Israel on the one hand and the Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the other have fought a series of wars in the Gaza Strip since 2008.
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This Saturday, Israel is once again “at war,” its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, as thousands of rockets were fired from Gaza and fighting raged in the enclave between the Israeli army and invading Palestinians.
On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a large-scale air offensive against the Gaza Strip to end rocket fire from this Palestinian territory, which has been controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas since 2007 (Operation Cast Lead).
On January 3, 2009, Israeli troops entered Palestinian territory.
On January 18, a ceasefire ended the operation. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
In July, Amnesty International released a damning report on the offensive, accusing both Israel and Hamas of “war crimes.”
On November 14, 2012, the Israeli army launched Operation Pillar of Defense against armed groups in Gaza, which began with the targeted assassination of the head of Hamas military operations, Ahmad Jaabari.
In eight days of intense air strikes, more than 170 Palestinians died, including around a hundred civilians. Six Israelis, including four civilians, are killed.
According to the Israeli army, 1,500 targets were attacked, including 19 command centers. More than 900 rockets fired from Gaza reached Israel and more than 400 others were intercepted.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, says it fired more than 1,500 rockets alone.
On July 8, 2014, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge to stop rocket fire and destroy tunnels dug from Gaza.
On August 26, Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement negotiated over Egypt after 50 days of war.
The war that devastated the enclave left at least 2,251 dead on the Palestinian side, most of them civilians, and 74 on the Israeli side, almost all soldiers.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), almost 55,000 houses were affected by Israeli attacks, including at least 17,200 completely or almost completely destroyed.
In 2021, Hamas launched hostilities on May 10 by firing volleys of rockets in “solidarity” with the hundreds of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police on the Esplanade of the Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.
As a result, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls, which aimed to “reduce” Hamas’ military capabilities through increased airstrikes.
After intensive diplomatic negotiations, a ceasefire came into force on May 21st.
In 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Palestinian movements labeled “terrorist” by Israel, the European Union and the United States, fired more than 4,300 rockets in unprecedented intensity against Israel. 90% of the projectiles were intercepted by its anti-missile shield.
The clashes left at least 232 people dead on the Palestinian side, including 65 children, and 12 people dead in Israel, including a six-year-old child and a 16-year-old girl.
A few days after the exchange of fire with Islamic Jihad, Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on May 9, 2023 (Operation Arrow and Shield), killing 15 Palestinians, including three of the movement’s military commanders.
Islamic Jihad responded with several hundred rockets, which caused no injuries in Israel.
On May 11 and 12, Israel eliminated two military leaders of the Palestinian movement in quick succession.
An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect on May 13 after a five-day war that left 35 people dead.