Gaza-Israel clashes began on 11 November 2018, when a botched Israeli
covert operation
A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performed ...
carried out in the
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: '' Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142,6 ...
area of the southern
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
killed seven Palestinian militants and one Israeli soldier. Exchanges of fire lasted for two more days, until a cease fire was achieved with Egyptian mediation. Some minor incidents and protests followed some two weeks after the cease fire, with decreasing intensity.
The operation
According to Hamas armed wing the
al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB
, witness reports, recordings of radio chatter obtained by Israeli news program ''
Hadashot
''Hadashot'' (, lit. ''News'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel between 1984 and 1993.
History
On 4 March 1984 Haaretz Group CEO Amos Schocken announced that a new daily newspaper, ''Hadashot'' was to be launched, with ...
'' corroborating the story, and the IDFs own report the operation proceeded as follows:
Intrusion into Gaza
On 11 November, Israeli special forces entered Gaza in a blue Volkswagen van through one of the official border crossings, either through Israel's Erez Crossing or Egypt's
Rafah Crossing
The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace ...
, and the group provided identity documents. Following the crossing, the group passed through two checkpoints; one controlled by the Palestinian Authority and one controlled by Hamas using forged IDs with the names of well-known local Palestinian families. The group were dressed in traditional Palestinian Muslim attire and two of them disguised as women.
Spotting by Nour Baraka and questioning
A local Hamas commander named Nour Baraka spotted the van outside his window in Khan Yunis three kilometers into Gazan territory. The van was then stopped at a Hamas checkpoint for questioning. The Israelis claimed that they were NGO workers, part of a medical team ferrying patients in the area and that they had a wheelchair in the back of the van. According to the sources, the questioning lasted for 40 to 45 minutes.
Several things didn't seem right to the Palestinians. The accents of the Israelis didn't match the location their identity cards stated that they were from. A woman sat between two men even though their IDs said they were members of different families, something that was frowned upon under local customs. Furthermore, the Israelis told Hamas that they were going to visit a woman who does not live in the area.
Senior commanders were summed to the scene and they decided to bring the Israelis into custody for further questioning. At this point, the operative identified as "Lt. Col. A" opened fire. He shot and killed Baraka and his deputy, Mohammad Majed Al-Qara, with his silenced gun. Here the sources diverge. IDF sources claim that stray bullets from Lt. Col. A's gun hit and killed his colleague Lt. Col. Mahmoud Kheireddine, in Israeli media identified as "Lt. Col. M", and wounded another Israeli surrounded by Hamas members. Hamas sources claim that Kheireddine was shot in the head by one of their fighters. The van proceeded to speed away.
Hamas takes up the chase
One Hamas vehicle took up the chase while other units scrambled to set up a roadblock. At that point, the Palestinians believed that they were dealing with a criminal gang or a rival faction. The van opened fire and sped through the roadblock.
During the pursuit, Israeli tanks and aircraft opened fire in the area to provide cover for the van's escape. Some time later the operatives stepped out of the van and faced their pursuers in a gunfight killing them all. They pulled their dead comrade's body out of the car and continued the flight on foot towards an olive grove where a
Sikorsky CH-53
The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States N ...
helicopter from the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
's elite
Unit 669
Airborne Combat Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669 ( he, יחידת החילוץ והפינוי הקרבי בהיטס 669,''Yechidat HaHilu'tz VeHaPinu'i HaKravi Behetes 669'') is the Israel Defense Forces heliborne Combat Search and Rescue extracti ...
was waiting. After extracting the soldiers, the van was struck by dozens of Israeli rockets and completely destroyed.
According to the IDFs report, the evacuation from the time Lt. Col. A killed Baraka to the helicopter landing in Israel took 20 minutes.
Immediate aftermath
Gazan Health Ministry identified the killed as the aforementioned Nour Baraka, Omar Jani Abu Hatar, Mohammad Majed Al-Qara, Ala Adin Koidar, Mustafa Hassan Abu Odeh, Mahmoud Atallah Masabach and Ala Fasifis. The first six listed were Hamas members and the last a member of the Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, the military wing of the
Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) ( ar, لجان المقاومة الشعبية, ''Lijān al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya'') is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of ...
. According to witness reports, three of them were killed by ground-fire and three by airstrikes, one later succumbing to his wounds. The Israeli soldier was identified as "Lt. Col. M." Six more militants and one Israeli was wounded in the operation.
The
Israeli Defense Forces
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ( ...
(IDF) quickly dispelled a rumor about a soldier having been taken prisoner, but did not provide their account of the event other than noting, in response to Hamas allegations claiming otherwise, that it was "not intended to kill or abduct terrorists, but to strengthen Israeli security." IDF chief
Gadi Eizenkot
Gadi Eisenkot or Eizenkot ( he, גדי איזנקוט; born 19 May 1960) was the 21st Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (16 February 2015 – 15 January 2019). He is the originator of the so-called Dahiya doctrine.
Biography
...
said that it was a "a very meaningful operation to Israel's security." In a television interview on Sunday night, the former commander of IDFs Southern Command, general
Tal Russo
Tal Rousso (; born 1959) is a general of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the reserves. He heads the IDF's Depth Corps. He also served as an MK for the Labor Party.
Rousso was born in kibbutz Hulata in northern Israel and drafted into the ...
, speculated that the raid wasn't an assassination attempt but an intelligence-gathering mission gone wrong.
Fawzi Barhoum, spokesperson for Hamas, denounced the "cowardly Israeli attack".
Exchanges of fire
The clashes intensified over the next days as Gazan militants fired projectiles into Israel and Israeli airstrikes hit targets in Gaza. 460 projectiles were fired into Israel, of which 100 were intercepted by the
Iron Dome
Iron Dome ( he, כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, Kippat Barzel) is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-ra ...
and the majority of the projectiles that weren't fell in open areas causing neither casualties nor property damage. The IDF attacked about 160 targets in Gaza, among them several "high-quality" multi-story buildings, unprecedented since the
2014 Gaza war
The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ),
was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New ...
. These clashes killed eight Palestinians - seven in Gaza and one in Israel.
Sunday 11 November 2018
In the hours after the operation, 17 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel of which three were shot down, causing sirens to sound in southern Israel and Israeli authorities to change the flight path of aircraft landing at
Ben-Gurion Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...
as a precautionary measure. In communities near the Gaza border, classes were cancelled for Monday morning and farmers advised not to work in their fields.
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
cut his visit to France short and returned to preside over a Security Cabinet meeting concerning the clashes that would be held on Tuesday. Commenting on the situation, he said that "no political solution exists for Gaza, just as there isn't one with ISIS", that he is doing what he can to avoid an "unnecessary war" and also that "we were a step away from exerting maximal force and I think Hamas understood this." In a tweet he commended the slain soldiers bravery and wrote that "our forces acted courageously."
Monday 12 November 2018
In the morning, Musa Abu-Marzouq, a senior member of Hamas, said that yesterdays operation "exposed the Israeli occupation's hypocritical behavior with the international community" and the organisation issued a statement "announcing the beginning of bombardment of the enemy's settlements" as a "response to yesterday's crime." Islamic Jihad that "unless Palestinians live in peace, they won't live in peace. Playing with the lives of Palestinians can't be without a price."
At least 300 projectiles, of which 60 were intercepted, were fired from Gaza into Israel during the day, wounding nine civilians. In the afternoon in
Kfar Aza
Kfar Aza ( he, כְּפַר עַזַּה, ''lit.'' Gaza Village) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Netivot and Sderot around five kilometres east of Gaza, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In i ...
a
Kornet
The 9M133 Kornet (russian: Корнет; "Cornet", NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan, export designation Kornet-E) is a Russian man-portable anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) intended for use against main battle tanks. It was first introduced ...
anti-tank missile hit a bus transporting soldiers, critically injuring a 19-year-old Israeli soldier standing nearby. An accompanying video showing the bus being blown up was uploaded on Twitter by the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network. During the night to Tuesday, a rocket directly hit a residential building in
Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border ...
, killing Mahmoud Abu Asba, a Palestinian man from
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...
, and wounding two women. Factions inside Gaza said these attacks were in retaliation for yesterday's Israeli operation.
The
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
struck more than 70 targets in Gaza. Among them the building hosting Hamas' tv broadcasting station
Al-Aqsa
Aqsa'', ''Aksa, al-Aksa or al-Aqsa ( ar, الأقصى, link=no, translit=al-Aqṣā) usually refer to either:
*al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as , a religious site in Jerusalem located on the Temple Mount
*, also known as the Qibli Mosque, ...
which was leveled to the ground, an attack denounced by Barhoum as "a barbaric, brazen aggression." Soon after strikes destroyed Al Aqsa radio station and Al Amal Hotel, a building Hamas uses for offices. In addition, a weapons storage facility in Khan Yunis, a military building in Zeitoun and a weapons manufacturing site in Sheikh Omdan were bombarded.
The Israeli navy attacked a ship belonging to Hamas at the Nuseirat port in southern Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed by tank fire into Gaza and nine were wounded. Two of those, Muhammad Zakariya al-Tatari and Muhammad Zuhdi Odeh, were members of the
PFLP
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...
and the third, Hamad Muhammad Musa al-Nahhal, killed east of
Rafah
Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palesti ...
Saeb Erekat
Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat ( ar, صائب محمد صالح عريقات ''Ṣāʼib ʻUrayqāt''; also ''ʻRēqāt, Erikat, Erakat, Arekat''; 28 April 195510 November 2020) was a Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the secretary genera ...
of Hamas rival faction
Fatah
Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the Confederation, confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organizati ...
called for "international protection" and for the international community "to prevent a new massacre in Gaza."
Commenting on the violence, Israeli deputy minister
Michael Oren
Michael Bornstein Oren (Hebrew: מיכאל אורן; born Michael Scott Bornstein; May 20, 1955) is an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States (2009–2013), former member of the Knesset for ...
said that Israel "will do whatever it takes" to defend itself and that he "expects the world to stand with us."
Abu Rukun wrote on the unit's Arabic-language Facebook page a sharply worded warning addressed to the Gazans about "terrorist activity" that ended with "Residents of Gaza, look carefully at the pictures from Operation Protective Edge in 2014 – a picture is worth a thousand words", alluding to the destruction Israeli bombardment caused in the
2014 Gaza war
The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ),
was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New ...
. According to one activist, the same threat was made in English on COGAT:s Twitter feed, @cogat_israel, but was quickly deleted.
Knesset members of the opposition expressed criticism over Netanyahu's Cabinet's handling of the conflict with Hamas.
Tzipi Livni
Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...
of the
Zionist Union
The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party a ...
stated "we have a strategic dispute with the government on the ways to attain long-term quiet ... Instead of accepting the situation, we must act, but differently", referring to the recently signed deal to allow Qatar to send $15 million in cash to Hamas.
Yesh Atid
Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pr ...
of
Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the al ...
suggested that the government should take better care of persons affected by the violence, by compensating parents that needed to stay at home due to school closures and that mental health centers should receive more backing.
Tuesday 13 November 2018
Three Palestinians were killed and three more were wounded by Israeli airstrikes during the day. The victims were identified as Khaled Riyadh al-Sultan, a farmer not part of any militant group, Musaab Hoss and Khalid Akram Youssef Maarouf.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut his visit to Kuwait short and called for an urgent meeting among the Palestinian leadership.
Cease-fire
On Tuesday the Israeli Security Cabinet conferred in a seven-hour long meeting, from 9:00 to 16:00, behind closed doors. While the meeting was ongoing, it was reported that Hamas through mediators sought a cease-fire with Israel. Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh; sometimes transliterated as Haniya, Haniyah, or Hanieh (born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Hani ...
suggested that "if Israel stops the aggression, it will be possible to go back to the cease-fire understandings... the resistance defended its people against Israeli aggression, and the Palestinian people, as usual, continued to the resist with patience and pride."
Later that day Palestinian factions in Gaza released a statement announcing that a cease-fire had been reached. Hamas said that it "appreciates efforts alongside different entities to obtain a cease-fire and we thank and cherish the Egyptian effort and the international effort, as well as the role the Norwegians and Qataris played."
On the Israeli side, the situation was more ambiguous. An unnamed Israeli official's response to queries from the press was that "Israel reserves its freedom to operate" but confirmed that "requests by Hamas to form a cease-fire came from four different mediators. Israel responded that developments on the ground will determine he Israeli reaction" The four mediating parties named were
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
Yuval Steinitz
Yuval Steinitz ( he, יוּבַל שְׁטַיְינִיץ; born 10 April 1958) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Likud party. He also held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Finance, ...
, who had participated in the cabinet meeting, refrained from confirming whether a cease-fire had been reached and instead put the onus on Hamas, claiming that "the Israeli military landed a harsh and unprecedented blow on Hamas" and that "we will see if that will suffice or whether further blows will be required."
At least four other members of the cabinet, Defense Minister
Avigdor Liberman
Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...
, Justice Minister
Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet Shaked (; he, אַיֶּילֶת שָׁקֵד; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli politician, activist, and software engineer currently serving as Minister of Interior. She served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home from 2013 ...
, Environmental Protection Minister
Ze'ev Elkin
Ze'ev Elkin ( he, זְאֵב אֵלְקִין; russian: Зеэв Элькин; born 3 April 1971) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Minister of Housing and Construction. He was previously a memb ...
, and Education Minister
Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minis ...
said they opposed the cease-fire but that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
forced the decision by not allowing the cabinet to vote. Netanyahu, a few days later, dismissed those claims as "spin" and that the reason why no vote was held was because the cabinet unanimously supported the cease-fire.
Members of the opposition sharply criticized the decision to allow the cease-fire. Ofer Shelah of
Yesh Atid
Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pr ...
called Netanyahu a "a coward in war and a coward in diplomacy" as did
Itzik Shmuli
Yitzhak (Itzik) Shmuli (; born 8 February 1980) is an Israeli politician who served as the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services and as a Member of the Knesset on behalf of the Israeli Labor Party; formerly chairman of National Union of ...
of the
Zionist Union
The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party a ...
, calling for "landing a terrible blow on Hamas…We are not trigger happy but this ealis an accord of weakness that erases Israeli deterrence." But other members of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
welcomed the cease-fire.
Palestinian and Israeli public reactions
Residents of Israeli towns close to the Gaza border met the news of the cease-fire with anger. In
Sderot
Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of .
Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the c ...
hundreds gathered, blocking roads and burning tires, to express their dissatisfaction, while in Gaza it was met with joy as thousands took to the streets celebrating and waving Hamas' green flags. Meanwhile, peace groups held demonstrations in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...
,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, requesting a cease-fire.
The Israeli protests against the cease-fire centered around Sderot continued on Wednesday. On Thursday night about 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv, blocking the highway outside the
Azrieli Center
Azrieli Center ( he, מֶרְכָּז עַזְרִיאֵלִי; ''Merkaz Azrieli'') is a complex of skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the center lies a large shopping mall. The center was originally designed by Israeli-American architect ...
.
Political ramifications
On Wednesday morning, calling for early elections, Israeli defense minister
Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deput ...
resigned from the government, saying that the ceasefire was "surrendering to terror". The resignation was welcomed by Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri who said it "showed a state of weakness that has overcome the Israelis."
Political commentators thought that the resignation would trigger an early election in Israel which are scheduled to be held in November 2019. With Lieberman leaving the government and taking his party's five Knesset members with him, Netanyahu's coalition was left with a thin majority of only 61 out of 120 members. To make matters worse, Bennett requested that he'd be given the defense portfolio, a request that was supported by other high-ranking members of his party who said they would otherwise decide to leave the government. Instead, Netanyahu himself took on Lieberman's defense portfolio and rejected calls to hold early elections as "irresponsible" and Bennett backed down from his demand. The decision to stay in the government was slammed by Lieberman who said that Bennett and Shaked were "stuck to their seats at any cost."
Incidents after the cease-fire
Wednesday 14 November 2018
A Palestinian man was shot and arrested as he was throwing grenades at the security fence in northern Gaza, according to Israeli military sources. Later in the day, also in northern Gaza, Nuaf Ahmad al-Attar, a 23-year-old fisherman was killed by the Israeli navy. Local sources said he was working on the beach when he was shot in the stomach. Israeli military sources said he was approaching the
security fence
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
...
.
Thursday 15 November 2018
Regional Cooperation Minister
Tzachi Hanegbi
Tzachi Hanegbi ( he, צַחִי הַנֶּגְבִּי, born 26 February 1957) is an Israeli politician and national security expert. A member of Likud, Hanegbi previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of R ...
was lambasted for statements he made in an interview with Israeli Army Radio: "Hamas responded o the botched IDF missionin a measured manner and attacked only the Gaza border area. There's a difference between the border area and Tel Aviv, the economic capital of Israel. Hamas's attack was minor, because (rocket) fire at Tel Aviv has different ramifications." Netanyahu immediately distanced himself from the comments and Hanegbi apologized for them.
Friday 16 November 2018
For the 34th Friday straight, nearly 10,000 Palestinians gathered in the afternoon for the weekly
March of Return March of Return may refer to:
* The 2018–2019 Gaza border protests
The 2018–2019 Gaza border protests, by the organiser called the Great March of Return ( ar, مسیرة العودة الكبرى, Masīra al-ʿawda al-kubrā), were a seri ...
demonstrations near the Gaza fence which often leads to clashes with the Israeli side and Palestinian casualties. In the protests, one Palestinian was killed and over 40 more wounded by live fire from Israeli soldiers near the refugee camps
Bureij
Bureij ( ar, البريج) is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the central Gaza Strip east of the Salah al-Din Road in the Deir al-Balah Governorate. The camp's total land area is 529 dunums and in 2005, it had a population of 34,951 with ...
and
Rafah
Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palesti ...
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) is a unit in the Israeli Ministry of Defense that engages in coordinating civilian issues between the Government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, international organizati ...
(COGAT), had posted an Arabic language video on his Facebook page, warning the Palestinians that Israel's "patience has run out" and that the military would show "zero restraint." Organizers of the protests had urged the people to demonstrate "to thank the resistance" but also to stay away from the fence.
Saturday 17 November 2018
According to Palestinian sources, a farmer was shot in the leg by Israeli forces as he was working his land in the eastern part of the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. In northern Gaza, bulldozers entered into
Deir al-Balah
Deir al-Balah or Deir al Balah ( ar, دير البلح, , Monastery of the Date Palm) is a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip and the administrative capital of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. It is located over south of Gaza City. The ci ...
and leveled land.
Monday 19 November 2018
On Monday, Palestinians staged for the 16th time this year a maritime protest using 20 boats while demonstrators gathered on the beach near
Beit Lahia
Beit Lahia or Beit Lahiya ( ar, بيت لاهيا) is a city in the Gaza Strip north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of ...
in northern Gaza. Israeli forces responded with shooting tear gas and live fire at the protesters. 25 people were wounded, among them an
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
cameraman who were shot in his left ankle. According to witness reports, he was standing 600 meters from the security fence and was wearing a protective vest with the word "PRESS" written on it.
Thursday 22 November 2018
On Thursday, the Israeli Security Agency
Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
announced that it had uncovered a Hamas-connected cell in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
which was planning to launch an attack in Israel. According to Shin Bet, the plan was to carry out the attack as soon as possible.
Friday 23 November 2018
For the 35th consecutive Friday, Palestinians protested near the fence demarcating the Gaza-Israeli border. 14 were wounded by Israeli fire in demonstrations that was characterized as quieter than usual.
International response
Condemnations from international parties were mixed, some blamed Hamas for the clashes, others Israel and yet others both sides.
Jason Greenblatt
Jason Dov Greenblatt (born 1967) is an American lawyer. He was the executive vice president and chief legal officer to Donald Trump and The Trump Organization, and his advisor on Israel. In January 2017, he was appointed as an Assistant to the Pres ...
, US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
's envoy to the Middle East put the blame for the recent spur of violence on Hamas, "Gaza terrorists are once again attacking Israel with rockets and mortars. ... Israel must once again use military force to protect its citizens. We stand with Israel in its defense against these attacks. ... This violence is preventing true assistance to the people of Gaza." As did
Austrian Chancellor
The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies.
Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aust ...
Sebastian Kurz
Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is a former Austrian politician who twice served as chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021.
Kurz was born and raised in M ...
who on Tuesday condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza and called for violence to stop immediately.
Czech Republic President
The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive gov ...
Milos Zeman said that Israel reserves the right to an "aggressive response" to the bombardment of its citizens and France's foreign ministry condemned the barrage rockets fired by Hamas "in the strongest terms".
Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson to the Turkish president said "These attacks have once again shown Israel’s unlawful, tyrannical, and occupying stance." Syria slammed Israeli actions.
Other parties urged restraint on both sides. On Monday, the UN Mideast envoy
Nickolay Mladenov
Nikolay Evtimov Mladenov ( bg, Николай Евтимов Младенов; born 5 May 1972) is a Bulgarian politician and diplomat who served as Bulgaria's Minister of Defense from 27 July 2009 to 27 January 2010 and as the minister of forei ...
tweeted that the "#UN is working closely with #Egypt and all concerned to ensure that #Gaza steps back from the brink. The escalation in the past 24hrs is EXTREMELY dangerous and reckless."
EU ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret urged everyone to "step back from the brink."
On Tuesday Kuwait, Bolivia and Abbas requested an urgent meeting with the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
to discuss Gaza. The request was granted and the Security Council announced that it would convene later that day.
Danny Danon
Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971) served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Liku ...
, Israel's envoy to the UN, cautioned that Israel would "not accept a call for 'both sides to act with restraint.'" The council, however, failed to agree on any action.
Investigation
Both Hamas and media conducted investigations to try and understand the purpose of the botched Israeli operation, what its purpose was and how the IDF had infiltrated Gaza.
On 28 November Hamas claimed to have identified over 80% of the Israeli force's moves.
Purpose of the operation
Hamas claimed that the wreckage of the car contained a listening device, and that the purpose of the mission was to replace similar spy equipment on Hamas' private communications network uncovered earlier that year in May. According to the group, the IDF had previously installed listening devices near the border, under the cover of works done by one of the Palestinian telecommunications companies. Reportedly, they had successfully removed those devices.
Photos of the "fugitives"
On 22 November, the al-Qassam brigades released photos on social media of the eight operatives they said were involved in the Gaza raid, urging the public to contact them with information about the whereabouts of the "fugitives" and their collaborators. Pictures of two vehicles, a Volkswagen van and a Mercedes truck, were also published. According to Hamas the truck could still be operating inside Gaza. The photos were reportedly acquired by Hamas when the special forces entered Gaza through the Erez crossing using fake IDs of real Gaza residents with the photos swapped. The residents whose IDs the Israeli special forces had forged were detained but later released when it was found out that they didn't know that their IDs had been used by the Israelis.
The
Israeli Military Censor
The Israeli Military Censor ( he, הצנזורה הצבאית) is a unit in the IDF Directorate of Military Intelligence tasked with carrying out preventive censorship inside the State of Israel regarding the publication of information that mig ...
in a rare public statement in response, urged Israelis not to spread the information as it could help Hamas "decipher and understand" the operation. Israeli media, which almost always complies with instructions from the censor, therefore could only publish pixelated or blurred photos pre-approved by the censor. But in international media the photos were published verbatim. To further contain the spread of the photos, Israel blocked the websites of Hamas' military wing.
According to the Palestinian-friendly blog
The Electronic Intifada
''The Electronic Intifada'' (''EI'') is an online Chicago-based publication covering the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It describes itself as not-for-profit, independent, and providing a Palestinian perspective.
History
''EI'' was founded in ...
, Twitter forced several accounts who had tweeted the photos of the Israeli commandos to delete their tweets.
Information about the operatives
According to the Hamas, the Israeli operatives were part of the
Sayeret Matkal
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262), more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal ( he, סיירת מטכ״ל) is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff (''matkal''). It is the prime special ...
unit, established in 1957 to collect intelligence behind enemy lines.
Palestinian collaborators
According to Hamas, the Israeli forces were helped by Palestinian collaborators. The collaborators both provided the Israelis with two cars and helped them install listening devices. Supposedly, to catch collaborators Hamas setup roadblocks and conducted random searches in the week following the operation.
On 3 December, the military court in Gaza announced that it had sentenced six convicted Palestinian collaborators to death and seven more to life in prison.
In January 2019, Hamas announced that it had arrested a further 45 alleged spies and collaborators linked to the botched raid.
Military base in Gaza
Investigations by Hamas found that the unit involved in the covert operation was part of a longer, broad operation inside Gaza, masquerading as members of the German humanitarian organization Humedica which provides humanitarian and medical aid for Palestinians in Gaza. These forces were operating from a house and yard that they had rented from an unknowing Palestinian police officer.
This way, they gained access to sensitive locations such as rocket launching sites, tunnel entrances and senior Hamas members homes.
IDF investigation
In the first half of 2019, the IDF conducted its own investigation of the botched raid in Gaza. The investigation revealed that the officer killed in the raid, still only identified as Lt. Col. M, was killed by friendly fire.
According to the investigation, the operatives were equipped with false documents which were found to be suspicious by the Hamas militias. After having been interrogated for 45 minutes a commander of the operative group, identified only as Lt. Col. A shot and killed one of the interrogators, ostensibly Nour Baraka.
The report lauded Lt. Col. A for his actions, despite also identifying him as the one who shot and killed Kheireddine He was also considered for a medal of honor.
Overall, the report deemed the raid to have been a failure.
Al Jazeera documentary
In December 2019, Al Jazeera's news program Ma Khafia Aazam sent a one-hour documentary in Arabic about the botched Israeli raid and the subsequent flareup in violence.
Economic and social impact
The rocket attacks from Gaza had some effect on businesses and restaurants in southern Israel. The finance minister announced compensation to businesses for losses and the
Israel Tax Authority
The Israel Tax Authority ( he, רשות המסים בישראל, Rashut HaMisim B'Israel) is the taxation authority in Israel. It is an agency of the Ministry of Finance.
The Authority was established on 1 September 2004, following a decision b ...
to parents that missed work because they had to stay at home with their children due to the school closure that the
Home Front Command
The Home Front Command ( he, פיקוד העורף, ''Pikud HaOref'') is an Israel Defense Forces regional command, created in February 1992 in response to the lessons of the Gulf War,Gal Berger tweeted that "the Israeli media ran with the Hamas version of events. And isn’t to blame for that" and that the IDF waited too long with countering the Gazan narrative "In 2018, they don’t have the luxury of waiting 10 hours before countering the claims being spread by the other side, and here as well."
In an apparent jab at the
Israeli Military Censor
The Israeli Military Censor ( he, הצנזורה הצבאית) is a unit in the IDF Directorate of Military Intelligence tasked with carrying out preventive censorship inside the State of Israel regarding the publication of information that mig ...
, Ramallah-based journalist Marian Houk tweeted that "It's 2018 -- and when you censor something, you're supposed to know that you can't censor; you lose control of the story and information. The details get out anyway (sometimes with extra disinformation)..."
Another point of contention was that the Israeli military censor prohibited the press from publishing details about the slain soldier. He was only identified by his rank and first initial, "Lt. Col. M." But on social media, pictures of him and his family had already begun to spread. Israeli MKs
Shelly Yachimovich
Shelly Rachel Yachimovich ( he, שלי רחל יחימוביץ׳, born 28 March 1960) is an Israeli politician, who served three terms as the official Leader of the Opposition, a member of the Knesset, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defe ...
and
Ksenia Svetlova
Ksenia Svetlova ( he, קסניה סבטלובה; russian: Ксения Светлова, born Moscow 28 July 1977) is an Israeli politician, journalist, associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and policy fellow at the Israeli I ...
published details identifying the soldier on their Facebook pages, defying the censor's orders. Judah Ari Gross of ''The Times of Israel'', hours after the botched operation, tweeted "I know the officer's identity but cannot publish the information as it is subject to a military censor (because Israel still has one in 2018)."
Nachman Shai
Nachman Shai ( he, נחמן שי; born Nachman Shaykevich on 28 November 1946) is an Israeli journalist and politician serving as Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs. He previously served as a member of the Knesset and its Deputy Speaker, as ...
, journalist and MK of the
Zionist Union
The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party a ...
, claimed that "the social media networks defeated the military censor" further urging the IDF to adapt to the new media landscape.
Details of the operation remain under a strict gag order by the Israeli military censor and all articles the Israeli media writes about it must be pre-approved.
See also
*
2018 Gaza border protests
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the shor ...
*
Gaza–Israel clashes (May 2019) Gaza–Israel clashes may refer to:
* March 2010 Israel–Gaza clashes
* March 2012 Gaza–Israel clashes
* Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2018)
* Gaza–Israel clashes (May 2019)
* Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2019)
* 2022 Gaza–Israel cla ...
List of violent incidents in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, 2018
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been des ...
Gaza
Gaza may refer to:
Places Palestine
* Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip
** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon
* Ghazzeh, a village in ...
Gaza
Gaza may refer to:
Places Palestine
* Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip
** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon
* Ghazzeh, a village in ...
Gaza
Gaza may refer to:
Places Palestine
* Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip
** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon
* Ghazzeh, a village in ...