August 27, 2014

Yesterday, the government of Israel and leaders from the Palestinian group Hamas accepted an interim peace agreement to end a seven-week war in the Gaza Strip. The agreement was brokered by Egypt.

The current Israeli-Hamas hostilities began on July 8, several days after a Palestinian boy was murdered in an apparent reprisal for the murder of three Israeli teenage boys, whose bodies were found in the West Bank on June 30. Initially, Hamas claimed it was not responsible for the kidnapping of the Israeli teenagers, but on August 22, a high-level Hamas leader stated at a conference in Turkey that Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, did, in fact, carry out the kidnappings. The Israeli crackdown on Hamas members in the West Bank after the teenagers’ bodies were found began a spiral of escalating violence, as Hamas responded by launching rockets into Israel. In turn, Israel bombarded Gaza by air and then launched a ground invasion on July 15.

More than 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since July 8, and some 20,000 homes have been destroyed. On the Israeli side, 70 people have been killed in the conflict, 6 of them civilians.

Still, many experts believed that the status quo before the recent conflict could not continue. Political changes in Egypt, particularly the end of the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood there, have led to changes for Gaza. Hamas was closely allied with the Brotherhood. In 2013, after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, the new Egyptian government began closing off the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. By some reports, nearly 800 tunnels—used to bring fuel, food, and building materials into Gaza—have been closed by Egypt. In addition to losing goods, Hamas lost revenue it had been raising by taxing the smuggled products. By the end of 2013, Hamas was finding it increasingly difficult to pay salaries to its civil servants in Gaza.

Israel and Egypt control the borders of the Gaza Strip. Both nations have been restricting the flow of goods into Gaza. (World Book map)

In the cease-fire, both parties agreed to end military action. Israel also agreed to open more border crossings to aid the flow of goods into Gaza, and Egypt agreed to reopen a border crossing that had been closed since 2013.

Additional World Book articles:

• Egypt (2013—a Back in Time article)
• Israel (2010—a Back in Time article)
• Middle East (2013—a Back in Time article)

July 21, 2014

The Israeli military has confirmed that 4 Israeli soldiers and 10 Palestinian militants were killed inside Israel this morning, after gunmen managed to enter Israeli territory through hidden tunnels. Earlier in the day, 5 Palestinians were killed and 70 others injured when Israeli missiles struck a hospital in Gaza. According to Palestinian physicians, the missiles hit the hospital’s reception, intensive care unit, and operating rooms. Air strikes also killed more than 30 members of two Palestinian families today.

Yesterday was the deadliest of the conflict so far: more than 100 Palestinians were killed, and 13 Israeli soldiers lost their lives in combat in Gaza. Israel sent ground troops into Gaza on July 17 after days of heavy air barrages failed to halt Hamas rocket fire. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the target of the ground operation are Hamas’s network of tunnels, which Palestinian militants use to cross into Israel and carry out attacks, as they did today.

Palestinian supporters of Hamas, a radical Islamic organization and political party, rally in Gaza City. Hamas militants and Israel are currently engaged in bitter fighting that has left hundreds dead. (© Mohammed Abed, AFP/Getty Images)

The current Israeli-Hamas hostilities began when a Palestinian boy was murdered on July 2 in an apparent reprisal for the murder of three Israeli teenage boys, whose bodies were found in the West Bank on June 30. An autopsy revealed that the Palestinian boy, Mohammad Abu Khieder, was burned alive, setting off a public outcry in both the West Bank and Gaza as well as in Israel.

The Palestinian death toll from the two-week conflict now exceeds 500, the majority of them civilians. Israel has lost 25 soldiers and 1 civilian.

Additional World Book article:

• Middle East 2007 (a Back in Time article)

July 10, 2014

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip left at least 20 people dead today, bringing the overall death toll to 80 since Israel launched its operation earlier this week. The operation was in response to Palestinian rocket attacks. Hamas militants in Gaza have fired some 350 rockets into Israel, most of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. Palestinian civilians in Gaza have no way to escape the barrage because of Egyptian and Israeli blockades.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military announced today that 20,000 reservists have been called up, and Israeli President Shimon Peres told a CNN correspondent that a ground offensive might happen “quite soon.”

In New York City, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon characterized the situation as “on a knife-edge” and warned of the dangers of escalation, saying the region cannot afford another full-blown war: “The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get out of control.” Ban has called the UN Security Council into an emergency session.

Tensions between Israel and Hamas began late last month when three Israeli teenagers were found murdered. Israel blamed Hamas, and a Palestinian teenager was subsequently murdered in a suspected revenge attack.

Additional World Book article:

• Middle East 2007 (a Back in Time article)

November 19, 2012

At least 95 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed in six days of attack and counterattack between Israel and Gaza. The latest casualty is a Hamas military commander, who was killed today in a strike on a building housing media workers. According to Israeli Defense Forces, air strikes have been carried out on some 80 strategic sites in Gaza in the last 12 hours, bringing the total to 1,350 strikes on targeted sites since the violence began on November 14.

Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, the Islamist organization that controls Gaza, has issued a statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a cease-fire. But Merhaal contended that it is up to Israel to stop the offensive, which he claims Israel started. The Netanyahu government denies asking for a cease-fire and denies starting the violence. There is little doubt that the conflict was ignited from Gaza. Hamas and various other terrorist groups have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel just this year before Israel counter attacked.

Palestinian Hamas supporters celebrate in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, a radical Islamic organization and political party, wins a majority of seats in the 2006 Palestinian Authority legislative elections. Many of the supporters wear green, the color of Hamas and the traditional color of Islam. (© Mohammed Abed, AFP/Getty Images)

Israel has some 30,000 troops massed at the border. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has declared that there will be “serious repercussions” if Israel were to launch a ground invasion into Gaza. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot.

Additional World Book articles:

• Egypt 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• A Special Day in Israel (a special report)

Hamas, the governing party of the Palestinian government in Gaza, freed an Israeli soldier who has been held captive in Gaza for five years. In an Israeli-Palestinian swap, Gilad Shalit was freed in exchange for 477 Palestinians held by Israel. Another 550 jailed Palestinians are to be freed in November. Many of these Palestinian prisoners have been convicted of murder and of planning terrorist attacks.

Sergeant Shalit was a 19-year-old tank crewman when he was seized in 2006 by Hamas militants who had tunneled into Israel. His kidnapping and the murder of two other Israeli soldiers triggered Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that left 114 Palestinians dead, according to a United Nations (UN) estimate. All attempts to obtain the release of the captured Israeli soldier failed because Hamas demanded in exchange the release of Palestinian prisoners, which the Israeli government had refused until now.

Additional World Book articles