Operation Protective Edge
Week 7 - 20 August - 27 August 2014
Israel said it hit more than 90 targets in the Palestinian enclave on 20 August 2014, one of which struck the house of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Hamas said he was still alive, but the raid killed his 27-year-old wife and seven-month-old child [conflicting reports as to whether the child was a son or a daughter]. Deif, the shadowy leader of Hamas's armed wing in Gaza, appeared to have narrowly survived a fifth attempt to assassinate him, allowing the mastermind of the six-week war on Israel to pursue the conflict from his network of tunnels.
Hamas said that Israel had opened a "gateway to hell," and warned of further Hamas rocket attacks on Israel's strategic interests, including Ben Gurion airport east of Tel Aviv. Israel said Hamas has fired more than 130 rockets across the border since Tuesday's cease-fire collapsed and fighting resumed. It said 94 missiles had hit southern and central Israel and that its Iron Dome missile-defense system had shot down another 24. None of the rocket attacks caused any injuries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel's military campaign in Gaza may be an extended operation and he accused the territory's Hamas rulers of using "savagery" against civilians just like Islamic State militants in Iraq. At a news conference in Tel Aviv, the Israeli premier said the Gaza war launched on July 8 "will be a continued campaign" aimed at restoring "calm and safety" to Israeli citizens.
Air bombardments and rocket fire between Israel and Gaza intensified 21 August 2014 after Israeli air strikes killed three senior Hamas commanders overnight. The Israeli military said its forces pounded rocket installations in the Gaza Strip as dozens of rockets landed in southern Israel. Israel said more than 200 Hamas rockets had been fired at Israel and its forces had targeted more than 100 rocket installations in Gaza since a temporary cease-fire collapsed. Hamas identified those killed as Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the three "were responsible for deadly attacks" against Israel, including the killing of Israeli soldiers and the 2006 kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit. Yaalon called the assassination of the three commanders "a very important intelligence and operational achievement by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service" and that Israel would continue to target other Hamas leaders.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) received the government’s permission to call up 10,000 reservists for military operation in the Gaza Strip. The army received the political leadership’s permission to call up 10,000 reservists in addition to the 20,000-25,000 who were mobilized earlier and remain in service. The rest of some 80,000 soldiers called up previoulsy returned home after Israel finished its Gaza operation to demolish Hamas tunnels.
Hamas gunmen on 22 August 2014 executed at least 18 Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israeli security services, according to Al Quds radio station. In the morning, 11 people were shot dead in the park near Al Azhar University in Gaza City. Seven other were killed after afternoon prayer outside Al Omri mosque located in the center of the city.
Israel again targeted Hamas leadership 24 August 2014, killing a key financial official it said was responsible for "terror fund transactions." The Israeli military said an airstrike on a car killed Mohammed al-Ghoul in Gaza City, just days after another attack killed three Hamas commanders. Israel described Ghoul as "an important Hamas actor" who helped transfer money to build terror infrastructure in Gaza, including tunnels used by Hamas militants to sneak into the Jewish state for attacks. Witnesses said U.S. dollars were found in his wrecked car. Ghoul was among at least 12 Palestinians killed as Israel launched 27 strikes Sunday on the Hamas-run enclave along the Mediterranean. The Israeli military said Hamas fired 50 rockets into Israel, although no deaths were reported.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators announced August 26, 2014 they had agreed to an open-ended cease-fire to halt seven weeks of deadly combat in Gaza. The truce took effect at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), though fighting continued up to that point. Nearly two months of Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas rocket fire had killed at least 2,133 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including close to 500 children, Palestinian health officials and the United Nations reported. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and four civilians had been killed.
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