The Gaza War was a three-week armed conflict that took place in the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008–2009. It was codenamed Operation Cast Lead (Hebrew: מבצע עופרת יצוקה Mivtza Oferet Yetzuka) by the Israeli government.[29]
Quick facts Date, Location ...
| Gaza War |
|---|
| Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict |
Israeli advances in Gaza during 2009 |
| Date | 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009
(3 weeks and 1 day) |
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| Location | |
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| Result |
Israeli military victory[1][2][3][4]
- IDF declared unilateral ceasefire, 12 hours later Hamas announced a one-week ceasefire.[5][6]
- Humanitarian crisis and deterioration of infrastructure and basic services in Gaza.[7]
- Number of rockets being fired from Gaza reduced.
- See results
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| Belligerents |
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Israel
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Gaza Strip[8]
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| Commanders and leaders |
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Ehud Olmert
Prime Minister
Ehud Barak
Minister of Defense
Gabi Ashkenazi
Chief of General Staff
Yoav Galant
Southern Command
Ido Nehoshtan
Air Force
Eli Marom
Navy
Eyal Eisenberg
Gaza Division
Yuval Diskin
Internal Security Service |
Khaled Mashal[9]
Ismail Haniyeh
Said Seyam †
Mohammed Deif
Abu Zakaria al-Jamal †
Ahmed Jabari
Tawfik Jaber †[10]
Osama Mazini
Nizar Rayan †[10]
Mahmoud al-Zahar
Ramadan Shallah
Jamil Mezher |
| Strength |
|---|
|
IDF: 4,000[11]–20,000[12] deployed in ground invasion and tens of thousands of reservists mobilized[13] (176,000 total active personnel)[14] |
Hamas (Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades and paramilitary police): 20,000 (est. total)[15][16]
Other Palestinian paramilitary forces: 10,000[17] |
| Casualties and losses |
|---|
|
Total killed: 13
Soldiers: 10 (friendly fire: 4)[18]
Civilians: 3
Total wounded: 518
Soldiers: 336[19]
Civilians: 182[19] |
Total killed: 1,166–1,417[fn 1]
Militants and police officers:
491* (255 police officers, 236 fighters) (PCHR),[23] 600* (B'Tselem), 709 (IDF), 600–700 (Hamas)[24]
Civilians: 926 (PCHR), 759 (B'Tselem), 295 (IDF)
Total wounded: 5,303 (PCHR)
Total captured: 120 (IDF) |
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One Egyptian border guard officer killed and three wounded, and two children wounded.[25][26]
Over 50,800 Gaza residents displaced.[27]
Over 4,000 homes destroyed; around $2bn worth of damage to Gaza[28] |
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*255 (PCHR) or 265 (B'Tselem) police officers were killed. |
Close
The Gaza War is said to have begun when Israel started an air strike against the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27.[30] This was after a six-month truce between Israel and Hamas had run out and Hamas had resumed rocket attacks against Israel.[31] Israel's said its aim was to stop Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel[32] from and arms import into the territory.[33][34] Israeli forces attacked military targets, police stations and government buildings. Hamas intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against Southern Israel, reaching the major cities of Beersheba and Ashdod for the first time.[35][36][37] An Israeli ground invasion began on January 3, 2009. The war ended on January 18, when Israel first declared a unilateral(one-sided) ceasefire, followed by Hamas' announcing a one-week ceasefire twelve hours later.[5][6] Israel completed its withdrawal on January 21.[38] The conflict resulted in between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths.[39]
