Israel-Palestine conflict: The big wars fought over 15 years

The war is raging. The Israel and Palestine conflict entered Day 2 after a surprise attack by Hamas. Soon after, Israel announced “Operation Iron Swords” against the Palestinian militants, declaring a “state of war”. So far, at least 350 people have died and thousands have been injured in Israel. The death toll in Gaza has also surpassed 300. The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country is “embarking on a long and difficult war”. He warned Gazans to “get out of there (Gaza Strip) now”, vowing to reduce Hamas hideouts to rubble. Also read: How Hamas breached Israel’s sophisticated security, hoodwinked its intelligence Hamas has taken at least 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage. And the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say their focus is taking control of the Gaza Strip. As the “war” continues to escalate, we take a look at the big four conflicts between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, since Israeli forces and settlers withdrew from the coastal territory in 2005. [caption id=“attachment_13219332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A woman reacts at the site where a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip landed in Tel Aviv, Israel on Friday. Reuters[/caption] Operation Cast Lead (2008) On 27 December 2008, Israel launched a campaign of air strikes against militants in Gaza, dubbed Operation Cast Lead, to stop Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. It also deployed ground forces. The flare-up continued for 22 days. Palestinian armed groups fired 571 rockets and 205 mortar shells which landed in Israeli terrority. The ‘Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, claimed responsibility for most of the rockets launched into Israel. The other militant groups involved included the armed wings of Fatah of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. By the time a ceasefire was announced on 18 January, 1,400 Palestinians, many of them civilians, were killed. Extensive damage was caused to Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, according to the BBC. Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Thirteen Israelis died during the conflict including four soldiers in a “friendly fire” incident. [caption id=“attachment_13219342” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] On 27 December 2008, the IDF launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Image courtesy: IDF[/caption] Operation Pillar of Defence (2012) On 14 November 2012, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defence to stop rocket fire and cripple Hanas’ capability to launch attacks. Israel carried out a massive missile strike that killed its top Hamas commander Ahmed Jaabari. Gaza militants fire more than 1,000 rockets into Israel, hundreds of which are intercepted by Israel’s sophisticated “Iron Dome” missile defence system , reports AFP. Eight days on, Egypt brokered a ceasefire which included a promise from both sides to stop attacks. In this conflict, 177 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed during this skirmish.

Operation Protective Edge (2014) On 8 July 2014, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge. The goal was similar – to stop Palestinian rocket fire and destroy tunnels used by militants to infiltrate Israel. Israeli forces pounded the Gaza Strip from air and sea. The seven-week offensive between 8 July and 27 August killed more than 2000 Palestinians and 74 Israelis, including 68 soldiers. According to the United Nations, at least 2,104 Palestinians died, including 1,462 civilians, of whom 495 were children and 253 women. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that they had killed 1,000 “terrorists” during the assault on Gaza. During the conflict, Hamas fired at least 4,591 rockets towards Israel between 8 July and 31 August 2014. Of these more than 735 were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile systems, claimed IDF. It said that its forces targeted at least 5,226 targets in Gaza. On 26 August 2014, 50 days after the operation was launched, Israel and Palestinian factions agreed an open-ended ceasefire brokered by Egypt, reports BBC. [caption id=“attachment_13219352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Israelis are seen in a bomb shelter in the southern city of Ashkelon on 31 July 2014. The writings on the wall in Hebrew spell out the names of families and the names of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip “Operation Protective Edge, Operation Pillar of Defence, Operation Cast Lead”. Reuters[/caption] The 11-day war (2021) On 10 May 2021, fighting erupted between Israel and Palestine when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem. The militant group had launched the rockets after clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem left hundreds of Palestinians injured, reports AFP. Israel responded with an 11-day campaign of air and artillery strikes, which killed at least 248 people in Gaza, including 66 children. Thirteen died on the Israeli side, including one soldier. Hamas and other militant groups fired over 4,000 rockets into Israel throughout the fighting, launching the projectiles from civilian areas at Israeli cities. Dozens of projectiles flew as far north as Tel Aviv, the country’s bustling commercial and cultural capital. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire on 21 May 2021, but the fighting ended inconclusively. [caption id=“attachment_13219372” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A child stands amid rubble after his house was damaged following an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip in May 2021. File photo/AP[/caption] Clashes with Islamic Jihad (2023) In May 2023, Islamic Jihad , Gaza’s second-largest militant group after Hamas, launched rockets against Israel in response to the death of a prominent hunger-striking Islamic Jihad leader in an Israeli prison. In a surprise attack, a week later, Israeli warplanes killed three top Islamic Jihad commanders along with the wives of two of them and some of their children as they slept in their homes, reports The Associated Press. [caption id=“attachment_13219382” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinian rescue workers walk amid rubble after Islamic Jihad commander Ahmed Abu Daqqa was killed in an Israeli strike, in the southern Gaza Strip on 11 May 2023. Reuters[/caption] Five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad left 33 dead in Gaza and two in Israel, a Palestinian labourer from Gaza and an elderly Israeli. In all, Israeli strikes killed at least six top figures from Islamic Jihad, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. The tensions ended after a ceasefire was negotiated by Egypt. With inputs from agencies