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Operation Protective Edge
Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict
Date 8 July 2014 – Ongoing Location Gaza Strip  Israel Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Israel	Gaza Strip Hamas PIJ PRC PFLP DFLP al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon Defense Minister Benny Gantz Chief of General Staff Amir Eshel Air Force Commander Sami Turgeman Southern Commander Yoram Cohen Chief of Shin Bet	Ismail Haniyeh Mohammed Deif Head of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Ramadan Shalah Leader of PIJ
Units involved
Israel Defense Forces Shin Bet	Military wing of Hamas
Strength
Military equipment of Israel; Israeli Southern Command and up to 40,000 reservists	Arsenal equaling more than 10,000 rockets
Casualties and losses
None	43

Operation Protective Edge (Template:Lang-he-n, Mivtza' Tzuk Eitan, lit. Operation Solid Cliff) is an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, launched on 8 July 2014. The IDF ended Operation Brother's Keeper at the onset of Operation Protective Edge. Operation Brother's Keeper had been initiated following the abduction and murder of three Israeli boys, for which Israel blamed Hamas, since two suspects believed to have kidnapped the boys were members of Hamas; a senior Palestinian intelligence official said off the record that the disappearance of the two suspects immediately after the kidnapping constituted: "clear evidence they have links with the abduction". Hamas denied knowledge of the kidnapping and no evident link tying Hamas to it was shared with the public, although Hamas have endorsed the kidnapping as a means of securing an exchange of prisoners. Several hundred Hamas members in the West Bank were arrested in a subsequent crackdown, and Hamas-affiliated institutions, including charities, were shut down.

As tension mounted, complicated by the discovery of the boys' murders, the suspected retaliatory kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, riots and protests by Israelis and Palestinians, exchanges of Gaza-based rocket fire into Israel and Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip flared, until a truce was brokered on 4 July, as Hamas declared a willingness to stop the rockets if Israel desisted from airstrikes.

However, heavy Hamas rocket fire continued and by Tuesday 8 July, Palestinian militants in Gaza had fired over 140 rockets in 24 hours into Israel, as far north as Hadera north of Tel Aviv. Israel's anti-ballistic defense system, Iron Dome, intercepted about 30 of them. Israel also thwarted an infiltration from the sea. Israel commenced the major military response on Tuesday morning. The IDF Spokesman's stated in a tweet at the beginning of the operation that "IDF has commenced Operation Protective Edge in Gaza against Hamas, in order to stop the terror Israel's citizens face on a daily basis".

A spokesman for Palestine's presidency said the operation was 'a declaration of war on Palestinians', and, protesting what he called the massacre of innocents, added that 'Palestinians have the right to defend themselves by all legitimate means'.

Background

During the search for the 3 missing boys during Operation Brother's Keeper, the IDF arrested many of the people who had been released during the exchange for Gilad Shalit. Hamas vowed it will not stop its rocket fire until the release of those held prisoners. Hamas, which had been credited by Israel as reining in militant rocket fire from the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire agreement with Israel was drawn up in November 2012 at the conclusion of Operation Pillar of Defense, took direct responsibility for a barrage of rockets fired into Israel on 8 July 2014. Hamas and other Palestinian organizations fired more than 450 rockets at Israel since the beginning of 2014, by the time Operation Protective Edge began.

Operation timeline

8 July

In preparations for a potential escalation in fighting, the IDF called up 1,500 reserves on Monday. These reserves were positioned around southern Israel and were working on training in case of escalation. The IDF continued calling up additional reserves on Tuesday stating plans to call up 40,000 or more.

Due to the consistent rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, the Israeli government canceled all programs within 40 km (24 miles) of Gaza, and requested all people stay at home or near shelter. All summer camps were closed and universities canceled their final exams. Additionally, all gatherings of 300 or more were banned.

Early morning on Tuesday, Israel struck at least 50 targets in Gaza, to which Hamas stated injured 17 people. This was followed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructing the IDF to "take their gloves off" against Hamas and instructed them to take any means necessary to restore peace to Israeli citizens. As the afternoon progressed, the IDF continued their targeted retaliation, including the home of senior Hamas member Abdul Rahman Juda, who was using his home as a control and command center. Additionally, the IDF targeted and killed Muhammad Sa'aban a commander of Hamas's naval commando unit. IDF also targeted the homes of Hamas members Eiad Sakik, Abdullah Hshash, Samer Abu Daka, and Hassan Abdullah. The Palestinians have confirmed that all homes were called by the IDF prior to bombing, asking residence to please leave.

Late afternoon, Hamas announced that all targets within Israel are now in range. Tel Aviv announced in response they will be opening their public bomb shelters, amid rising fear that Hamas will increase its range of missiles from 40 km to 80 km. Later Rishon Letzion announced that they as well were opening their bomb shelters. A few hours later, Jerusalem announced its public bomb shelters were open as well.

Early evening, the Iron Dome Defense system shot down a rocket over Tel Aviv. Shortly afterward, four armed Palestinians attempted to cross into Israel via the beach at Kibbutz Zikim. Gunfire ensued with the IDF resulting in the death of both Palestinians. A short while later, a parachute was found abandoned near Yad Mordechai and a Gaza tunnel exploded near Kerem Shalom.

Hamas, in the evening, held a press conference to express their demands to stop their offense on Israel. Hamas demanded that Israel halt what it termed aggression in Jerusalem; the West Bank; and the Gaza Strip, re-release of the prisoners of the Shalit deal, and the commitment to all the terms of the Operation Pillar of Defense cease-fire. For the first time in recent weeks, Hamas openly claimed responsibility for rocket fire. In addition, the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for 60 rockets, the Popular Resistance Committees asserted they had fired 17, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for 3.

Late in the evening, a second rocket was shot down over Tel Aviv Following this air sirens went off in Binyamina and Hamas claimed a rocket was fired at Haifa. This was all followed by several rockets being fired at Jerusalem and 2 landing just outside of Jerusalem Just before midnight, a rocket hit Hadera, 28 miles (45 km) north of Tel Aviv, making it the longest range rocket ever shot into Israel. Upon investigation of the shrapnel Israel believes this was a Syrian made M302 Rocket.

By the end of the first day, IAF and navy had struck 435 targets in Gaza, resulting in the death of at least 24 Palestinian terrorists and over 100 Palestinian terrorists were injured. Also during the first day 225 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel and 40 of out of 225 were intercepted. Property damage in Israel totaled approximately 10 million NIS, from 35 vehicles, 52 buildings, 12 agriculture-related damages reported.

9 July

Abbas, just after midnight, announced he would convene an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership to discuss the escalation, in addition to contacting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to attempt to broker a cease fire.

Early Wednesday morning, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv announced that due to rocket fire over Tel Aviv they would be operating at minimal staff until further notice.

Over night, the IDF confirmed hitting 160 targets in Gaza, bringing the total to 435 sites that Israel has struck, while from Gaza 235 rockets have been fired. In the morning hours of Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that 2 additional rockets were shot down over Tel Aviv .

In the afternoon, the Iron Dome shot down a rocket over Zichron Yaakov, 120km (75 miles) from the Gaza border. This was immediately followed by 2 rockets falling just shy of Haifa, landing in the Mount Carmel region. Hamas has taken credit for these rockets. Hamas also announced that they had been hit 500 times in the past 2 days. The IDF announced that they had struck 129 targets in Gaza since the morning, made up of 31 terror tunnels, 60 rocket launching sites, 27 terror sites, and 11 activity sites.

In the early evening, two rockets landed in an open field in Caesarea that Israel believes was fired at Haifa. Additionally, Israel struck a house in Gaza which results in the mother and her 2 children being killed. Palestinians also reported that the Islamic Jihad Communications Commander was killed in IAF strike on his house. Following the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, the death toll rises to 43, causing Abbas to call the current operation an Israeli genocide. Within the first 36 hours of Operation Protective Edge, Israel surpassed the number of targets they had hit in the full 8 days of Operation Pillar of Defense

Reactions

•  UN – Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemns the rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel and calls on both sides of the conflict to halt their aggression.

•  European Union – The European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, says the EU would like to “express its unreserved solidarity with citizens of Israel.” Continuing “indiscriminate shooting of rockets against civilians can never be a legitimate response, no matter what your grievances.”

•  Arab League – AL's representatives condemned the Israeli air raids on Gaza and asked the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the current situation.

•  Canada – Foreign Minister John Baird condemned rocket attacks against Israel by Hamas. Baird added that the attacks “prove that Hamas continues to target innocent civilians,” and that "Canada believes that Israel has every right to defend itself from such belligerent acts of terrorism.”

•  USA – President Obama, continuing his requests since the start of Operation Brother's Keeper, requested that both sides use restraint. He reiterated his previous sentiments that the only way to achieve long lasting peace is not through fighting but through a common understanding and agreement. White House spokesman Josh Earnest stated "No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians and we support Israel's right to defend itself against these vicious attacks."

•  France – The French Foreign Ministry called Israel and Palestinians to show restraint.

•  Turkey – The Turkish foreign ministry called for Israel to halt all attacks on Gaza and to use both restraint and common sense. Additionally, they requested the UN to intervene and stop the Israeli attacks. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu added that Neutrality in the case of Palestine is support of the Israeli occupation.

•  Egypt – On a statement published on 9 July by the official Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs's Facebook page, Egypt expressed its "deep concern" about the latest situation in Gaza Strip and called for self-restraint and stopping the mutual violence. Egypt is reportedly having contacts with Hamas attempting to mediate the truce. The Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry made a remarks following a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart where he said it is important to address the crisis in a manner that protects the Palestinians and their interests.

•  Iran – Foreign ministry of Iran condemned Israel's operation as a "human catastrophe" and requested West to prevent the operation on Gaza.

•  Jordan – Jordanian spokesperson described the operation as "aggressive" and urged Israel to stop.

•  Pakistan – On July 9, 2014, Pakistan expressed deep concern and condemned the escalation of violence and loss of lives in Gaza brought forth by Israeli aggression.

Social media

In the 8 days leading up to Operation Protective Edge, the hashtag #GazaUnderAttack was used over 375,000 times. Often the hashtag was used on tweets using photos to show how the people are suffering due to the attacks by Israel. A BBC study showed however that these photos have often had nothing to do with the current battles between Gaza and Israel. Some photos were as old as 2009, and others were from Syria and Iraq.

A false report circulated on Social Media and via SMS that a “Rocket from Gaza hit petrochemical plant in Haifa, huge fire, possible chemical leak, advised to evacuate Haifa.” These reports cited Haaretz as their source, however these reports turned out to be false, and no such incident actually occurred, and Haaretz denies having issues such warnings.

References

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External links

• Blog of the Israel Defense Forces
• Operation Protective Edge at Arutz Sheva
• Gaza Blog Live at Al Jazeera English
• Operation Protective Edge at The Jerusalem Post
• Rockets attacks on Israel, IDF's Flickr

• Current events from July 2014
• 2014 in Israel
• 2014 in the Gaza Strip
• Aerial operations and battles involving Israel
• Conflicts in 2014
• Israel–Gaza conflict