Global Information2014 Gaza War information
| 2014 Gaza War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict | |||||||
  Left, right:
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister) Moshe Ya'alon (Defense Minister) Benny Gantz (Chief of General Staff) Amir Eshel (Air Force Commander) Ram Rothberg (Naval Commander) Sami Turgeman (Southern Commander) Mickey Edelstein (Gaza Division) Yoram Cohen (Chief of Shin Bet) |
Khaled Mashal (Leader of Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh (Deputy Chief of Hamas) Mohammed Deif (Head of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades) Ramadan Shalah (Leader of Islamic Jihad) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
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Israel Defense Forces Shin Bet |
 Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades Al-Quds Brigades | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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176,500 active personnel 565,000 reservists[9] (2012 figures, of which not all are directly involved) |
Al-Qassam Brigades: 20,000[10]–40,000[11] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 67 soldiers and 6 civilians (1 Thai) killed,[13][14][15] 469 soldiers and 87 civilians wounded[16][17] |
Gaza Health Ministry: 2,310 killed[18] (70% civilians[19]), 10,626 wounded[18] UN HRC: 2,251 killed[note 1][20] (65% civilians[20]) Israel MFA: 2,125 killed[note 2][21] (36% civilians, 44% combatants, 20% uncategorized males aged 16–50[21]) | ||||||
| At least 23 Gazans executed by Hamas[22] | |||||||
The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (Hebrew: מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, romanized: Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, lit. 'Operation Strong Cliff'[note 3][26][27][28]), and Battle of the Withered Grain (Arabic: معركة العصف المائكول, romanized: Maʿrakat al-ʿAṣf al-Maʾkūl[29][30]), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since 2007.[note 4] Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas-affiliated Palestinian militants, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated Operation Brother's Keeper, in which some 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of the active Hamas militants in the West Bank, were arrested.[31][32][33] Hamas subsequently fired a greater number of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, triggering a seven-week-long conflict between the two sides. It was one of the deadliest outbreaks of open conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in decades. The combination of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes resulted in over two thousand deaths, the vast majority of which were Gazan Palestinians.[34] This includes a total of six Israeli civilians who were killed as a result of the conflict.[35]
The Israeli military operation aimed to stop rocket fire into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Conversely, Hamas' attacks aimed to bring international pressure onto Israel with the strategic goal of forcing the latter to lift the Israeli–Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip; among its other goals were to end Israel's military offensive, obtain a third party to monitor and guarantee compliance with a ceasefire,[36] release Palestinian political prisoners and overcome its isolation.[37] According to the BBC, Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the rocket attacks by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other Palestinian militant groups.[38]
On 7 July, after seven Hamas militants died in a tunnel explosion in Khan Yunis that was caused either 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 subsequently launched 40 more rockets towards Israel.[40][41] The Israeli aerial operation officially began the following day, and on 17 July, it was expanded to include a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of destroying Gaza's tunnel system;[42] the Israeli ground invasion ended on 5 August.[43] On 26 August, an open-ended ceasefire was announced.[44] By this time, the IDF reported that Hamas, PIJ, and other Palestinian militant groups had fired 4,564 rockets and mortars into Israel, with over 735 projectiles having been intercepted mid-flight and shot down by Israel's Iron Dome. Most Gazan mortar and rocket fire was inaccurate, and consequently hit open land; more than 280 projectiles had landed within the Gaza Strip,[45][46][47] and 224 had struck residential areas.[48][49] Palestinian rocketry also killed 13 Palestinian civilians in Gaza, 11 of them children.[50][51] The IDF attacked 5,263 targets in the Gaza Strip; at least 34 known tunnels were destroyed[48] and two-thirds of Hamas's 10,000-rocket arsenal was either used up or destroyed.[52][53]
Between 2,125[21] and 2,310[18] Gazans were killed during the conflict while between 10,626[18] and 10,895[54] were wounded (including 3,374 children, of whom over 1,000 were left permanently disabled).[55] Gazan civilian casualty estimates range between 70 percent by the Gaza Health Ministry,[14][19][54] 65 percent by the United Nations' (UN) Protection Cluster by OCHA (based in part on Gaza Health Ministry reports),[20] and 36 percent by Israeli officials.[56][21] The UN estimated 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.[57] Rebuilding costs were calculated to run from US$4–6 billion over the course of 20 years.[58] 67 Israeli soldiers, 5 Israeli civilians (including one child)[59] and one Thai civilian were killed[14] while 469 Israeli soldiers and 261 Israeli civilians were injured.[17] On the Israeli side, the economic impact of the operation is estimated to have had an impact of NIS 8.5 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion) and a GDP loss of 0.4 percent.[60]
- ^ a b "Qassam brigades claim rocket, mortar fire at southern Israel Archived 19 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Ma'an News Agency, Monday 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Abu Jamal: Palestinian resistance continues to confront the occupier with rockets and missiles". PFLP. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Armed wing linked to Mahmoud Abbas's faction says it shot rockets at Ashkelon, Sderot and elsewhere Wednesday night". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Ben Solomon, Ariel (11 July 2014). "Videos show Lebanese jihadi group active in Gaza". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ^ "Jaysh al-Ummah (Gaza)". European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Prusher, Ilene (26 August 2014). "Israel and Palestinians Reach Open-Ended Cease-Fire Deal". Time. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ "Netanyahu: Hamas suffered its greatest blow since it was founded". The Jerusalem Post. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ Daraghmeh, Mohammed; Laub, Karin (26 August 2014). "Israel-Gaza conflict: Hamas claims 'victory for the resistance' as long-term truce is agreed with Israel". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (7 March 2012). Hackett, James (ed.). The Military Balance 2012. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85743-642-6.
- ^ "Rockets, naval commandos boost Hamas arsenal". Maannews.net. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ^ "Hamas growing in military stature, say analysts". Middleeasteye.net. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ^ Ben Gedalyahu, Ben (7 November 2011). "Iran Backs Islamic Jihad's 8,000-Man Army in Gaza". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Operation Protective Edge, Casualties". Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "Occupied Palestinian Territory: Gaza Emergency" (PDF). 4 September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
benariwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cease fire in Operation "Protective Edge" is holding MDA sums up 50 days of saving lives Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Magen David Adom, 29 August 2014: 'During the 50 days of Operation "Protective Edge", MDA teams treated 842 civilians, including 6 who were killed by shrapnel of rockets, and another 36 who were injured by shrapnel in varying degrees, including: 10 casualties in serious condition, 6 in a moderate condition and 20 who were slightly wounded. In addition, MDA teams also treated during Operation "Protective Edge" 33 people who were injured by shattered glass and building debris, 18 who were injured in road traffic accidents which occurred when the sirens were heard, including 1 person in a serious condition, and the rest lightly or moderately wounded. 159 people were injured as a result of falling and trauma on the way to the shelters and 581 people suffered anxiety attacks.'
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
OPE-Israeli-woundedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d 'Ministry: Death toll from Gaza offensive topped 2,310,' Archived 11 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Ma'an News Agency 3 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Islamic Jihad: 121 of our fighters killed in Gaza". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
HRC_REPORTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
MFA-report-fatalitieswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Gaza: Palestinians tortured, summarily killed by Hamas forces during 2014 conflict". Amnesty International. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
'Strangling Necks': Abduction, torture and summary killings of Palestinians by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict highlights a series of abuses, such as the extrajudicial execution of at least 23 Palestinians and the arrest and torture of dozens of others, including members and supporters of Hamas's political rivals, Fatah.
- ^ Arnaout, Abdel-Raouf (9 July 2014). "From 'Shield' to 'Edge': How Israel names its military ops". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Ghert-Zand, Renee (9 July 2014). "Name 'Protective Edge' doesn't cut it". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ Kordova, Shoshana (19 July 2014). "Why is the English name of Operation Protective Edge so different from the Hebrew version?". Haaretz.
- ^ Booth, William (3 September 2014). "Here's what really happened in the Gaza war (according to the Israelis)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Harel, Amos (8 July 2015). "The last Gaza war–and the next". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Israel Clears Forces in Several Deadly 2014 Gaza War Cases". The New York Times. Associated Press. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "فلسطين.. ووهم أسلمة الصراع! =1 December 2023". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "العدوان الإسرائيلي على غزة 2014 =". Aljazeera.
- ^ Nathan Thrall (1 August 2014). "Hamas's Chances". London Review of Books. 36 (16).
- ^ Jack Khoury, Hamas claims responsibility for three Israeli teens' kidnapping and murder', Haaretz, 21 August 2014.
- ^ 'Mashal: Hamas was behind murder of three Israeli teens', Ynet, 22 August 2014.
- ^ Zonszein, Mairav (27 March 2015). "Israel killed more Palestinians in 2014 than in any other year since 1967". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Armed, Palestinian. "State of Palestine: Unlawful and deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict - Amnesty International". Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Citing past failures, Hamas demands an enforceable cease-fire". america.aljazeera.com.
- ^ 'Hamas and Israel cling to their war aims,' Deutsche Welle 23 July 2014.
- ^ 'Hamas 'ready for Gaza ceasefire' if Israeli raids stop,' BBC News 4 July 2014.
- ^ Zitun, Yoav (7 July 2014). "IDF: We uncovered Gaza terror tunnel leading to Israel". Yedioth. Ynet.
- ^ Christa Case Bryant, 'Ending détente, Hamas takes responsibility for today's spike in rocket fire (+video)', The Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2014: "After days of steadily increasing strikes, Hamas militants in Gaza launched at least 40 rockets tonight alone in what appears to be a decision to escalate the conflict. The dramatic spike in rocket attacks is likely to put significant pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed calls for an all-out offensive against the Islamist movement, which Israel and the US consider a terrorist organization. While there has been intermittent rocket fire from Gaza since the cease-fire that ended the November 2012 Pillar of Defense conflict, Israel has credited Hamas with largely doing its best to keep the various militant factions in line. Today, however, Hamas took direct responsibility for the fire for the first time, sending a barrage of dozens of rockets into Israel in the worst day of such violence in two years."
- ^ "Gaza-Israel conflict: Is the fighting over?". BBC. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ^ "Gaza conflict: Israel and Palestinians agree long-term truce". BBC News. 27 August 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
withdrawal2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sherwood, Harriet; Balousha, Hazem (27 August 2014). "Gaza ceasefire: Israel and Palestinians agree to halt weeks of fighting". The Guardian UK. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ "IMRA - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 IDF: Over the past 24 hours 36% of rockets fired at Israel fell short". www.imra.org.il. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ "Up to 25 Percent of Hamas Rockets Fall Short and Kill Gazan Civilians". Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
failing_rocketswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Ynetnews (27 August 2014). "Operation Protective Edge in numbers". Ynetnews. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ Ben-David, Ricky; Rettig Gur, Haviv; Yaakov, Yifa (26 August 2014). "Egypt says Gaza truce to begin at 7; Israeli killed in mortar strike". Times of Israel.
- ^ 'Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes,' Amnesty International 26 March 2015
- ^ 'Unlawful and deadly Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict,' Amnesty International, 26 March 2015.
- ^ "Rockets, airstrikes after Gaza war truce collapses". The Washington Times.
- ^ "AP ANALYSIS: Hamas enters talks with Israel on Gaza from a point of military weakness". Fox News. 6 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Statistics: Victims of the Israeli Offensive on Gaza since 8 July 2014". Pchrgaza.org. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ Operation Protective Edge: A war waged on Gaza's children, Defence for Children International-Palestine, Ramallah, 16 April 2015.
- ^ "Examination of the names of Palestinians killed in Operation Protective Edge – Part Ten*" (PDF). Israeli Intelligence & Heritage Commemoration Center. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ 'UN doubles estimate of destroyed Gaza homes,' Ynet 19 December 2015.
- ^ 'Housing group: 20 years to rebuild Gaza after fighting with Israel' Haaretz 30 August 2014.
- ^ Israeli child 'killed by rocket fired from Gaza', BBC
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IsraelLosswas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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