Hamas adalah akronim dari frasa bahasa Arab حركة المقاومة الاسلامية atau Harakat
al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, yang berarti "Gerakan Perlawanan
Islam". Kata Arab Hamas juga berarti pengabdian dan
semangat di jalan Allah. Piagam Hamas menafsirkan namanya yang berarti
"kekuatan dan keberanian".
Piagam Hamas 1988 menyatakan bahwa Hamas
"berusaha untuk menaikkan bendera Allah di setiap inci dari
Palestina" (Pasal Enam). Pasal Tiga puluh Salah satu dari Piagam negara:
"Di bawah sayap Islam, adalah mungkin bagi para pengikut tiga agama
-Islam, Kristen dan Yahudi- untuk hidup berdampingan dalam damai dan tenang
dengan satu sama lain"
Setelah pemilu tahun 2006, pendiri
Hamas Mahmoud Al-Zahar tidak menutup kemungkinan menerima
"solusi dua-negara sementara", dan menyatakan bahwa ia bermimpi
"menggantung peta besar dunia di dinding rumah saya di Gaza yang tidak
menunjukkan Israel di atasnya". Xinhua melaporkan bahwa Al-Zahar
"tidak menutup kemungkinan memiliki Yahudi, Muslim dan Kristen yang hidup
di bawah kedaulatan sebuah negara Islam". Pada akhir 2006, Ismail Haniyeh, pemimpin politik Hamas, mengatakan
bahwa jika negara Palestina terbentuk berdasarkan batas 1967, Hamas bersedia
untuk menyatakan gencatan senjata yang bisa bertahan selama 20 tahun, dan
menyatakan bahwa Hamas tidak akan pernah mengakui "perampas pemerintah
Zionis" dan akan terus "seperti gerakan jihad sampai pembebasan
Yerusalem".
Israel telah menolak beberapa tawaran
gencatan senjata dengan Hamas karena berpendapat kelompok itu menggunakan upaya
genjatan untuk mempersiapkan pertempuran yang lebih besar daripada tujuan
perdamaian. Kolumnis Majalah Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg, bersama dengan analis lain, percaya Hamas mungkin tidak mampu
melakukan rekonsiliasi permanen dengan Israel. Mkhaimer Abusada, seorang ilmuwan politik di Universitas
Al Azhar, menulis bahwa perundingan Hamas "dari hudna [gencatan senjata
sementara], bukan perdamaian atau rekonsiliasi dengan Israel. Mereka percaya
dari waktu ke waktu mereka akan cukup kuat untuk membebaskan semua Palestina
yang bersejarah."
Pada tahun 2010, Pew Global Attitudes Survey menemukan bahwa 60% dari Muslim Yordania dan 49% Muslim di kedua
negara Lebanon dan Mesir mendukung Hamas. Sebuah survei Pew pada 2007 menemukan 62% warga Palestina mendukung kelompok Hamas.
Hamas menembak jatuh jet tempur F-16 Israel di https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsZAxLJ8VM
Sniper Hamas menembak tentara Israel di https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXLtqhWJ9o
Pejuang Hamas menghancurkan tank Israel di https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHZhn31h290
Hymne Hamas di https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVFUtgRC5FQ
Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major factions: Fatah, the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas. After Hamas's electoral victory in 2006, the Quartet conditioned future foreign assistance to the Palestinian National Authority (PA) on the future government's commitment to non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet's suspension of its foreign assistance program, and the imposition of economic sanctions by the Israelis. A year later, following Hamas's seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the territory officially recognized as the PA was split between Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division of governance between the parties had effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the PA. However, in 2014, a Palestinian Unity Government, composed of both Fatah and Hamas, was formed. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 and was suspended in 2014.
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ReplyDeleteOn June 9, 2006, an explosion on the beach near the Gaza Strip municipality of Beit Lahia killed eight Palestinians. At least thirty others were injured. The aftermath of the incident was captured on video and showed a distressed eleven-year-old girl, Huda Ghaliya, reacting to the loss of family members, most of whom were killed in the incident. The footage of Ghaliya, which received considerable media attention, was broadcast on news networks around the world, making her a symbol of Palestinian suffering. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung questioned the reliability of the video footage. On 9 June 2006, between 4:31 and 4:50 p.m., Israeli artillery and a navy gunboat fired 8 artillery shells at the beach, with two shells landing 200 metres away from the family. The Israeli army and Israeli officials initially took responsibility. A subsequent investigation by the Israeli Defence Forces concluded that the explosion was not caused by the shelling of the beach and blamed it on a Palestinian land mine. This investigation was criticized by Human Rights Watch and The Guardian. The IDF acknowledged a flaw in the report in that it omitted mention of two 76mm naval shells, the IDF maintains had landed too far away to have caused the explosion. At this point, the IDF acknowledged that the cause of the blast may have been an unexploded 155mm artillery shell from an earlier shelling, but suggested it might have been used as an improvised explosive device (IED) by Palestinians. The Human Rights Watch final report published in July 2007 provided a detailed analysis as to why the revised IDF conclusion involving an IED was the least likely of three scenarios. HRW concluded "The availability of significant evidence that the IDF has not examined or taken into account casts serious doubt on its conclusions and underscores the need for an independent investigation of the incident." The Palestinian authorities supported this proposal. The Israeli government declined to take part. The head of an IDF investigative committee into the beach deaths, Major General Meir Kalifi, reported that the security establishment had received information that Ilham Ghalia said that “Daddy touched something and then there was an explosion”. The IDF viewed her alleged statement as supporting its contention that an IDF shell was not the cause of the deaths. The next day Haaretz reported that the information was of unclear reliability and unsubstantiated.The IDF shelved the claim
ReplyDeleteThe Gaza War, also known as Operation Cast Lead (מִבְצָע עוֹפֶרֶת יְצוּקָה), also known as the Gaza Massacre (مجزرة غزة) and the Battle of al-Furqan (معركة الفرقان) by Hamas, was a three-week armed conflict between Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Israel that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 in a unilateral ceasefire. The conflict resulted in between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths (4 from friendly fire). According to the Shin Bet, after the conflict, there was a decrease in Palestinian rocket attacks. In September 2009, a UN special mission, headed by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone, produced a report accusing both Palestinian militants and the IDF of war crimesand possible crimes against humanity, and recommended bringing those responsible to justice. In January 2010, the Israeli government released a response criticizing the Goldstone Report and disputing its findings. In 2011, Goldstone wrote that he no longer believed that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in Gaza. The other authors of the report, Hina Jilani, Christine Chinkin, and Desmond Travers, rejected Goldstone's re-assessment. The United Nations Human Rights Council ordered Israel to conduct various repairs of the damages. On 21 September 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that 75% of civilian homes destroyed in the attack were not rebuilt
ReplyDeleteIn June 2007, after the military takeover of Gaza by Hamas and the overthrowing of Fatah, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, dismissed the Hamas-led government and formed a government in the West Bank, bypassing the Hamas-dominated parliament. Israel imposed a ground, air, and maritime blockade, and announced it would allow only humanitarian supplies into the Strip. Palestinian groups were partially able to bypass the blockade through tunnels, some of which are said to have been used for weapons smuggling. Between 2005 and 2007, Palestinian groups in Gaza fired about 2,700 locally made Qassam rockets into Israel, killing four Israeli civilians and injuring 75 others. During the same period, Israel fired more than 14,600 155 mm artillery shells into the Gaza Strip, killing 59 Palestinians and injuring 270. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between 2005 and 2008, 116 Israelis, including civilians and Israeli security forces, which includes Israeli police, Israeli Border Police and members of the armed services, 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 and 8,308 wounded in "direct conflict related incidents".
ReplyDeleteOn 19 June 2008, an Egyptian-brokered six-month "lull" or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The agreement had no mutually agreed text or enforcement mechanism and eventually collapsed.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 would include an end to Hamas' military buildup in Gaza and movement toward the release of Corporal Shalit. Hamas said all of Gaza's militant groups would abide by the truce. Defense Ministry Official Amos Gilad, the Israeli envoy to the talks, stressed that Israel demanded a ceasefire, meaning that even one single rocket fired will be seen as a violation of the agreement. He added that Egypt, on its side, is committed to preventing the smuggling activity from Gaza. Gilad also said that Israel would hold Hamas responsible for attacks from Gaza. In exchange, Israel agreed to ease the embargo and to halt military raids into Gaza. As part of the deal Egypt had promised to stop the smuggling of arms and weapons from its territory into Gaza
ReplyDeleteThe truce started slowly, with the UN recording seven IDF violations of the ceasefire between 20 and 26 June, and three violations by Palestinian groups not affiliated with Hamas between 23 and 26 June. Several mortars and Qassam rockets were fired at Israel in late June. Israel and Hamas accused each other of bad faith and of violations of the Egyptian-mediated truce. Israel noted that rocket fire from Gaza never stopped entirely ("between June 19 and November 4, 20 rockets, and 18 mortar shells were fired at Israel") and that weapons smuggling was not halted, while Hamas accused Israel of never allowing the major renewal of goods' flow into Gaza and of conducting raids that killed Hamas fighters.In the month prior to 4 November, Israel-Palestinian violence fell to its lowest level since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada in September 2000. One rocket and 1 mortar shell were fired at Israel in October. Several Israeli violations were reported: In South Gaza on 3 October the IDF fired on two unarmed Palestinians near the border and sent soldiers into the strip to arrest them and detain them in Israel. On the 27 October IDF soldiers fired into Gaza for unknown reasons damaging a school in Khuza'a and injuring one child. Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast were fired upon on four separate occasions during the month wounding two fisherman. Throughout the month of October 2008 a single Palestinian violation was reported: 1 rocket was fired into Israel causing no damage or injuries. At the end of the month the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent a message to Hamas acknowledging their efforts to keep the peace. According to a joint Tel Aviv-European University study, based on B'tselem's data, 79% of all breaks in a lull of violence since the Second Intifada were due to Israeli actions, while Hamas and other factions were responsible for 8% of such violations.
DeleteOn 4 November 2008, Israel launched a military incursion code named Operation Double Challenge into a residential area of Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza to destroy the opening of a tunnel concealed within a building 300 meters from the fence on the Gaza Strip border. Israel stated its aim was to destroy what it said was a tunnel on the Gaza-Israel border dug by militants to infiltrate into Israel and abduct soldiers. An Israeli defense official was quoted in The Washington Times stating that Israel wanted to "send Hamas a message".The raid, according to Mark LeVine was unprovoked. According to Israel, the raid was not a violation of the ceasefire, but a legitimate step to remove an immediate threat. A paratroopers reconnaissance battalion commanded by Yaron Finkelman, supported by tanks and bulldozers crossed the border and penetrated about 250 meters into the Gaza Strip to destroy the tunnel. A firefight broke out, in which one Hamas fighter was killed. Hamas responded with a barrage of mortar and rocket fire at Israeli troops. Three Israeli airstrikes on Hamas mortar and rocket positions then killed five Hamas fighters. According to eyewitnesses, another three Hamas fighters were wounded in an Israeli UAV strike over the el-Burejj refugee camp. Three Israeli soldiers were also wounded during the operation. Hamas said it would take revenge for what it perceived as an act of Israeli aggression that had violated the truce. Hamas launched 35 rockets into southern Israel in what was described by Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum as a "response to Israel's massive breach of the truce", stating that "The Israelis began this tension and they must pay an expensive price. They cannot leave us drowning in blood while they sleep soundly in their beds. The blockade of Gaza was tightened the following day.The intensity of rocket attacks targeted at Israeli cities near Gaza sharply increased during November 2008, approaching pre-truce levels. Clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants also took place along the border, during which 11 Palestinian militants were killed. In the period between 4 November incident and mid-December, more than 200 Qassam rockets and mortar shells landed in the western Negev region. Israel had frequently shut down the crossings in response to rocket attacks on its towns.
ReplyDeleteOn 17 December 2008, a 40-year-old Palestinian was killed by IDF fire in Northern Gaza. On 23 December, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said that Hamas was willing to renew the cease-fire under the original terms, demanding an Israeli commitment to refrain from any military operation in the Strip and to keep the border crossings open. Speaking with Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram, al-Zahar said that the movement would reassess the situation in Gaza once the 24 hours during which Hamas vowed to halt rocket fire had ended.[113] Despite the temporary ceasefire declared by the armed Palestinian factions, eight Qassam rockets and eight mortar shells hit the Negev. Also that day, Israeli Defense Forces killed three Palestinian militants, stating they were planting explosives on the border. On 24 December, an Israeli airstrike hit a group of militants in Gaza Strip. An Israeli military spokesman said that the militants had fired mortars at Israel. Palestinian medics said that one Hamas militant was killed in the strike and two other Palestinians were wounded, including a cameraman from Hamas' television station. On that day, Hamas military wing issued a statement saying that it began an operation code-named "Operation Oil Stain". 87 Palestinian mortar shells, Katyusha and Qassam rockets hit the Negev. Hamas said that it would expand the "Oil Stain" and put thousands of Israelis "under fire". Hamas said it was ready for the war: "far greater than surrendering to Israeli threats and that they became much more prepared to counter Israeli aggression and to defend themselves than in the past."
ReplyDeleteAt 11:30 am on 27 December 2008, Israel launched the campaign titled Operation Cast Lead. It began with an opening wave of airstrikes in which F-16 fighter jets and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters simultaneously struck 100 preplanned targets within a span of 220 seconds. There was a 95% success rate with zero misses in the opening attack according to the Israeli Air Force. Thirty minutes later, a second wave of 64 jets and helicopters struck at an additional 60 targets. The air strikes hit Hamas headquarters, government offices and 24 police stations. An Israeli UAV airstrike on the police headquarters of Gaza City killed 40 people, including several dozen police cadets at their graduation ceremony. Approximately 140 members of Hamas were killed, including Tawfik Jaber, head of Hamas' police force. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters that Israel would strike all targets associated with what she called the "illegitimate, terrorist government of Hamas". At least 225–230 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 injured on the first day of air strikes. Civilians, including children, were among the casualties. Although media reported that most of the dead were "Hamas security forces" or "Hamas operatives", police officers are, according to B'Tselem, presumed to be civilians and likely not legitimate objects of attack under international humanitarian law. Human rights groups critically note that the attacks began around the time children were leaving school. The Israeli attack was the deadliest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, a day that was called the "Massacre of Black Saturday" by Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage on Southern Israel, and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip kept Southern Israel under constant rocket fire during the entire war. Beersheba suffered two rocket attacks, the farthest Palestinian rockets had ever reached. Palestinian rocket fire killed three Israeli civilians and one soldier in the early days of the conflict.
ReplyDeleteIn the weeks following the initial air raids F-16Is and AH-64 Apaches continued to target Hamas facilities while also inflicting severe damage to Palestinian infrastructure. Israel used the 2000-pound Mark 84 Joint Direct Attack Munition to attack buildings and tunnels along the Gaza-Sinai border. The 500-pound variant was used against underground bunkers. Israel also used the new PB500A1 laser-guided hard-target penetration bomb, which was developed by Israel Military Industries, and is based on the 1000-pound Mark 83. There were unconfirmed reports of the IAF also using the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for the first time. Israeli aircraft also used synthetic aperture radar targeting pods and high-resolution imaging pods. After being grounded six months prior, the Israeli fleet of AH-1F Cobra helicopter gunships were rushed back into service for the operation. The Israeli Air Force also used unmanned aerial vehicles firing Israeli-manufactured Spike missiles. According to the IAF, 80% of the bombs used by the IAF were precision weapons, and 99% of the air strikes hit their targets. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out that when possible, IAF executed strikes using the smallest precision-guided weapons, and coordinated air strikes and the use of artillery weapons using GPS, in a systematic effort to limit collateral damage. In a 2009 interview, Major General Ido Nehushtan said that the only use of non-precision-guided munitions from the Israeli Air Force was in open areas.[140] He went on to say: "We had to find ways to do things as precisely and proportionately as possible, while focusing on how to differentiate between terrorists and uninvolved civilians.
DeleteBy 3 January 2009, the Palestinian death toll stood at 400, with 25% estimated to be civilian casualties. The air offensive continued throughout the ground invasion that followed, and as of 15 January 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. The IAF had so far carried out 555 aerial sorties and 125 helicopter missions, and dozens of UAV flight hours were logged.
DeleteThe Israeli Navy attacked Hamas' rocket launchers and outposts, command and control centers, a Hamas patrol boat, and the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, using the Typhoon Weapon System and Surface to surface missiles. The navy coordinated with other Israeli forces and used powerful shipboard sensors to acquire and shell targets on land. Records of the attacks published by the navy indicate that for the first time vessels were equipped with Spike ER electro-optically guided anti-armor missiles. Videos of an attack showed precision hits from a Typhoon stabilizing gun despite a rolling sea. Versions of the Spike were also used by ground units and possibly by helicopters or unmanned aerial vehicles. Shayetet 13 naval commandos were also deployed to attack targets on land, and reportedly attacked an Iranian ship loaded with arms for Hamas, which was docking in Sudan. On 28 December 2008, Naval vessels shelled the Port of Gaza. On 29 December, the Free Gaza Movement relief boat Dignity carrying volunteer doctors with 3.5 tons of medical supplies, human rights activists (Among them Caoimhe Butterly and former US Representative Cynthia McKinney), and a CNN reporter was involved in an altercation with Israeli patrol boats. The captain of the Free Gaza vessel said that their vessel had been rammed intentionally and that there had been no warning before it had been rammed. An Israeli spokesman disputed this, and said the collision was caused by the Dignity attempting to outmaneuver the patrol boats after disobeying Israeli orders to turn back. On 4 January 2009 the Israeli Navy extended its blockade of the Gaza Strip to 20 nautical miles. Throughout the war, the Israeli Navy employed Sa'ar 4.5 class missile boats and Super Dvora Mk III class patrol boats.
ReplyDeleteOn 5 January 2009, IDF forces began operating in the densely populated urban centers of Gaza. Gun battles broke out between the IDF and Hamas on the streets of Gaza as the IDF surrounded the city. IDF combat units were sent in to capture Hamas fighters, and were met with grenades and mortar fire. The Israeli military said that 80–100 Hamas fighters were killed and 100 captured during heavy ground fighting. Some 40 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel, injuring four civilians. Israel continued to launch airstrikes and naval bombardments. On 6 January 2009, heavy fighting took place between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the northern district of Gaza City, while Israeli helicopter gunships pounded militant positions. The IDF reportedly widened its attacks to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, after heavy fighting on the edges of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Al Fakhura school was hit by Israeli mortar fire, and reports on deaths and if militants were among the casualties varied. The attack was originally reported as being on the school. In northern Gaza City, Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli patrol, killing one soldier and wounding four. The patrol returned fire, hitting some of the gunmen, while in Jabalya, an Israeli tank fired a shell into an abandoned building as Golani Brigade soldiers were taking cover in it, killing 3 soldiers and wounding 24. The casualties were extracted under the cover of heavy artillery fire and helicopters dropping illumination bombs. In a separate friendly fire incident, an Israeli officer was killed by a misdirected artillery shell. In all, at least 70 Palestinians and 5 Israelis were killed on 6 January
ReplyDeleteIn January and February 2009, there was a series of two air strikes in Sudan and one in the Red Sea allegedly conducted by Israel against a convoy of 17 trucks containing Iranian arms, possibly Fajr-3 artillery rockets, being smuggled to the Gaza Strip through Sudan. A total of 39 were reported killed, with Iranian Revolutionary Guard operatives possibly among the dead. The attack was widely reported to have been conducted by Israeli aircraft, while the Israeli government hinted that it was behind the attack. Naval commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit were reportedly involved in the operation, which included an attack on an Iranian arms ship docking in Port Sudan.
ReplyDeleteOn 3 January 2009 Ma'an News Agency reported: "The Al-Qassam Brigades, military wing of Hamas, said that after a week since the start of the 'Battle of Al-Furqan [the criterion]' it has managed to fire 302 rockets, at an average of 44 rockets daily." As of 13 January 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' chief rival. Besides the rockets fired by the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, other factions claimed responsibility for rockets fired into Israel and attacks on Israeli soldiers, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (affiliated with Fatah), the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, the Quds Brigades 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 all sides to cease hostilities unconditionally. Militants fired over 750 rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel during the conflict. Bersheeba and Gedera were the farthest areas hit by rocket or mortars The rockets killed three civilians and one IDF soldier and wounded 182 people, with another 584 people suffering from shock and anxiety. The rockets also caused property damage, including damage to three schools. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar stated during the operation "they [Israeli forces] shelled everyone in Gaza.... They shelled children and hospitals and mosques, ... and in doing so, they gave us legitimacy to strike them in the same way." Besides being hit with rockets fired from Gaza, Israel experienced other attacks along the borders with Lebanon and Syria.
ReplyDeleteOn 15 January, Israeli artillery started an intense bombardment of the city while fighting was still going on in the streets. Troops and tanks advanced deeper into the city following the shelling. The Israeli military claimed to have killed dozens of militants since breaching the city limits four days earlier, while they suffered 20–25 soldiers wounded. Among buildings hit by shellfire was the al-Quds hospital, Gaza's second-largest, in the Tel al-Hawaneighborhood. At least 14 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, wounding five and severely damaging a house in Sderot. Almost all members of Hamas' approximately 100-man strong "Iranian Unit" were killed during a battle in the Zeytoun neighborhood on 15 January. Members of the military wing had previously travelled to Iran for training by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. According to Palestinian sources, Iran was preparing for an end to the fighting and promised money and resources to rebuild military capabilities and infrastructure destroyed during the fighting. The headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was also shelled on 15 January. There were 3 people injured and tons of food and fuel intended for 750,000 Palestinian refugees were 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 UNRWA dismissed this 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"
ReplyDeleteOn 16 January 2009, more than 50 Israeli airstrikes were carried out against militants, tunnels, and a mosque suspected of being used as a weapons store. Israeli forces continued their push into Gaza City, while Israeli Navy vessels shelled militant targets in support. About 10 rockets were fired into Southern Israel. Palestinian militants fired 15 rockets into Israel, wounding eight people including a pregnant woman.The Givati Brigade penetrated the deepest into Gaza City. The brigade's reconnaissance battalion swept into the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood and took over two 15-story buildings in search of Hamas operatives two days before the cease fire went into effect. About 40 Palestinian fighters were killed during the operation. The commander of the brigade, Colonel Ilan Malka, was critical of Hamas' use of civilian houses and said that he "took many steps to prevent our soldiers from getting hurt". Malka told reporters that the IDF had initially predicted each battalion would lose six or seven soldiers. The Israeli government considered a third phase of the operation with the intent of dealing a "knock out blow" to Hamas. Military and intelligence assessments indicating that shifting the goal to destroying Hamas would require additional weeks of deep ground incursions into urban areas and refugee camps. This was expected to result in heavy casualties on both sides and among civilians, reduce the strong domestic support for the war, and increase international criticism
ReplyDeleteAl-Qassam Brigades reported in "The outcome of al-Qassam operations during the Battle of al-Furqan" they killed 102 Israeli soldiers. On 19 January 2009, a spokesperson for the group said on al-Arabiya "Israel lost 'at least 80 soldiers' in the fighting" and said about Hamas losses "only 48 fighters slain in Israel war". According to United Nations report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission of Human Rights Council, which was on General Assembly's agenda on 29 October 2009: "The large discrepancy in the data confirms the Mission's observations below in the report about the reliability of the information about the Gaza military operations posted on websites of al-Qassam and other Palestinian armed groups." In November 2010, the Hamas Interior Minister acknowledged that around 700 militants part of Hamas and affiliated factions were killed in the war. Several senior Hamas military commanders and politburo members were killed, as well as approximately 50 explosives experts.
ReplyDeleteHuman Rights organisations and the UN counted just above 1,400 Palestinian deaths, Israel acknowledged 1,166 Palestinian deaths. According to PCHR, among the Palestinian deaths were 926 unarmed civilians, 255 police officers, and 236 fighters. B’Tselem counted 248 killed police officers. Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights said in January 2009, that 1,268 people were killed, among them 288 children and 103 women, and 85% of those killed were not combatants. The IDF tallied 295 killed civilians, least 709 armed militants and 162 undetermined.The Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hamad stated that between 200 and 300 Hamas fighters, another 150 security forces and 250 policemen were killed. 3 Israeli civilians were killed and 6 soldiers. Additionally, 4 soldiers were killed by "Friendly fire".
ReplyDeleteDuring the conflict Israel targeted numerous police facilities in Gaza. Many of these attacks occurred during the first minutes of the operations resulting in the deaths of 99 policemen and nine other members of the public. The attacks on Police during the first day of the operation included the bombing of a police cadet graduation ceremony, killing scores of police cadets along with family members who had come to attend the celebration. Police cadets killed in the incident included traffic police and musicians in the police orchestra. The UN fact finding mission established that approximately 240 Gaza policemen were killed by Israeli forces during the course of the conflict constituting over one sixth of the total Palestinian casualties
ReplyDeleteIsrael was victorious militarily, but its reputation was harmed. The international community continued to isolate Hamas (except for Iran and Syria), because it rejected the Quartetdemands to recognize Israel, accept the Oslo accords peace initiative and abandon violence in exchange for international recognition as representatives of the Palestinian people. In the months following the war, Hamas suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations, with the aim to build a "cultural resistance". Hamas officials stated that "The current situation required a stoppage of rockets. After the war, the fighters needed a break and the people needed a break."
ReplyDeleteAlong with a high casualty rate, 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. On 22 January 2010, Israel paid $10.5 million in compensation to the United Nations for damages to UN property incurred during the Israeli offensive. 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 km (104 mi) 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 km²), 187 greenhouses completely destroyed or severely damaged with an estimated area of 28 hectares (0.28 km²), and 2,232 hectares (22.32 km²) of demolished zones targeted by IDF bulldozers, tanks and phosphorus shelling
ReplyDeleteThroughout the war, Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel damaged or destroyed more than 1,500 homes and buildings and 327 vehicles. Numerous agricultural fields near Gaza also sustained damage. Twenty-eight Israeli families lost their homes to rocket attacks, and had to temporarily live in hotels. Among the buildings hit were nine educational facilities and three synagogues. Schools and universities in southern Israel began to close due to rocket threats on 27 December. Studies officially resumed on 11 January. 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. Palestinian rocket attacks that hit educational facilities caused no casualties.The largest hospital on Israel's southern coast, Ashkelon's Barzilai Medical Center, moved its critical treatment facilities into an underground shelter after a rocket struck beside its helicopter pad on 28 December. Most business in Southern Israel stopped upon orders of the Home Front Command, with retailers losing an estimated $7 million in the first week. Numerous small businesses suffered in decreased sales, and were unable to pay employee salaries due to low revenues. Major industries remained open, but had high absence rates. The Manufacturers Association of Israel estimated the direct cost to business and industry to be 88 million NIS, and indirect financial losses at several tens of millions of shekels.The Israel Tax Authority received 1,728 compensation claims for damages related to the conflict, mostly from Ashkelon and Ashdod. According to Israeli economist Ron Eichel, the war effort cost the Israeli military about 5 billion NIS in military expenditure, or 250 million NIS per day. An anonymous political source told Ynetnews that the aerial assaults were costing $27 million to $39 million a day in munitions and fuel, totaling the first six days of the operation at nearly $265 million for air-strikes alone. Both the IDF and Treasury refused to disclose the exact amount, and the Treasury adamantly denied these figures
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