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2006 Gaza–Israel conflict

April 12, 2024

For the November 2006 shelling and operation in Beit Hanoun, see 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun.

Operation "Summer Rains"
Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict

A pair of IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozers during operation 'Summer Rains'
DateJune 28, 2006 – November 26, 2006
(4 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Result

Israeli military victory

  • End of Hamas rocketfire into Israel until May 2007 (though continued attacks by other groups)[1]
  • Palestinian Authority forces deploy to stop rocket launches until June 2007.
Belligerents
 Israel Fatah
Hamas
Islamic Jihad
Commanders and leaders
Casualties and losses
  • 11 killed[3]
    5 soldiers
    6 civilians
  • 38 soldiers wounded
  • 1 soldier captured
  • 44 civilians injured

Figures not confirmed or verified

  • 402 killed
    277 militants
    117 civilians
    6 policemen
    2 Presidential Guards
  • 65 officials captured
  • ≈ 1,000 injured

The 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict, known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains (Hebrew: מבצע גשמי קיץ, romanized: Mivtza Gishmey Kayitz), was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006. Large-scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip, starting on 28 June 2006, which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.

Israel's stated objectives in Operation Summer Rains were to suppress the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza into the western Negev, and to secure the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Palestinian militants.[4][5] Shalit was captured amid a background of violence between the IDF and Palestinian militant groups since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. According to statistics published by the Israeli government, 757 missiles from Gaza hit Israel between the withdrawal and the end of June 2006.[6] The IDF had responded with artillery fire and air raids.[7] During the operation, the pace of both rocket fire and shelling increased dramatically, and the IDF mounted numerous ground incursions into the Gaza Strip targeting militant groups and their infrastructure, including smuggling tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor.[4] On the first day of the conflict, Israel also bombed the only electrical power plant in the Gaza Strip.[8]

Hamas sought the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Shilat. Publicly, Israel categorically rejected any such offers, but in August it was reported that negotiations were held with Egypt acting as mediator. However, the negotiations broke down as Israel wasn't willing to release as many prisoners as Hamas wanted.[9][10]

Operation Summer Rains was followed by Operation "Autumn Clouds", launched on November 1. When Operation Autumn Clouds ended on 26 November with ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and an Israeli withdrawal, no deal for the release of Shalit had been reached. The ceasefire broke down completely amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Fatah in 2007.

Background

In 2005, Israel's unilateral disengagement plan saw it pulling forces out of Gaza and dismantling Jewish settlements that had been built in the territory in the years of the occupation. Israel remained in control of Gaza's borders, coastline and airspace, with the exception of the southern border which continues to be supervised by Egypt and European Union monitors. Following disengagement in 2005, Qassam rockets continued to be fired out of Gaza into Israel, and the pace of the attacks quickened in 2006 following the victory of the Islamist group Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections of early 2006. 757 missiles hit Israel between disengagement and the end of June 2006[6] and Israel responded with artillery fire and airstrikes.

Between the end of March 2006 – when the Hamas government assumed power – and the end of May 2006, Israel fired at least 5,100 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip Qassam launching areas in an attempt to stop them being fired.[11][disputed – discuss] Hamas had announced a ceasefire in 2005 and until 10 June 2006, Hamas did not take responsibility itself for the firing of ordnance into Israel, but the group's leader said in February that it wouldn't impede other groups from carrying out "armed resistance" against Israel.[12] This was a significant statement because Israel had often pressured the Palestinian government to stop such attacks in the past, and Palestinian willingness to do so had been seen as a key indicator of intent by Israel. However, Hamas was implicated in rocket attacks and attacks carried out by other groups, as well as engaging in its own attacks, despite the ceasefire.[13][14]

The political context of this exchange of fire was an internal struggle in the Palestinian territories between Hamas and the old ruling party, Fatah. Fatah members and supporters predominated in the Palestinian security forces and the civil service and Hamas complained that they were hampering the new government's capability to function. Violent protests, clashes and attempted assassinations mounted during 2006.[15] Meanwhile, because Hamas refused to recognize Israel's right to exist or reaffirm its commitment to previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the Israeli government and the Quartet (the EU, the UK, the US and Russia) imposed an economic embargo on the Hamas government.[16]

  • On June 8 Israel resumed its policy of the extrajudicial killing of key Hamas leaders, with the IDF assassination of Jamal Abu Samhadana, founder of the Popular Resistance Committees, which regularly launches home-made rockets into Israel. The Israeli military said Samhadana and the other targeted militants were planning an attack on Israel. The policy of targeted killings had ceased with the February 2005 Israeli-PA ceasefire agreement, which Hamas had also pledged to observe. Samhadana had been appointed the Palestinian Interior and National Security Ministry of the PNA's new Hamas-led government on April 20, 2006, a position similar to the ministry's director-general.[17][18]
  • In response to Samhadana's assassination, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Israel hours after his death, hitting a building in the southern town of Sderot, but causing no casualties.[19]
  • On June 9, Israel responded to the rocket fire with a bombardment of launching sites. During this campaign an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians belonging to one family.[20][21][22] Following the blast, an internal Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enquiry was initiated. On June 13, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Dan Halutz appeared alongside IDF General Meir Klifi to announce the findings of the enquiry, stating "The chances that artillery fire hit that area at that time are nil." In further interviews, Klifi theorised that the deaths could have been caused by old ordnance or by a Palestinian planted mine.[22] In contrast a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation found that "the evidence we have gathered strongly suggests Israeli artillery fire was to blame". According to Mark Garlasco, the head HRW investigator, contentious issues was that the injuries sustained by the Palestinian victims were inconsistent with either a typical mine or an explosion from beneath the sand.[22] Israel acknowledged that it had been shelling 250 m away from the family's location. Palestinians claimed that the explosion was caused by this Israeli shelling.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
  • On June 10, Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month ceasefire, and began openly taking responsibility for the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks.[31]
  • On June 13, Israel killed 11 Palestinians in a missile strike on a van carrying Palestinian militants and rockets in Gaza. Among those killed were nine civilian bystanders. Reuters called this "the deadliest such attack in four years".[24]
  • On June 20, Israel killed 3 Palestinian civilians in a missile strike on a car in Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp.[22][32]
  • On June 24, Israeli commandos entered the Gaza Strip and captured Osama and Mustafa Muamar, whom Israel claimed were Hamas militants. Hamas claimed that they were the sons of a Hamas supporter but not Hamas members themselves. It was Israel's first raid into the Strip since its forces pulled out of Gaza in September 2005.[33][34]
  • On June 25, armed Palestinians crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel via a makeshift tunnel and attacked an IDF post. During the morning attack, two Palestinian militants and two IDF soldiers were killed and four others wounded. The Palestinians captured Corporal Gilad Shalit, who suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound. Hamas claimed that the attack was carried out in response to June 9 killings, but the IDF concluded that the digging of the tunnel must have taken between 3 and 6 months.[35][36]
  • On June 26, Shalit's captors issued a series of statements demanding the release of all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.[37] The statements came from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas), and the Army of Islam. More than 8,000 Palestinians were being held as prisoners by Israel. Approximately two-thirds of these prisoners were convicted in court, while around ten percent were held without charge.[38]
  • On June 29, the IDF issued a summary of activity in the Gaza Strip:

Early this morning, July 29, 2006, the IDF began engineering work in the Erez industrial area in the northern Gaza Strip in order to thwart terror threats and to discover tunnels and explosive devices in area.

In addition, the IDF carried out aerial attacks against a structure used by Hamas to store and manufacture weaponry in Gaza City, as well as a tunnel located along the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Prior to the attacks on these targets, in order to ensure the safety of the residents of the Gaza Strip, the IDF warned the population not to stay in structures that are used by terrorist organizations for storing weapons.

Terrorist organizations operate from within civilian population, while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human shields, exploiting their homes to store weapons and launch rockets at Israeli towns from populated areas.

The IDF will continue to act with determination against terrorist organizations and terror infrastructure in order to create the conditions for the return of Corporal Gilad Shalit and to stop terror attacks and the launching of missiles against Israel.[39]

Timeline

Naval closure

On June 26, the Israeli Navy imposed a naval closure of the Gaza Strip, to prevent Shalit being smuggled out by sea. The navy increased patrols of naval vessels along the Gaza coastline, and prepared for an attempt to smuggle Shalit out by boat, sending instructions to captains. Palestinian fast boats were banned from operating in the area, and only small Palestinian fishing boats were allowed on the sea.[40]

IDF enters Southern Gaza

Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on June 28, 2006, in search for Shalit. Four Israeli F-16s flew over the Latakia residence of Bashar Assad, President of Syria, in a symbolic move linked by the IDF spokesperson to Israel's view of the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of terrorism, and the presence in Syria of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal.[41] In preparation for the Israeli operation, the government of Egypt announced it deployed 2,500 policemen to the Egypt-Gaza Strip border to prevent the possible transfer of Shalit into Egypt, as well as to prevent an influx of refugees out of the Strip.

In the early hours of the operation, several Palestinian civilian locations were targeted. Bridges were destroyed that effectively cut the Gaza Strip in half. Power was also cut to 65% of the Gaza Strip after Israeli planes fired at least nine missiles at Gaza's only power station. Israeli forces also occupied the Gaza International Airport. Airstrikes were carried out on Hamas training and munitions camps, though no casualties were reported.[42][43]

In apparent response, the Popular Resistance Committees announced they had abducted an 18-year-old man from the West Bank settlement of Itamar, Eliyahu Asheri, and would kill him if the invasion continued.[44] On June 29, IDF combat engineers and Shabak agents, acting on intelligence, found Asheri's body in an abandoned car in an open field outside of Ramallah. The youth appeared to have been shot to death, and findings indicated that he may have been killed as early as Sunday, casting doubt on the PRC's earlier claims that he was alive and kept in captivity.[45]

Although the PRC said it was behind the attack, it became known that the capture was planned and carried out by Fatah militants.[46] Four Palestinians were captured by IDF forces for killing Asheri, all al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades activists and Palestinian Preventive Security force members.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades later announced that they had captured a third Israeli, Noach Moskovich from the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion.[47] However Moskovich was eventually discovered dead, apparently of natural causes, near the spot where he had last been seen.[48][49] The Brigades also threatened that, should there be any Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of the incursion, they would attack Israel's overseas embassies. As night fell, the Israel Defense Forces began shelling locations in Gaza with artillery, and hit two weapons warehouses.[50]

Incursion into Northern Gaza

As night approached June 28, IDF troops and tanks massed on the northern border of Gaza Strip, and prepared to take strategic positions in the second phase of the operation, which Israel claimed targeted Qassam rocket sites.[51] Qassam rockets were continually fired into Israel, and during the early hours of June 29, several Israeli naval vessels shelled Qassam locations.[52] Thousands of leaflets advising civilians to leave their homes were dropped on inhabited areas in the northern Gaza Strip towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun which Israel had identified as frequent launch sites for Qassam rockets.[53]

An explosion was reported in Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported it was at the Islamic University. The university is believed to be a pro-Hamas institute.[54] Witnesses reported Israeli tanks, soldiers, and bulldozers entering Northern Gaza. Following a plea from Egypt for more time for negotiations however, the IDF later announced it would put a hold on the second phase to give the militants a final chance to turn over Shalit.[55]

Arrest of Hamas government members

On June 29, Israel arrested 64 Hamas officials. Amongst them were Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.[56] Eight Hamas government members (five of whom in Ramallah) and up to twenty Legislative Council representatives were detained in the operation.

Among those arrested are the Finance Minister Omar Abd al-Razaq; Labour Minister Mohammad Barghouti;[42] Religious Affairs Minister Nayef Rajoub, brother of former West Bank strongman Jibril Rajoub of the rival Fatah party; East Jerusalem legislative council member and number two on Hamas list, Muhammad Abu Tir; as well as heads of regional councils, and the mayors and two municipal council members of Nablus, Beita and Qalqilya and the latter's deputy mayor. At least a third of the Hamas cabinet have been detained and held by Israel. As a result, many Hamas officials have gone into hiding.

The IDF stated that the arrested Hamas ministers "are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier – it was simply an operation against a terrorist organization".[57] Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, hinted that the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Ismail Haniya, is not immune from being arrested or attacked by the Security Forces. The Israeli army and government officials said, the arrested Hamas officials will be questioned and eventually indicted.[53] "Their arrests were not arbitrary. They will be put to trial, and they will be able to defend themselves in accordance with a legal system which is internationally recognized," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said, explaining the arrest of Hamas members.[58]

The operation to arrest these Hamas ministers was reportedly planned several weeks before and was met then with the approval of Israel's Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz. On June 28, Shabak Director Yuval Diskin brought a list of names to the approval of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Mazuz decided that those arrested will be prosecuted for the criminal offences of failing to prevent acts of terror and membership of a terrorist organization (which carry a maximum sentence of twenty years) and tried by military judges before an open military tribunal, as would be the case for any other Gaza or West Bank resident.[59]

August 6, Israeli forces detained the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, at his home in the West Bank. Dweik, who is regarded as a key member of Hamas, was apprehended after Israeli military-vehicles surrounded his home in Ramallah.[60]

Bombardment phase

Beginning on June 30, the IDF began to hit the Gaza Strip with a variety of targeted bombardments. Israeli warplanes struck more than a dozen times in Gaza in the hours after midnight, hitting a Fatah office and a Hamas facility in Gaza City as well as roads and open fields.

Israeli Air Force aircraft struck the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza City. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its planes hit the office of Interior Minister Said Seyam, which it called "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity". Shortly after, several militants approached an IDF position in Southern Gaza carrying anti-tank weaponry. The Israeli forces opened fire, wounding two militants, and causing them to leave their position.[61]

In a separate Israeli airstrike, three missiles hit the office of Khaled Abu Ilal, an Interior Ministry official, who also heads a pro-Hamas militia.[62]

After Israeli warnings that the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya could be targeted for assassination if Corporal Shalit was not freed,[63] Israeli aircraft hit the Prime Minister's office with two missiles in the early hours of July 2.[64]

On July 12, the IDF dropped a 550 lb bomb on a building in Gaza City, killing a family of nine. A spokesman for the Israeli army said they were trying to kill a group of Hamas militants led by Mohammed Deif, and did not know that a family was living inside the house when they bombed it.[65]

High-trajectory fire into Israel

 
Map of the conflict area

On July 4, high-trajectory fire by Palestinian militants into Israel reached a milestone when an improved Qassam rocket succeeded in reaching central Ashkelon, the first Palestinian-made rocket to do so, hitting an empty school yard, and causing light damage and no injuries.[66]

The next day, two more Qassam rockets hit a neighborhood in southern Ashkelon, wounding eight civilians. The IDF was given the go-ahead to move into Northern Gaza with a large force, with the stated aim of attempting to push the militants farther into Gaza, and out of range from Ashkelon and other coastal towns.[67]

Qassams also struck near Netivot (which is 12 km. east of Northern Gaza),[68] Sa'ad,[69] Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as smaller towns and kibbutzim in the Negev.[70]

Ongoing responses

On July 5, 2006, the Israeli Security Cabinet called for prolonged and gradual military action in Gaza. A communique issued after the meeting said that in light of the capture of Cpl. Gilad Shalit and the continuation of the rocket fire on Israel, "preparations will be made to bring about a change in the rules of the game and mode of operating with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas."

Later that day IDF soldiers apprehended a Palestinian wearing an explosives belt, who entered the industrial zone in the West Bank town of Barkan, near the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in a Palestinian taxi which the IDF said was destined for a major Israeli city.[71][72]

Ground operation in northern Gaza Strip

On July 6, 2006, the IDF's Golani Brigade under the command of Colonel Tamir Yadai, backed by IAF jets and artillery fire, reoccupied the site of three former Israeli settlements of Dugit, Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip.[73] Additional forces entered the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya. A Beit Lahiya resident was quoted in Ynetnews.com as saying, "It's a crazy scene – everyone is shooting at everyone," and "Soldiers are coming out of the trees, from the rooftops. The residents don't know if they should leave their homes or hide."[74] Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships entered Beit Lahiya firing at militant positions. Palestinian militants responded with automatic weapons fire.[75]

November 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun

Main article: 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun

Operation "Summer Rains" was completed by Operation "Autumn Clouds", launched on November 1. When "Autumn Clouds" ended on November 26, with an Israeli withdrawal and ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, no deal for the release of Shalit had been reached. The ceasefire was only shakily observed, with rockets hitting Israel at an average rate of just over forty five per month before the next major flare-up of violence in May 2007, according to the Israeli government.[6] During this intervening period Hamas did not itself take responsibility for rocket fire into Israel, and Israel refrained from firing tank or artillery shells into the Gaza Strip.[1] The ceasefire broke down completely amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Fatah.

Impact on Gaza Strip residents

Palestinian officials say that it could take six months and some $15 million to repair the damage done to the destroyed power plant.[76]

According to the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network, "The public health and safety and environmental hazards stemming from the damage caused to infrastructure as a result of this military operation include water shortages, contaminated remaining drinking water, uncontrolled discharge and untreated sewage flowing in the streets resulting in groundwater pollution, pollution of agricultural land which Gazans will now be unable to cultivate to harvest crops, negatively impacting their earning."[77]

The Israeli army was accused of using Palestinian civilians as human shields in an operation in northern Gaza. According to the Israeli human rights group, B'tselem, six civilians including two minors were subjected to the illegal tactic during an incursion into the town of Beit Hanoun.[78]

On June 29 the IDF made the following announcement to Gaza residents, distributed through pamphlets and broadcast through other means:

To the civilians of the area: The IDF extends its operations to all areas of the Gaza Strip, and therefore conducts military activities in your area, for the time period that is required. The operations will be launched in order to locate the site in which the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, is being held, to rescue him, and to continue to defend the citizens of Israel. For your own safety and due to our intent to prevent injuring citizens who are not involved in activities against our forces, you must avoid being on any premises in which the IDF is operating and be attentive to the IDF's instructions. Anyone who interrupts IDF forces activities, conducted in order to complete the mission to bring the captured soldier home safely, will be in danger.[79](bold in the original)

Concern for potential humanitarian crisis

Early on, all border crossings in and out of Gaza were shut. Gas stations predicted petrol supplies would run out by sundown Thursday as companies rely on generators.[80]

On June 29, Álvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, said that fuel in Gaza would run out in two to three days, which would result in the collapse of the sewage system. Senior UN officials estimated that Gaza has two weeks of food supply left.[59]

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said, "No one can hide from us what they're doing, neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli side. We are appalled by seeing how they're playing with the future of defenseless civilians, including children," and warned that Gaza was three days away (as of June 29) from a humanitarian crisis.[81]

It was predicted that all 22 Gaza hospitals would lose electricity from spare generators within one week due to the shortage of fuel and an average of 200 daily surgeries would be postponed or cancelled. There were fears that about 250 citizens suffering renal failure would face death due to the lack of electricity to run dialysis units.[76]

On Sunday July 2, Israel reopened Gaza's main cargo crossing – the Karni crossing, allowing 50 trucks with food, medical supplies and fuel, to travel from Israel to Gaza. Other trucks carrying fuel entered northeastern Gaza through the Nahal Oz border crossing.[82] The next day, however, citing a security threat, Israel once again closed the Karni crossing.[83]

On July 20, Paul Hunt, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health has claimed that some Israeli attacks on Gaza constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, and called for an independent inquiry into war crimes in Gaza by Israel.[84] Hunt stated that "The destruction of Gaza's electricity power station is profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in Gaza, especially the young, sick, infirm and elderly, as well as their right to the highest attainable standard of health, enshrined in the International Bill of Rights and other international human rights instruments."[85]

On July 24, Israel partially re-opened the Karni crossing. PNA sources reported that the Raffah crossing might also be re-opened in the next two days.[86] Over one month later, on August 25, for the first time in the two months since the conflict began, Israel opened the Rafah crossing for 24 hours, with 2,500 people entering Gaza and 1,500 exiting.[87]

Casualties

See also: Israeli casualties of war

Five Israeli soldiers were killed during the conflict, including two in the initial Palestinian cross-border attack and one in a friendly fire incident. Six Israeli civilians were killed and nearly 40 wounded. According to B'Tselem, since June 28, 2006, there were 416 Palestinians killed (1 on June 30, 164 in July, 60 in August, 26 in September, 48 in October and 117 in November).[88] The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, confirmed that 124 of their fighters were killed as of November 25, 2006.[89] The Israeli government said that non-combatants killed were primarily caught in the crossfire or died during a targeted killing; some Israeli raids targeting militants resulted in the deaths of bystanders or passers-by. Palestinian ambulance workers said that Israeli troops sometimes fired at them, preventing ambulances from reaching casualties; the Israeli government said that Palestinian militants used ambulances to transport weapons and attack them.[90][91] Civilians died in gun battles between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops. Palestinian militants operated from houses; although most were abandoned, in some cases family members refused to flee and were wounded or killed. Since many Palestinians killed were not identified as militant, civilian or "other", the figures in each category were uncertain. At least six Palestinian policemen and two presidential guards were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

Aftermath

As of December 21, 2006, over 60 Qassams had hit Israel since the declared cease-fire on November 26.[92]

A senior member of Hamas said that the group agreed to a cease-fire with Israel "because we need a period of calm to recuperate," the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. "This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace," Abu Abdullah said.

From late March to early April 2007, Israeli forces carried out raids in Gaza. On April 21, Palestinian militants launched three rockets into Israel after raids in the West Bank that killed five Palestinians, three of whom were militants. Israel responded with an airstrike that killed one suspected militant.[93]

In May 2007, Palestinian fighters resumed shelling of Israeli towns, launching over 70 missiles in three days to the 17th.[94]

Reactions

Hamas

  • Hamas (military wing) – The military wing of Hamas urged Palestinians to rise up, and stated "fight your enemies, who came to their deaths. Grab your rifles and resist".[95] On July 6, 2006, PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam of Hamas issued the Palestinian government's first, official call to arms since Israeli ground forces invaded Gaza, appealing on Thursday to all security forces to fulfill their "religious and moral duty to stand up to this aggression and cowardly Zionist invasion." The majority of PA security forces are loyal to Fatah, which opposes Hamas.

Israel

  •   Israel – David Siegel, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. said that "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the captured Israeli... This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit."[96] In describing Israel's assault on Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza. I want no one to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it feels like."[97]

Palestinian Authority

International organizations

  • Amnesty International – The organization characterized the deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as "war crimes,"[99] and called for "an end to the wanton destruction and collective punishment being carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip." A statement further observed that "destruction of three bridges and electricity networks [...] have left half the population of the Gaza Strip without electricity and have reportedly also adversely affected the supply of water."[100] Amnesty International also stated "The hostage-taking of Corporal Gilad Shalit, and the killing of Eliyahu Asheri, the 18-year-old settler, by Palestinian armed groups violate fundamental principles of international law. Corporal Gilad Shalit should be released immediately and unharmed".[99]
  •   Arab League – Its spokesman Alaa Rushdy said that the operations were "part of aggressive Israeli policies directed against the Palestinian people, whether it be through destruction or the killing of civilians".[101]
  •   European Union – The External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said that "Both sides need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control."[102]
  •   United Nations – On July 6, 2006, The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution deploring Israel's military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law. Passed by a vote of 29–11, with 5 abstentions, the resolution, "urges all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions." "Deep concern" was expressed over the "arbitrary arrest of Palestinian (Cabinet) ministers, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and other officials as well as the arbitrary arrests of other civilians" and military attacks."[103] On July 13, 2006, The United States vetoed a UN resolution condemning this military operation.[104]

Other countries

  •   China – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis, calling on Israel to "cease the military actions immediately" and for Palestinian authorities to help release the hostage as soon as possible.[105]
  •   Russia – Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called for the unconditional release of Shalit while urging Israel to show restraint. "Such restraint, together with the involvement of the international community, can lead to dialogue restarting and the two sides can go back to implementing the 'Road Map'".[106]
  •   Sweden – "Israel has committed an indefensible act," the Swedish TT news agency quoted Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson as saying. "It is disproportionate in terms of what the Palestinians have done," Persson said. "To go like that and remove part of a government and members of parliament is incompatible with international law." Persson cast doubt on the possibility of an exchange of prisoners. The situation "keeps getting worse and the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians has now become virtually impossible. It is ominous," he said.[107][108]
  •   Switzerland – "A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "There is no doubt that [Israel] has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure," Switzerland said.[109] Switzerland also called for the "rapid release" of the captive Israeli soldier.[110]
  •   Syria – A Syrian official stated "These aggressive operations form a provocation and are unjustified. If their goal is to place responsibility for the capture of the Israeli soldier on the political leadership of Hamas – then Israel is making a scandalous mistake that is crossing the boundaries of logic."[111]
  •   United States – White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that "Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens... [But] in any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure."[112] The United States vetoed a UN resolution condemning this military operation.[104]

See also

Literature

  • Barry Rubin: Israel's New Strategy in: Foreign Affairs, July/August 2006, p. 111–125

References

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External links

  • Rashdan, Abdelrahman (2008-04-29), IslamOnline.net
  • Focus: Israel and the Palestinians – Al Jazeera
  • At least 6 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire
  • Special: Gaza kidnapping Israeli News – Ynetnews
  • Continuing Unrest in Middle East
  • Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine: Monthly media monitoring review, August 2006

April 12, 2024
2006, gaza, israel, conflict, november, 2006, shelling, operation, beit, hanoun, 2006, israeli, operation, beit, hanoun, operation, summer, rains, part, gaza, israel, conflicta, pair, caterpillar, bulldozers, during, operation, summer, rains, datejune, 2006, n. For the November 2006 shelling and operation in Beit Hanoun see 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun Operation Summer Rains Part of the Gaza Israel conflictA pair of IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozers during operation Summer Rains DateJune 28 2006 November 26 2006 4 months 4 weeks and 1 day LocationGaza StripNegevResultIsraeli military victory End of Hamas rocketfire into Israel until May 2007 though continued attacks by other groups 1 Palestinian Authority forces deploy to stop rocket launches until June 2007 Belligerents IsraelFatah Hamas Islamic JihadCommanders and leadersD Halutz Chief of StaffY Galant ISCK Mashal Hamas leader 2 M Deif Hamas military leaderR ShalahCasualties and losses11 killed 3 5 soldiers 6 civilians 38 soldiers wounded 1 soldier captured 44 civilians injuredFigures not confirmed or verified 402 killed 277 militants 117 civilians 6 policemen 2 Presidential Guards 65 officials captured 1 000 injuredTimeline of casualties caused during the Israel Gaza conflict The 2006 Gaza Israel conflict known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains Hebrew מבצע גשמי קיץ romanized Mivtza Gishmey Kayitz was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces IDF during summer 2006 prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 Large scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip starting on 28 June 2006 which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel s unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005 Israel s stated objectives in Operation Summer Rains were to suppress the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza into the western Negev and to secure the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit who had been captured by Palestinian militants 4 5 Shalit was captured amid a background of violence between the IDF and Palestinian militant groups since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza According to statistics published by the Israeli government 757 missiles from Gaza hit Israel between the withdrawal and the end of June 2006 6 The IDF had responded with artillery fire and air raids 7 During the operation the pace of both rocket fire and shelling increased dramatically and the IDF mounted numerous ground incursions into the Gaza Strip targeting militant groups and their infrastructure including smuggling tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor 4 On the first day of the conflict Israel also bombed the only electrical power plant in the Gaza Strip 8 Hamas sought the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Shilat Publicly Israel categorically rejected any such offers but in August it was reported that negotiations were held with Egypt acting as mediator However the negotiations broke down as Israel wasn t willing to release as many prisoners as Hamas wanted 9 10 Operation Summer Rains was followed by Operation Autumn Clouds launched on November 1 When Operation Autumn Clouds ended on 26 November with ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and an Israeli withdrawal no deal for the release of Shalit had been reached The ceasefire broke down completely amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Fatah in 2007 Contents 1 Background 2 Timeline 2 1 Naval closure 2 2 IDF enters Southern Gaza 2 3 Incursion into Northern Gaza 2 4 Arrest of Hamas government members 2 5 Bombardment phase 2 6 High trajectory fire into Israel 2 7 Ongoing responses 2 8 Ground operation in northern Gaza Strip 2 9 November 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun 3 Impact on Gaza Strip residents 3 1 Concern for potential humanitarian crisis 4 Casualties 5 Aftermath 6 Reactions 6 1 Hamas 6 2 Israel 6 3 Palestinian Authority 6 4 International organizations 6 5 Other countries 7 See also 8 Literature 9 References 10 External linksBackgroundIn 2005 Israel s unilateral disengagement plan saw it pulling forces out of Gaza and dismantling Jewish settlements that had been built in the territory in the years of the occupation Israel remained in control of Gaza s borders coastline and airspace with the exception of the southern border which continues to be supervised by Egypt and European Union monitors Following disengagement in 2005 Qassam rockets continued to be fired out of Gaza into Israel and the pace of the attacks quickened in 2006 following the victory of the Islamist group Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections of early 2006 757 missiles hit Israel between disengagement and the end of June 2006 6 and Israel responded with artillery fire and airstrikes Between the end of March 2006 when the Hamas government assumed power and the end of May 2006 Israel fired at least 5 100 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip Qassam launching areas in an attempt to stop them being fired 11 disputed discuss Hamas had announced a ceasefire in 2005 and until 10 June 2006 Hamas did not take responsibility itself for the firing of ordnance into Israel but the group s leader said in February that it wouldn t impede other groups from carrying out armed resistance against Israel 12 This was a significant statement because Israel had often pressured the Palestinian government to stop such attacks in the past and Palestinian willingness to do so had been seen as a key indicator of intent by Israel However Hamas was implicated in rocket attacks and attacks carried out by other groups as well as engaging in its own attacks despite the ceasefire 13 14 The political context of this exchange of fire was an internal struggle in the Palestinian territories between Hamas and the old ruling party Fatah Fatah members and supporters predominated in the Palestinian security forces and the civil service and Hamas complained that they were hampering the new government s capability to function Violent protests clashes and attempted assassinations mounted during 2006 15 Meanwhile because Hamas refused to recognize Israel s right to exist or reaffirm its commitment to previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel the Israeli government and the Quartet the EU the UK the US and Russia imposed an economic embargo on the Hamas government 16 On June 8 Israel resumed its policy of the extrajudicial killing of key Hamas leaders with the IDF assassination of Jamal Abu Samhadana founder of the Popular Resistance Committees which regularly launches home made rockets into Israel The Israeli military said Samhadana and the other targeted militants were planning an attack on Israel The policy of targeted killings had ceased with the February 2005 Israeli PA ceasefire agreement which Hamas had also pledged to observe Samhadana had been appointed the Palestinian Interior and National Security Ministry of the PNA s new Hamas led government on April 20 2006 a position similar to the ministry s director general 17 18 In response to Samhadana s assassination Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Israel hours after his death hitting a building in the southern town of Sderot but causing no casualties 19 On June 9 Israel responded to the rocket fire with a bombardment of launching sites During this campaign an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach killing eight Palestinian civilians belonging to one family 20 21 22 Following the blast an internal Israel Defense Forces IDF enquiry was initiated On June 13 Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Dan Halutz appeared alongside IDF General Meir Klifi to announce the findings of the enquiry stating The chances that artillery fire hit that area at that time are nil In further interviews Klifi theorised that the deaths could have been caused by old ordnance or by a Palestinian planted mine 22 In contrast a Human Rights Watch HRW investigation found that the evidence we have gathered strongly suggests Israeli artillery fire was to blame According to Mark Garlasco the head HRW investigator contentious issues was that the injuries sustained by the Palestinian victims were inconsistent with either a typical mine or an explosion from beneath the sand 22 Israel acknowledged that it had been shelling 250 m away from the family s location Palestinians claimed that the explosion was caused by this Israeli shelling 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 On June 10 Hamas formally withdrew from its 16 month ceasefire and began openly taking responsibility for the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks 31 On June 13 Israel killed 11 Palestinians in a missile strike on a van carrying Palestinian militants and rockets in Gaza Among those killed were nine civilian bystanders Reuters called this the deadliest such attack in four years 24 On June 20 Israel killed 3 Palestinian civilians in a missile strike on a car in Gaza s Jabaliya refugee camp 22 32 On June 24 Israeli commandos entered the Gaza Strip and captured Osama and Mustafa Muamar whom Israel claimed were Hamas militants Hamas claimed that they were the sons of a Hamas supporter but not Hamas members themselves It was Israel s first raid into the Strip since its forces pulled out of Gaza in September 2005 33 34 On June 25 armed Palestinians crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel via a makeshift tunnel and attacked an IDF post During the morning attack two Palestinian militants and two IDF soldiers were killed and four others wounded The Palestinians captured Corporal Gilad Shalit who suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound Hamas claimed that the attack was carried out in response to June 9 killings but the IDF concluded that the digging of the tunnel must have taken between 3 and 6 months 35 36 On June 26 Shalit s captors issued a series of statements demanding the release of all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18 37 The statements came from Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas the Popular Resistance Committees which includes members of Fatah Islamic Jihad and Hamas and the Army of Islam More than 8 000 Palestinians were being held as prisoners by Israel Approximately two thirds of these prisoners were convicted in court while around ten percent were held without charge 38 On June 29 the IDF issued a summary of activity in the Gaza Strip Early this morning July 29 2006 the IDF began engineering work in the Erez industrial area in the northern Gaza Strip in order to thwart terror threats and to discover tunnels and explosive devices in area In addition the IDF carried out aerial attacks against a structure used by Hamas to store and manufacture weaponry in Gaza City as well as a tunnel located along the Israeli Egyptian border near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Prior to the attacks on these targets in order to ensure the safety of the residents of the Gaza Strip the IDF warned the population not to stay in structures that are used by terrorist organizations for storing weapons Terrorist organizations operate from within civilian population while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human shields exploiting their homes to store weapons and launch rockets at Israeli towns from populated areas The IDF will continue to act with determination against terrorist organizations and terror infrastructure in order to create the conditions for the return of Corporal Gilad Shalit and to stop terror attacks and the launching of missiles against Israel 39 TimelineNaval closure On June 26 the Israeli Navy imposed a naval closure of the Gaza Strip to prevent Shalit being smuggled out by sea The navy increased patrols of naval vessels along the Gaza coastline and prepared for an attempt to smuggle Shalit out by boat sending instructions to captains Palestinian fast boats were banned from operating in the area and only small Palestinian fishing boats were allowed on the sea 40 IDF enters Southern Gaza Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on June 28 2006 in search for Shalit Four Israeli F 16s flew over the Latakia residence of Bashar Assad President of Syria in a symbolic move linked by the IDF spokesperson to Israel s view of the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of terrorism and the presence in Syria of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal 41 In preparation for the Israeli operation the government of Egypt announced it deployed 2 500 policemen to the Egypt Gaza Strip border to prevent the possible transfer of Shalit into Egypt as well as to prevent an influx of refugees out of the Strip In the early hours of the operation several Palestinian civilian locations were targeted Bridges were destroyed that effectively cut the Gaza Strip in half Power was also cut to 65 of the Gaza Strip after Israeli planes fired at least nine missiles at Gaza s only power station Israeli forces also occupied the Gaza International Airport Airstrikes were carried out on Hamas training and munitions camps though no casualties were reported 42 43 In apparent response the Popular Resistance Committees announced they had abducted an 18 year old man from the West Bank settlement of Itamar Eliyahu Asheri and would kill him if the invasion continued 44 On June 29 IDF combat engineers and Shabak agents acting on intelligence found Asheri s body in an abandoned car in an open field outside of Ramallah The youth appeared to have been shot to death and findings indicated that he may have been killed as early as Sunday casting doubt on the PRC s earlier claims that he was alive and kept in captivity 45 Although the PRC said it was behind the attack it became known that the capture was planned and carried out by Fatah militants 46 Four Palestinians were captured by IDF forces for killing Asheri all al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades activists and Palestinian Preventive Security force members The al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades later announced that they had captured a third Israeli Noach Moskovich from the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion 47 However Moskovich was eventually discovered dead apparently of natural causes near the spot where he had last been seen 48 49 The Brigades also threatened that should there be any Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of the incursion they would attack Israel s overseas embassies As night fell the Israel Defense Forces began shelling locations in Gaza with artillery and hit two weapons warehouses 50 Incursion into Northern Gaza As night approached June 28 IDF troops and tanks massed on the northern border of Gaza Strip and prepared to take strategic positions in the second phase of the operation which Israel claimed targeted Qassam rocket sites 51 Qassam rockets were continually fired into Israel and during the early hours of June 29 several Israeli naval vessels shelled Qassam locations 52 Thousands of leaflets advising civilians to leave their homes were dropped on inhabited areas in the northern Gaza Strip towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun which Israel had identified as frequent launch sites for Qassam rockets 53 An explosion was reported in Gaza City and eyewitnesses reported it was at the Islamic University The university is believed to be a pro Hamas institute 54 Witnesses reported Israeli tanks soldiers and bulldozers entering Northern Gaza Following a plea from Egypt for more time for negotiations however the IDF later announced it would put a hold on the second phase to give the militants a final chance to turn over Shalit 55 Arrest of Hamas government members On June 29 Israel arrested 64 Hamas officials Amongst them were Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council 56 Eight Hamas government members five of whom in Ramallah and up to twenty Legislative Council representatives were detained in the operation Among those arrested are the Finance Minister Omar Abd al Razaq Labour Minister Mohammad Barghouti 42 Religious Affairs Minister Nayef Rajoub brother of former West Bank strongman Jibril Rajoub of the rival Fatah party East Jerusalem legislative council member and number two on Hamas list Muhammad Abu Tir as well as heads of regional councils and the mayors and two municipal council members of Nablus Beita and Qalqilya and the latter s deputy mayor At least a third of the Hamas cabinet have been detained and held by Israel As a result many Hamas officials have gone into hiding The IDF stated that the arrested Hamas ministers are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier it was simply an operation against a terrorist organization 57 Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Benjamin Ben Eliezer hinted that the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Ismail Haniya is not immune from being arrested or attacked by the Security Forces The Israeli army and government officials said the arrested Hamas officials will be questioned and eventually indicted 53 Their arrests were not arbitrary They will be put to trial and they will be able to defend themselves in accordance with a legal system which is internationally recognized Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said explaining the arrest of Hamas members 58 The operation to arrest these Hamas ministers was reportedly planned several weeks before and was met then with the approval of Israel s Attorney General Menachem Mazuz On June 28 Shabak Director Yuval Diskin brought a list of names to the approval of Israel s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Mazuz decided that those arrested will be prosecuted for the criminal offences of failing to prevent acts of terror and membership of a terrorist organization which carry a maximum sentence of twenty years and tried by military judges before an open military tribunal as would be the case for any other Gaza or West Bank resident 59 August 6 Israeli forces detained the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Dweik at his home in the West Bank Dweik who is regarded as a key member of Hamas was apprehended after Israeli military vehicles surrounded his home in Ramallah 60 Bombardment phase Beginning on June 30 the IDF began to hit the Gaza Strip with a variety of targeted bombardments Israeli warplanes struck more than a dozen times in Gaza in the hours after midnight hitting a Fatah office and a Hamas facility in Gaza City as well as roads and open fields Israeli Air Force aircraft struck the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza City The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its planes hit the office of Interior Minister Said Seyam which it called a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity Shortly after several militants approached an IDF position in Southern Gaza carrying anti tank weaponry The Israeli forces opened fire wounding two militants and causing them to leave their position 61 In a separate Israeli airstrike three missiles hit the office of Khaled Abu Ilal an Interior Ministry official who also heads a pro Hamas militia 62 After Israeli warnings that the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya could be targeted for assassination if Corporal Shalit was not freed 63 Israeli aircraft hit the Prime Minister s office with two missiles in the early hours of July 2 64 On July 12 the IDF dropped a 550 lb bomb on a building in Gaza City killing a family of nine A spokesman for the Israeli army said they were trying to kill a group of Hamas militants led by Mohammed Deif and did not know that a family was living inside the house when they bombed it 65 High trajectory fire into Israel nbsp Map of the conflict areaOn July 4 high trajectory fire by Palestinian militants into Israel reached a milestone when an improved Qassam rocket succeeded in reaching central Ashkelon the first Palestinian made rocket to do so hitting an empty school yard and causing light damage and no injuries 66 The next day two more Qassam rockets hit a neighborhood in southern Ashkelon wounding eight civilians The IDF was given the go ahead to move into Northern Gaza with a large force with the stated aim of attempting to push the militants farther into Gaza and out of range from Ashkelon and other coastal towns 67 Qassams also struck near Netivot which is 12 km east of Northern Gaza 68 Sa ad 69 Kibbutz Kfar Aza as well as smaller towns and kibbutzim in the Negev 70 Ongoing responses On July 5 2006 the Israeli Security Cabinet called for prolonged and gradual military action in Gaza A communique issued after the meeting said that in light of the capture of Cpl Gilad Shalit and the continuation of the rocket fire on Israel preparations will be made to bring about a change in the rules of the game and mode of operating with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas Later that day IDF soldiers apprehended a Palestinian wearing an explosives belt who entered the industrial zone in the West Bank town of Barkan near the Jewish settlement of Ariel in a Palestinian taxi which the IDF said was destined for a major Israeli city 71 72 Ground operation in northern Gaza Strip On July 6 2006 the IDF s Golani Brigade under the command of Colonel Tamir Yadai backed by IAF jets and artillery fire reoccupied the site of three former Israeli settlements of Dugit Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip 73 Additional forces entered the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya A Beit Lahiya resident was quoted in Ynetnews com as saying It s a crazy scene everyone is shooting at everyone and Soldiers are coming out of the trees from the rooftops The residents don t know if they should leave their homes or hide 74 Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships entered Beit Lahiya firing at militant positions Palestinian militants responded with automatic weapons fire 75 November 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun Main article 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun Operation Summer Rains was completed by Operation Autumn Clouds launched on November 1 When Autumn Clouds ended on November 26 with an Israeli withdrawal and ceasefire between Hamas and Israel no deal for the release of Shalit had been reached The ceasefire was only shakily observed with rockets hitting Israel at an average rate of just over forty five per month before the next major flare up of violence in May 2007 according to the Israeli government 6 During this intervening period Hamas did not itself take responsibility for rocket fire into Israel and Israel refrained from firing tank or artillery shells into the Gaza Strip 1 The ceasefire broke down completely amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Fatah Impact on Gaza Strip residentsPalestinian officials say that it could take six months and some 15 million to repair the damage done to the destroyed power plant 76 According to the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network The public health and safety and environmental hazards stemming from the damage caused to infrastructure as a result of this military operation include water shortages contaminated remaining drinking water uncontrolled discharge and untreated sewage flowing in the streets resulting in groundwater pollution pollution of agricultural land which Gazans will now be unable to cultivate to harvest crops negatively impacting their earning 77 The Israeli army was accused of using Palestinian civilians as human shields in an operation in northern Gaza According to the Israeli human rights group B tselem six civilians including two minors were subjected to the illegal tactic during an incursion into the town of Beit Hanoun 78 On June 29 the IDF made the following announcement to Gaza residents distributed through pamphlets and broadcast through other means To the civilians of the area The IDF extends its operations to all areas of the Gaza Strip and therefore conducts military activities in your area for the time period that is required The operations will be launched in order to locate the site in which the captured soldier Gilad Shalit is being held to rescue him and to continue to defend the citizens of Israel For your own safety and due to our intent to prevent injuring citizens who are not involved in activities against our forces you must avoid being on any premises in which the IDF is operating and be attentive to the IDF s instructions Anyone who interrupts IDF forces activities conducted in order to complete the mission to bring the captured soldier home safely will be in danger 79 bold in the original Concern for potential humanitarian crisis Early on all border crossings in and out of Gaza were shut Gas stations predicted petrol supplies would run out by sundown Thursday as companies rely on generators 80 On June 29 Alvaro de Soto United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary General s Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said that fuel in Gaza would run out in two to three days which would result in the collapse of the sewage system Senior UN officials estimated that Gaza has two weeks of food supply left 59 UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said No one can hide from us what they re doing neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli side We are appalled by seeing how they re playing with the future of defenseless civilians including children and warned that Gaza was three days away as of June 29 from a humanitarian crisis 81 It was predicted that all 22 Gaza hospitals would lose electricity from spare generators within one week due to the shortage of fuel and an average of 200 daily surgeries would be postponed or cancelled There were fears that about 250 citizens suffering renal failure would face death due to the lack of electricity to run dialysis units 76 On Sunday July 2 Israel reopened Gaza s main cargo crossing the Karni crossing allowing 50 trucks with food medical supplies and fuel to travel from Israel to Gaza Other trucks carrying fuel entered northeastern Gaza through the Nahal Oz border crossing 82 The next day however citing a security threat Israel once again closed the Karni crossing 83 On July 20 Paul Hunt the UN Human Rights Council s Special Rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health has claimed that some Israeli attacks on Gaza constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and called for an independent inquiry into war crimes in Gaza by Israel 84 Hunt stated that The destruction of Gaza s electricity power station is profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in Gaza especially the young sick infirm and elderly as well as their right to the highest attainable standard of health enshrined in the International Bill of Rights and other international human rights instruments 85 On July 24 Israel partially re opened the Karni crossing PNA sources reported that the Raffah crossing might also be re opened in the next two days 86 Over one month later on August 25 for the first time in the two months since the conflict began Israel opened the Rafah crossing for 24 hours with 2 500 people entering Gaza and 1 500 exiting 87 CasualtiesSee also Israeli casualties of war Five Israeli soldiers were killed during the conflict including two in the initial Palestinian cross border attack and one in a friendly fire incident Six Israeli civilians were killed and nearly 40 wounded According to B Tselem since June 28 2006 there were 416 Palestinians killed 1 on June 30 164 in July 60 in August 26 in September 48 in October and 117 in November 88 The Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades the armed branch of Hamas confirmed that 124 of their fighters were killed as of November 25 2006 89 The Israeli government said that non combatants killed were primarily caught in the crossfire or died during a targeted killing some Israeli raids targeting militants resulted in the deaths of bystanders or passers by Palestinian ambulance workers said that Israeli troops sometimes fired at them preventing ambulances from reaching casualties the Israeli government said that Palestinian militants used ambulances to transport weapons and attack them 90 91 Civilians died in gun battles between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops Palestinian militants operated from houses although most were abandoned in some cases family members refused to flee and were wounded or killed Since many Palestinians killed were not identified as militant civilian or other the figures in each category were uncertain At least six Palestinian policemen and two presidential guards were killed in clashes with Israeli forces AftermathAs of December 21 2006 over 60 Qassams had hit Israel since the declared cease fire on November 26 92 A senior member of Hamas said that the group agreed to a cease fire with Israel because we need a period of calm to recuperate the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace Abu Abdullah said From late March to early April 2007 Israeli forces carried out raids in Gaza On April 21 Palestinian militants launched three rockets into Israel after raids in the West Bank that killed five Palestinians three of whom were militants Israel responded with an airstrike that killed one suspected militant 93 In May 2007 Palestinian fighters resumed shelling of Israeli towns launching over 70 missiles in three days to the 17th 94 ReactionsHamas Hamas military wing The military wing of Hamas urged Palestinians to rise up and stated fight your enemies who came to their deaths Grab your rifles and resist 95 On July 6 2006 PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam of Hamas issued the Palestinian government s first official call to arms since Israeli ground forces invaded Gaza appealing on Thursday to all security forces to fulfill their religious and moral duty to stand up to this aggression and cowardly Zionist invasion The majority of PA security forces are loyal to Fatah which opposes Hamas Israel nbsp Israel David Siegel spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington D C said that Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the captured Israeli This operation can be terminated immediately conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit 96 In describing Israel s assault on Gaza Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza I want no one to sleep at night in Gaza I want them to know what it feels like 97 Palestinian Authority Fatah Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attacks on the bridges and power plant saying that attacking civil infrastructure is a collective punishment against the Palestinian people and a humanitarian crime 98 International organizations Amnesty International The organization characterized the deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as war crimes 99 and called for an end to the wanton destruction and collective punishment being carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip A statement further observed that destruction of three bridges and electricity networks have left half the population of the Gaza Strip without electricity and have reportedly also adversely affected the supply of water 100 Amnesty International also stated The hostage taking of Corporal Gilad Shalit and the killing of Eliyahu Asheri the 18 year old settler by Palestinian armed groups violate fundamental principles of international law Corporal Gilad Shalit should be released immediately and unharmed 99 nbsp Arab League Its spokesman Alaa Rushdy said that the operations were part of aggressive Israeli policies directed against the Palestinian people whether it be through destruction or the killing of civilians 101 nbsp European Union The External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner said that Both sides need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control 102 nbsp United Nations On July 6 2006 The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution deploring Israel s military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law Passed by a vote of 29 11 with 5 abstentions the resolution urges all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions Deep concern was expressed over the arbitrary arrest of Palestinian Cabinet ministers members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and other officials as well as the arbitrary arrests of other civilians and military attacks 103 On July 13 2006 The United States vetoed a UN resolution condemning this military operation 104 Other countries nbsp China Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis calling on Israel to cease the military actions immediately and for Palestinian authorities to help release the hostage as soon as possible 105 nbsp Russia Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called for the unconditional release of Shalit while urging Israel to show restraint Such restraint together with the involvement of the international community can lead to dialogue restarting and the two sides can go back to implementing the Road Map 106 nbsp Sweden Israel has committed an indefensible act the Swedish TT news agency quoted Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson as saying It is disproportionate in terms of what the Palestinians have done Persson said To go like that and remove part of a government and members of parliament is incompatible with international law Persson cast doubt on the possibility of an exchange of prisoners The situation keeps getting worse and the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians has now become virtually impossible It is ominous he said 107 108 nbsp Switzerland A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment which is forbidden the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement There is no doubt that Israel has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure Switzerland said 109 Switzerland also called for the rapid release of the captive Israeli soldier 110 nbsp Syria A Syrian official stated These aggressive operations form a provocation and are unjustified If their goal is to place responsibility for the capture of the Israeli soldier on the political leadership of Hamas then Israel is making a scandalous mistake that is crossing the boundaries of logic 111 nbsp United States White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens But in any actions the government of Israel may undertake the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure 112 The United States vetoed a UN resolution condemning this military operation 104 See alsoGaza Division Palestinian political violence Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel 2023 Israel Hamas warLiteratureBarry Rubin Israel s New Strategy in Foreign Affairs July August 2006 p 111 125References a b Israel shells Gaza for first time in months International Herald Tribune May 19 2007 Retrieved January 3 2009 PM No Hamas member is immune Ynetnews July 2 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Casualty Comparison Palestinian amp Israeli casualties since the First Intifada IMEU Nov 18 2012 Accessed Jun 11 2018 a b Operation Summer Rains Federation of American Scientists PM We will not recapture Gaza Ynetnews July 2 2006 Archived from the original on January 20 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b c The Hamas terror war against Israel Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs November 30 2008 The Gaza Strip after disengagement B Tselem Act of Vengeance Israel s Bombing of the Gaza Power Plant and its Effects B Tselem Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine Monthly media monitoring review August 2006 UN August 31 2006 Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine Monthly media monitoring review July 2006 UN July 31 2006 Charles Levinson May 29 2006 Gaza s kids collect a different sort of shell Mail amp Guardian Archived from the original on December 21 2014 Retrieved January 6 2008 Butcher Tim February 9 2006 Hamas offers deal if Israel pulls out The Telegraph London Archived from the original on March 4 2006 Retrieved April 22 2010 Hamas behind Qassam attack on Sderot Ynetnews June 1 2006 Archived from the original on January 6 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Hamas Must End Attacks Against Civilians Human Rights Watch June 8 2005 Palestinians Israel and the Quartet Pulling Back from the Brink International Crisis Group Archived December 17 2008 at the Wayback Machine Patience Martin June 19 2007 Q amp A Palestinian embargo BBC Retrieved January 4 2009 Stephen Sloan with Sean K Anderson 2009 Historical Dictionary of Terrorism 3rd Ed The Rowman amp Littlefield Publishing Group pp 234 236 ISBN 9780810863118 Wanted militant dies in Gaza raid BBC News 2009 Rockets fly after Palestinian militant faction leader killed in Israeli airstrike USA Today The Associated Press 2009 McGreal Chris June 10 2006 Death on the Beach Seven Palestinians killed as Israeli shells hit family picnic The Guardian London Retrieved April 22 2010 Palestinian Child Buries Slain Family IslamOnline net June 11 2006 Archived from the original on December 7 2008 a b c d Doubts over Gaza deaths inquiry BBC News June 14 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Hamas breaks truce with rockets BBC News June 10 2006 Retrieved March 31 2010 a b CHRONOLOGY Key events since Hamas rose to power Reuters July 4 2006 Gaza Beach Libel Archived from the original on July 14 2009 IDF not responsible for Gaza blast Jerusalem Post Retrieved March 1 2012 permanent dead link Greenberg Hanan June 20 1995 Gaza beach blast Possible scenarios Ynetnews Ynetnews com Retrieved March 1 2012 Der Krieg der Bilder Archived June 19 2006 at the Wayback Machine Suddeutsche Zeitung June 16 2006 German paper doubts Gaza beach reports Ynetnews Ynetnews com June 20 1995 Retrieved March 1 2012 Human Rights Watch switches stories Adloyada typepad com June 20 2006 Retrieved March 1 2012 Militants Fire Rockets into South Israel Associated Press via SFGate June 15 2006 Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Israel air strike kills children BBC News June 20 2006 Retrieved December 16 2008 World in brief The Guardian London June 25 2006 Retrieved March 31 2010 Noam Chomsky interview regarding Gaza and Lebanon Archived July 18 2006 at the Wayback Machine Democracy Now July 14 2006 Gil Hoffman et al Shalit s health better than first feared permanent dead link Jerusalem Post June 29 2006 Butcher Tim June 26 2006 Soldier kidnapped and two killed in Gaza tunnel attack The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on March 11 2007 Retrieved January 6 2008 Militants issue Israel hostage demands Archived from the original on October 21 2008 Retrieved January 13 2020 B Tselem Statistics on Palestinians in the custody of the Israeli security forces Summary of IDF activity in the Gaza Strip overnight Archived from the original on March 13 2007 Retrieved January 13 2020 Greenberg Hanan June 20 1995 Naval closure placed on Gaza Ynetnews Ynetnews com Retrieved March 1 2012 Greenberg Hanan June 28 2006 IAF Aerial flight over Assad s palace Ynetnews Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b Settler s body believed found CNN June 29 2006 Archived from the original on December 11 2008 Israel in Gaza show of force Al Jazeera June 28 2006 Archived from the original on October 20 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Efrat Weiss June 28 2006 Abductors present Eliyahu Asheri s ID card Ynetnews Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Seized Israeli settler found dead BBC News June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Ramallah IDF encircles Asheri murderers Ynetnews July 3 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 HaLevi Ezra June 28 2006 Fatah Group Announces it Kidnapped 62 Year Old Israeli Arutz Sheva Archived from the original on January 2 2007 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israeli Police Find Body of Missing Man Houston Chronicle June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 dead link Body of Noah Moscowitz missing Rishon man found Jerusalem Post June 29 2006 Retrieved February 4 2011 permanent dead link IAF strikes south Gaza in bid to press militants to free soldier Haaretz June 29 2006 Archived from the original on July 9 2006 IDF to launch anti Qassam operation in northern Gaza Haaretz June 29 2006 Archived from the original on May 21 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israeli navy fires shells on northern Gaza Strip Ynetnews June 29 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b Israelis Arrest Dozens of Hamas Officials The Guardian London June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 dead link Israel bombs Islamic University in Gaza witnesses Reuters June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 dead link Israel Turns Up Heat on Palestinian Militants WPXI June 29 2006 Archived from the original on February 2 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 ISRAELIS PALESTINIANS URGED TO STEP BACK FROM THE BRINK AVERT FULL SCALE CONFLICT AS SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATES EVENTS IN GAZA UN June 30 2006 Archived from the original on January 26 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel justifies Hamas detentions BBC News June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Airstrikes and artillery pound Gaza CNN June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b IDF begins arrests of officials in the Strip Haaretz in Hebrew June 29 2006 Archived from the original on February 6 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Airstrikes and artillery pound Gaza BBC News August 6 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel hits Palestinian Interior Ministry CNN 5 July 2006 Israeli jets pound Gaza targets The Guardian London June 30 2006 Retrieved April 22 2010 Israel warns free soldier or PM dies The Australian July 1 2006 Archived from the original on May 27 2007 Retrieved January 6 2008 Air strike on Palestinian PM s HQ BBC News July 2 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Urquhart Conal July 13 2006 Family of nine killed as they slept The Guardian London Retrieved April 22 2010 Qassam rocket hits school in center of Ashkelon Haaretz July 5 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Large IDF force prepared to capture deep swath of northern Gaza Haaretz July 5 2006 Archived from the original on July 18 2006 Large Three people lightly wounded in weekend Qassam barrage Haaretz July 10 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Qassam lands in Kibbutz Saad in western Negev Ynet July 7 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Qassam fire increases on first day of IDF operation Haaretz July 9 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Would be bomber caught in West Bank Jerusalem Post July 5 2006 Retrieved February 4 2011 permanent dead link Terror attack in heart of Israel thwarted Ynetnews July 5 2006 Archived from the original on January 20 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Lubotzky Asael 2016 From the Wilderness and Lebanon Koren Publishers Jerusalem pp 15 31 ISBN 978 1 59264 417 9 Gaza 2 Killed 12 Hurt in IAF Strike Ynetnews com July 6 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israeli forces in fierce clash with Gaza gunmen Alertnet Reuters July 6 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b Power Outage Takes Toll on Gaza Businesses IslamOnline net July 2 2006 Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Report Environmental impact of Israeli Assault on Gaza International Middle East Media Center July 2 2006 Archived from the original on January 22 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israelis accused of human shields tactic July 25 2006 via news bbc co uk The IDF Distributes Announcements in the Southern Gaza Strip Israel Defense Forces June 29 2006 dead link Gazans fear worse to come as power water dwindle The Daily Star June 29 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel steps up Gaza air strikes Financial Times June 28 2006 Archived from the original on February 3 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Olmert puts more pressure on Palestinians Associated Press July 2 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel faces 11 p m deadline on soldier Associated Press July 3 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 UN rights expert calls for independent war crimes inquiry in Gaza JURIST July 20 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 UN rights expert calls for independent war crimes inquiry in Gaza UN News Centre July 20 2006 Archived from the original on February 1 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel partially re opens Gaza commercial crossing People s Daily July 24 2006 Archived from the original on February 7 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Rafah border crossing opens for a day permanent dead link Jerusalem Post August 25 2006 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip before Operation Cast Lead إحصائية رسمية صادرة عن المكتب الإعلامي لشهداء كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام في معركة وفاء الأحـــرار Archived from the original on December 6 2006 Retrieved January 13 2020 1 Palestinian Misuse of Medical Services and Ambulances for Terrorist Activities State of Israel Ministry of Justice The Department for International Agreements and International Litigation October 13 2004 Accessed November 17 2012 Patience Marin November 9 2006 Chaos and commitment at Gaza hospital BBC News Retrieved January 6 2008 Targeting Terrorists A License to Kill Avery Plaw Middle East Israeli Palestinian clashes flare BBC News April 22 2007 Retrieved March 1 2012 Hamas Traps Israel between Two Options War or War of Attrition Debka com Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Show of force as troops raid Gaza Sydney Morning Herald June 29 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Rosenberg David June 28 2006 Israeli Army Enters Gaza to Find captured Soldier Bloomberg L P Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel will end attacks if the captured soldier is released IrishExaminer com July 3 2006 Archived from the original on July 5 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israeli attacks mass punishment crime against humanity Abbas KUNA June 28 2006 Archived from the original on May 14 2008 a b Israel Occupied Territories Deliberate attacks a war crime Amnesty International June 30 2006 Archived from the original on November 7 2007 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel Invades Gaza Strip Arab News June 29 2006 Archived from the original on December 22 2007 Retrieved January 6 2008 US and EU at odds over Israel The Daily Telegraph June 28 2006 dead link EU Crisis must be solved by diplomacy Jerusalem Post June 28 2006 Archived from the original on September 16 2011 Retrieved February 4 2011 UN Rights Council Israeli Military Operations Breach International Law easybourse com July 6 2006 Archived from the original on February 18 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 a b US vetoes UN resolution urging end to Israeli attacks in Gaza AFP July 13 2006 China voiced strong calls for Israel People s Daily Online July 5 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Russia calls for hostage s release Ynetnews July 3 2006 Archived from the original on January 30 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Israel Rejects Deadline to Try Ministers IslamOnline net July 3 2006 Archived from the original on April 30 2008 Persson Israel bryter mot folkratten Svenska Dagbladet July 2 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 Some World Response Switzerland Amnesty Physicians Condemn Israeli War Crimes International Middle East Media Center July 5 2006 Archived from the original on February 5 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 Switzerland Israel violating law in Gaza Seattle Post Intelligencer July 3 2006 Retrieved February 13 2011 dead link Syria Israel made big mistake Ynetnews June 28 2006 Archived from the original on January 5 2008 Retrieved January 6 2008 White House Israel has right to defend itself Reuters June 28 2006 Archived from the original on June 1 2006 Retrieved January 6 2008 External linksRashdan Abdelrahman 2008 04 29 Myths and Facts about Gaza FAQs IslamOnline net Focus Israel and the Palestinians Al Jazeera Mohammed Abu Arar 23 and Ashraf Al Muasher 25 Some of the Palestinian leaders responsible for kidnapping killed At least 6 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire Arabs to lift aid embargo on Palestinians due to deaths of many civilians caused by israeli attacks and UN veto Special Gaza kidnapping Israeli News Ynetnews Continuing Unrest in Middle East Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine Monthly media monitoring review August 2006 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2006 Gaza Israel conflict amp oldid 1208319014, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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