health Ministry), to support its view that the number of the dead who were militants is 4050%.[57] The IDF calculates that 5% of Gaza's military forces were killed in the war.[296] Jana Krause, from the war studies department at Kings College London, stated that "a potential explanation other than combatant roles" for the tendency of the dead to be young men "could be that families expect them to be the first ones to leave shelters in order to care for hurt relatives, gather information, look after abandoned family homes or arrange food and water."[286] ITIC reported instances in which children and teenagers served as militants, as well as cases where the ages of casualties reported by GHM were allegedly falsified, with child militants listed as adults and adults listed as children.[297]
Abbas said that "more than 120 youths were killed for violating the curfew and house arrest orders issued against them" by Hamas, referring to reports that Hamas targeted Fatah activists in Gaza during the conflict. Abbas said that Hamas also executed more than 30 suspected collaborators without trial.[298] He said that "over 850 Hamas members and their families" were killed by Israel during the operation.[299][300][301] During the fighting between Israel and Gaza, solidarity protests occurred in the West Bank, during which several Palestinians died; see Reactions.
During the conflict, 66 IDF soldiers were killed[302]:
Sgt. Shacar Shalev, 20, from Alonei HaBashan, Paratroopers Brigade, was critically injured on July 23 during combat in Gaza. He died from his wounds on August 31.
Sgt. Netanel Maman, 21, was critically injured in Ashdod on August 22. He died from his wounds on August 29.
Maj. Benaya Sarel, 26, commander of the Sayeret Givati Company, killed by Hamas in southern Gaza Strip. Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, killed by Hamas in southern Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni, 20, killed by Hamas in southern Gaza Strip.
Capt. (res.) Liran Adir (Edry), 31, killed operating along the border with the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Noam Rosenthal, 20, killed operating along the border with the Gaza Strip. Sgt. First Class (Res.) Daniel Marash, 22, killed operating along the border with the Gaza Strip. Cap. Omri Tal, 22, killed operating along the border with the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Shay Kushnir, 20, was killed operating along the border with the Gaza Strip.
Staff Sgt. Guy Algranati, 20, Sayeret Maglan, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Omer Hay, 21, Sayeret Maglan, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Matan Gotlib, 21, Sayeret Maglan, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip.
Sgt. Nadav Raimond, 19, killed in when combatants infiltrated Israel via a tunnel from Gaza. Sgt. Daniel Kedmi, 18, killed when combatants infiltrated Israel via a tunnel from Gaza. Sgt. Barkey Ishai Shor, 21, killed when combatants infiltrated Israel via a tunnel from Gaza. Sgt. Sagi Erez, 19, killed when combatants infiltrated Israel via a tunnel from Gaza. Sgt. Dor Dery, 18, killed when combatants infiltrated Israel via a tunnel from Gaza. Staff Sgt. Eliav Eliyahu Haim Kahlon, 22, was killed by mortar fire along the Gaza border. Cpl. Meidan Maymon Biton, 20, was killed by mortar fire along the Gaza border. Cpl Niran Cohen, 20, was killed by mortar fire along the Gaza border. Staff Sgt. Adi Briga, 23, was killed by mortar fire along the Gaza border. Staff Sgt. Moshe Davino, 20, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Barak Refael Degorker, 27, was killed by mortar fire from the Gaza Strip. Chief Warrant Officer Rami Chalon, 39, died from his wounds after being injured on the Gaza border on Tuesday, July 22. Cap. Liad Lavi, 20, died from his wounds after being injured in combat in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 24. Staff Sgt. Avraham Grintzvaig, 21, was killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Gal Bason, 21, Combat Engineering Corps, was killed in the northern Gaza Strip. Second Lieutenant Roy Peles, 21, was killed in combat in the Gaza strip.
Staff Sgt. Amit Yeori, 20,fell in combat in Gaza. Staff Sgt. Guy Boyland, 21, 7th Armored Brigade, killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Guy Levy, 21, killed by an anti-tank missile fired at the force from a structure. First Sgt. (Res.) Yair Ashkenazy, 36, killed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Lt. Elyahu, 22, Paratroopers Brigade, killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Li Mat, 19, Paratroopers Brigade, killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Shahar Dauber, 20, Paratroopers Brigade, killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Capt. Dmitri Levitas, 26, killed by sniper fire in the Gaza Strip. Lt. Natan Cohen, 23, killed in combat in the Gaza Strip. Staff Sgt. Avitar Moshe Torjamin, 20, killed in a fire exchange in the southern Gaza Strip.
First Sgt. Ohad Shemesh, 27, killed while fighting Hamas. Sgt. First Class Oded Ben Sira, 22, killed by sniper fire. Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar, 38, Commander of the Geffen Battalion, killed by an anti-tank missile in an infiltration incident. Sgt. Major Bayhesain Kshaun, 39, killed by an anti-tank missile in an infiltration incident. Second Lt. Yuval Haiman, 21, killed by an anti-tank missile in an infiltration incident. Sgt. Nadav Goldmacher, 23, killed by an anti-tank missile in an infiltration incident. Staff Sgt. Tal Ifrach, 21, killed in battle in Gaza. Staff Sgt. Yuval Dagan, 22, killed in battle.
Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, 22, from Poria Sgt. Shon Mondshine, 19, from Tel Aviv Staff Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, 22, from Ashkelon Staff Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, from Jerusalem Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, from Raanana Sgt. Oz Mendelovich, 21, from Atzmon Sgt. Gilad Rozenthal Yacoby, 21, from Kiryat Ono Capt. Tsvi Kaplan, 28, from Meirav Maj. Tzafrir Baror, 32, from Holon Staff Sgt. Max Steinberg, 24, from Be'er Sheva Staff Sgt. Shachar Tase, 20, from Pardesiya Staff Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz, 20, from Kfar Azar Sgt. Ben Itzhak Vaanounou, 19, from Ashdod Staff Sgt. Oren Simcha Noach, 22, from Hoshaya
Staff Sgt. Bnaya Rubel, 20, from Holon was killed in battle. Second Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, was killed when an anti-tank missile hit his vehicle. Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, was killed by Hamas, who infiltrated into Israel through a tunnel. Maj. (res.) Amotz Greenberg, 45, was killed by Hamas who infiltrated into Israel through a tunnel.
Staff Sgt. Eitan Barak, 20, was killed in a night operation in Gaza.
Also, among the dead were 5 Israeli civilians and 1 Thai civilian.[18][303] One other person died due to natural causes brought on by the conflict.[304] According to Magen David Adom, 837 civilians were treated for shock (581) or injuries (256): 36 were injured by shrapnel, 33 by debris from shattered glass and building debris, 18 in traffic accidents which occurred when warning sirens sounded, 159 from falling or trauma while on the way to shelters, and 9 in violence in Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.[305][306] 469 IDF soldiers were injured.[20]
The first Israeli civilian death occurred at the Erez border crossing with Gaza when a Chabad rabbi, delivering food and drinks on the front line,[307] was hit by mortar fire.[308] The second Israeli civilian killed was a 32-year-old Bedouin who was hit by a rocket in the Negev Desert.[309] A Thai migrant worker was also killed by mortar fire while working at a greenhouse in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.[310] In addition, an elderly woman in Wadi Nisnas collapsed and died of heart failure during an air-raid siren.[304] On 22 August, a 4-year-old Israeli child was killed by a mortar fired from Gaza.[311] A barrage of mortar fire killed two Israeli civilians in the Eshkol region, an hour before a ceasefire went into effect.[312]
Palestinian officials estimated on 4 September that, with 17,000 homes destroyed (and as of early August at least 30,000 partially destroyed)[313] by Israeli bombing, the reconstruction would cost $7.8 billion, which is about 3 times Gaza's GDP for 2011.[314][315] Gaza City suffered damage to 2025% of its housing and Beit Hanoun with 70% of its housing uninhabitable.[262]The New York Times noted that damage in this third war was more severe than in the two preceding wars, where in the aftermath of the earlier Operation Cast Lead the damage inflicted was $4 billion, 3 times the then GDP of Gaza's economy.[316] Strikes on Gaza's few industries will take years to repair. Gaza's main power plant on Salaheddin Road was damaged. Two sewage pumping stations in Zeitoun were damaged. The biggest private company in Gaza, the Alawda biscuit and ice cream factory, employing 400, was destroyed by a shelling barrage on 31 July, a few days after undertaking to supply its Choco Sandwich biscuits to 250,000 refugees in response to a request from the World Food Programme; other strikes targeted a plastics factory, a sponge-making plant, the offices of Gaza's main fruit distribution network, the El Majd Industrial and Trading Corporation's factory for cardboard box, carton and plastic bag production, Gaza's biggest dairy product importer and distributor, Roward International. Trond Husby, chief of the UN's Gaza development programme in Gaza, commented that the level of destruction now is worse than in Somalia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda.[263]
A number of tunnels leading into both Israel and Egypt were destroyed throughout the operation. There were reports that the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt were bringing an estimated $700 million into Gaza's economy through goods or services. Several Palestinians argued that the tunnels had been critical to supporting the residents of Gaza, either through the employment they provided or through the goods that they allowed ingoods which were otherwise not available unless shipped through Egypt.[317] However, tunnels along the Israeli border serve a purely military purpose.[318]
During the ground invasion, Israeli forces destroyed livestock in Gaza. In Beit Hanoun, 370 cows were killed by tank shelling and airstrikes. In Beit Lahiya, 20 camels were shot by ground forces.[319] Israel's Minister of Finance estimated that the operation would cost Israel NIS 8.5 billion (approximately 2.5 billion USD), which is similar to Operation Cast Lead in 2009 and higher than Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. The forecast included military and non-military costs, including military expenditure and property damage. The calculation indicated that if the operation lasted 20 days, the loss in GDP would be 0.4%.[64]
International reactions to the 2014 IsraelGaza conflict came from many countries and international organizations around the world.
Canada was supportive of Israel[320] and critical of Hamas. The BRICS countries called for restraint on both sides and a return to peace talks based on the Arab Peace Initiative. The European Union condemned the violations of the laws of war by both sides, while stressing the "unsustainable nature of the status quo", and calling for a settlement based on the two-state solution. The Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, and most Latin American countries were critical of Israel, with some countries in the latter group withdrawing their ambassadors from Israel in protest. South Africa called for restraint by both sides and an end to "collective punishment of Palestinians".[citation needed]
There were many pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations worldwide, including inside Israel and the Palestinian territories. According to OCHA, 23 Palestinians were killed and 2,218 were wounded by the IDF (38% of the latter by live fire) during these demonstrations.[321][322][323]
Concerns were raised regarding rising anti-Semitism and related violence[where?] deemed related to the conflict.[324]
U.S. President Obama acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself, but urged restraint by both sides. Meanwhile, the United States Congress expressed vigorous support for Israel. It passed legislation providing Israel with an additional $225 million in military aid for missile defense with a bipartisan 395-8 vote in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate.[325] This was in addition to strong measures supporting Israel's position passed with overwhelming support in both houses.[326] Israel received strong statements of bipartisan support from the leadership and members of both houses of Congress for its actions during the conflict.
On 6 August 2014, thousands of Palestinians rallied in Gaza in support of Hamas, they demanded an end to the blockade of Gaza.[327][328] After the 26 August ceasefire, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted a poll in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: 79% of respondents said that Hamas had won the war and 61% said that they would pick Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as the Palestinian president, up from 41% before the war.[329]
According to The Washington Post, a percentage of Gazans held Hamas accountable for the humanitarian crisis and wanted the militants to stop firing rockets from their neighborhoods to avoid Israeli reaction.[330] Some of the Gazans have attempted to protest against Hamas, which routinely accuses protesters of being Israeli spies and has killed more than 50 such protesters.[331][332][unreliable source?] Around 6 August, Palestinian protesters reportedly attacked and beat up Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri because they blamed Hamas for inciting Operation Protective Edge.[333][334]
An unknown number of Palestinians, estimated in the hundreds or thousands, have tried to flee to Europe due to the conflict. The Palestinian rights group Adamir collected the names of 400 missing persons. In what was described by International Organization for Migration as the "worst shipwreck in years", a boat carrying refugees was rammed by smugglers and capsized off the coast of Malta, resulting in the deaths of about 400 people. According to interviews with survivors, they paid smugglers between $2,000-$5,000 or used legal travel permits, to get to Egypt. One refugee who died had considered the boat to be rickety but told his father "I have no life in Gaza anyway".[335][336]
A majority of the Israeli public supported Operation Protective Edge.[337][338] Nonetheless, there were protests throughout Israel, after which nearly 700 people were arrested,[why?] including 224 people from East Jerusalem. Most were subsequently released, but some face charges.[339][needs update]
There were continuous protests and clashes in the West Bank. The funeral of Mohammed Abu Khdeir on 4 July was joined by thousands of mourners, and was accompanied by clashes across east Jerusalem throughout the weekend.[340][needs update] According to OCHA, 23 Palestinians were killed and 2,218 were wounded by the IDF, 38% of the latter by live fire.[321][322][323] According to the PLO, 32 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in the period 13 June 26 August, nearly 1400 were wounded by Israeli fire and 1,700 were detained in the largest offensive in the West Bank since the Second Intifada. The PLO also stated that 1,472 settlement homes had been approved over the summer.[341]
During the war there were over 360 attacks on Jews from the West Bank, a spate that was thought by the Jerusalem Post to have "peaked" on 4 August with a tractor attack in Jerusalem and the shooting of a uniformed soldier in the French Hill neighborhood, leading to an increase in security in the city.[342][343]
On 1 September, Israel announced a plan to expropriate 1,000 acres of land in the West Bank, reportedly as a "reaction to the deplorable murder in June of three Israeli teenagers", which Amnesty International denounced as the "largest land grab in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the 1980s".[344][345] The EU complained about the land expropriation and warned of renewed violence in Gaza; the US called it "counterproductive".[346][347]
A number of legal and moral issues concerning the conflict arose during course of the fighting.[348] Various human rights groups have argued that both Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli targeted destruction of homes of Hamas and other militia members violated international humanitarian law and might constitute war crimes, violations of international humanitarian law.[349][350][351]Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, accused Hamas militants of violating international humanitarian law by "locating rockets within schools and hospitals, or even launching these rockets from densely populated areas."[352] She also criticized Israel's military operation, stating that there was "a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes", and specifically criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza as disproportionate.[353]
Amnesty International found evidence that "[d]uring the current hostilities, Hamas spokespeople reportedly urged residents in some areas of the Gaza Strip not to leave their homes after the Israeli military dropped leaflets and made phone calls warning people in the area to evacuate", and that international humanitarian law was clear in that "even if officials or fighters from Hamas or Palestinian armed groups associated with other factions did in fact direct civilians to remain in a specific location in order to shield military objectives from attacks, all of Israel's obligations to protect these civilians would still apply."[354]B'tselem found that Hamas had breached provisions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), both firing from civilian areas and firing at Israeli civilian areas. It also stated that the Israeli policy of bombing homes, formulated by government officials and the senior military command, though claimed to be in conformity with IHL, was 'unlawful', and designed to 'block, a priori, any allegations that Israel breached IHL provisions', in that it relies on an interpretation that leaves 'no restrictions whatsoever on Israeli action' so that 'whatever method it chooses to respond to Hamas operations is legitimate, no matter how horrifying the consequences.'[355][356]
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged the Palestinian Authority to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC);[357] the fact that the PA has not done so yet has prevented the ICC from launching a formal investigation. [clarification needed] ICC prosecutor Geoffrey Nice said that a "decision to do nothing clearly emerges from the meeting" with the PA foreign minister Riad Malki.[358][359] The UNHRC has appointed a panel led by William Schabas to investigate war crimes allegations by both sides. Israel criticized Schabas as biased because he repeatedly made statements against Israel and in support of Hamas, and has announced its own investigations of both military and civilian leadership and the conduct during the war. Schabas denied any bias,[360][361] but on 2 February 2015 resigned from the position.[362] According to the New York Times, "Of 44 cases initially referred to army fact-finding teams for preliminary examination, seven have been closed, including one involving the death of eight members of a family when their home was struck on 8 July, the first day of the Israeli air campaign, and others are pending."[363] Human rights organizations have expressed little confidence in Israel's measures, citing past experience.[364] Moreover, several human rights organizations were denied access to Gaza by Israel, rendering it impossible for them to carry out on-site investigations.[365][366]B'Tselem has refused to participate in the army investigation.[363]
Twenty civilians from Shuja'iyya were killed while protesting against Hamas.[367] A few days later, Hamas reportedly killed two Gazans and wounded ten after a scuffle broke out over food handouts.[368]
The IDF stated on 31 July that more than 280 Hamas rockets[45] malfunctioned and fell inside the Gaza strip, hitting sites including Al-Shifa Hospital and the Al-Shati refugee camp, killing at least 11 and wounding dozens.[369] Hamas denied that any of its rockets hit the Gaza Strip.,[45][370][371] but Palestinian sources said numerous rocket launches ended up falling in Gaza communities and that scores of people have been killed or injured. Israeli Military sources said the failed Hamas launches increased amid heavy Israeli air and artillery strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. They said the failed launches reflected poorly-assembled rockets as well as the rush to load and fire projectiles before they are spotted by Israeli aircraft.[372] While the Al-Shifa Hospital incident is disputed, early news reports have suggested that the strike was from an Israeli drone missile.[369][373][374] Amnesty International concluded that the explosion at the Shati refugee camp on July 28 in which 13 civilians were killed was caused by a Palestinian rocket, despite Palestinian claims it was an Israeli missile.[375]
During the conflict, Hamas executed Gazan civilians it accused of having collaborated with Israel; thirty on 30 July;[376] forty-six on 21/22 August,[377][378] including twenty-five as part of a campaign codenamed "Strangling Necks"; four on 23 August;[379] and eighteen more at other times. Overall, Hamas executed between 30-40 suspected collaborators during Operation Protective Edge alone, according to Abbas.[298][301] Abbas condemned the executions, calling them murders and a crime.[380][381]
Abbas' Secretary-General, Al-Tayyib Abd al-Rahim, condemned the "random executions of those who Hamas called collaborators", adding that some of those killed had been detained for more than three years.[382][383] Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Palestinian human rights groups condemned the executions.[384][385][386] Bodies of the victims were brought to hospitals to be added to the number of civilian casualties of Israeli operation.[293] According to a Shin Bet official, "not even one" of the alleged collaborators executed by Hamas provided any intelligence to Israel, while the Shin Bet officially "confirmed that those executed during Operation Protective Edge had all been held in prison in Gaza in the course of the hostilities."[387]
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk confirmed that some victims were kept under arrest before the conflict began and were executed to satisfy the public without due legal procedure.[388]
Shurat HaDin filed a suit with the ICC charging Khaled Mashaal with war crimes for the executions of 38 civilians.[388][389] Hamas co-founder Ayman Taha was found dead; Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported he had been shot by Hamas for maintaining contact with the intelligence services of several Arab countries; Hamas stated he was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.[390]
On May 26, 2015 Amnesty International released a report saying that Hamas carried out extrajudicial killings, abductions and arrests of Palestinians and used the Al-Shifa Hospital to detain, interrogate and torture suspects. It details the executions of at least 23 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel and torture of dozens of others, many victims of torture were members of the rival Palestinian movement, Fatah.[391][392]
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Hamas militants of violating international humanitarian law by "locating rockets within schools and hospitals, or even launching these rockets from densely populated areas."[352] The European Union condemned Hamas, and in particular condemned "calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields."[393][394] Confirmation of this practice was produced by correspondents from France24, The Financial Times, and RT, who respectively filmed a rocket launch pad which was placed in a civilian area next to a hotel where international journalists were staying,[395] reported on rockets being fired from near Al-Shifa Hospital, and reported on Hamas firing rockets near a hotel.[396] In September 2014, a Hamas official acknowledged to an Associated Press reporter that the group had fired rockets from civilian areas.[397]
While the Israeli government repeatedly stated that many civilian casualties were the result of Hamas using the Gazan population as human shields[398] several British media organizations (including The Guardian, and The Independent) dismissed such claims as "myths"[399][400] and the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen likewise said he "saw no evidence of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields."[401] Additionally the London-based NGO, Amnesty International, dismissed such claims, stated it was unable to verify them and emphasized that even if they were true the IDF would still have a responsibility to protect civilians.[49][402]
The statements fall into two categories: using civilian structures like homes, mosques and hospitals to store munitions in or launch rockets from,[403] and urging or forcing civilian population to stay in their homes, to shield militants.[404][405] Israeli soldiers have also said Hamas operatives directly employed women and children as involuntary human shields to evade pursuit,[406][407] while Hamas and others have said such accusations are false.[408]Asa Kasher, who helped to write the Israel Defense Forces's Code of Conduct, argued that "Israel cannot forfeit its ability to protect its citizens against attacks simply because terrorists hide behind non-combatants. If it did so, it would be giving up any right to self-defense."[409]
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