The 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip was a military operation carried out in the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces starting on 14 November 2012, following rocket attacks on Israeli territory launched from Gaza during the preceding days.
Timeline
10 November
According to the Israeli government, the round of escalation that led to the operation began on November 10 when an anti-tank missile from Gaza struck an IDF jeep near the Karni crossing wounding four soldiers, two seriously.Israeli Ministry of Foreign AffairsMFA Hamas War Against Israel Four Palestinian teenagers, aged 16 to 18, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in a sports stadium while they played soccer.
11 November
Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israel continued and increased the following day, a total of 64 rockets hits were identified on November 11. Rockets with longer ranges were fired and the damage incurred was greater, a number of Israeli civilians were wounded by the rocket fire, several were treated for shock and there was extensive property damage.
12 November
21 rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza.
13 November
As of November 13, 121 rockets were fired into Israeli territory, as well as a number of mortar shells.
14 November (Start of Operation Pillar of Defense)
At approximately 16:00 (Israel time), the Israeli Air Force killed Ahmed Jabari, chief of Hamas's military wing, who was wanted by Israel for masterminding a string of deadly attacks and 'decade-long terrorist activities'.Hamas Military Chief Killed Osama Hamdan, a Hamas representative in Lebanon, claimed that the airstrike also killed Jabari's son. Hamdan's claim was quickly shown to be false.Hamas spokesman: We will respond, Al Jazeera 14 November 2012 The IDF released a video of this airstrike. The IDF also struck against 20 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, including underground rocket launchers and an ammunition warehouse stocking Iranian-made, long-range Fajr-5 missiles. The IDF said that many of the targeted weapon stashes were in residential areas and evidenced "the pattern of Hamas to use the population in Gaza as human shields." Israel claims to have destroyed most of this long-range capability. An IDF spokesman said that the goal of the operation is to "bring back quiet to southern Israel, and... to strike at terror organizations." At the same time, Israeli spokespersons said that it would try "to avoid civilian casualties."
10 people including 2 children were killed in Israeli strikes. An 11-month-old Omar Misharawi, son of Jihad Misharawi, a BBC Arabic video editor residing in Gaza, was killed when a Palestinian rocket launched towards Israel fell short and exploded back into Gaza.
Gazan militants continued to fire rockets towards the Israeli cities of Beersheba, Ashdod, Ofakim and the Shaar Hanegev and Eshkol Regional Council. The Iron Dome missile defense system made 130 interceptions. About 55 rockets were launched on the evening of 14 November, including a Grad rocket fired in the direction of the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona. On the night of 14 November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli cabinet had authorized a partial call-up of reservists in case they were needed for a large ground-based operation.
The Egyptian military confirmed that four rockets were fired from Sinai toward Israel by militant groups in an area with a history in the prior eighteen months of cross-border shootings and rocket launches.
The United Nations confirmed that Marwan Abu El Qumsan, a teacher for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was killed in his car near the scene of an airstrike. His brother, who was also with him, was severely injured.
15 November
Israel continued its offensive through the night, carrying out over 100 strikes on targets in Gaza. An IDF spokesperson stated that seven militants had been killed in the overnight attacks.
On 15 November, 13 Israelis were treated for injuries suffered during the morning. Three Israelis, two men and a woman, were killed when a rocket struck a four-story building in Kiryat Malakhi. Magen David Adom paramedics treated five wounded people at the scene, including an 11-month-old child who was critically injured. A further five missiles were fired at the town as emergency services attempted to rescue those trapped inside the debris. A residence in Ashdod and a school in Ofakim were struck by rockets. During the morning the Israeli air force continued flying sorties to both to identify and destroy targets in the Gaza strip. The attacks included an airstrike on Khan Younis, in the Southern Gaza Strip, that led to the injury of four people including a woman and two children, according to Palestinian sources.
Israel put all of its communities with less than 15 seconds of warning from mortar/rocket attack in lockdown and closed all schools in less than 60-second warning radius. The Israeli air force distributed leaflets over Gaza telling residents to keep a distance away from Hamas facilities and their forces.
Two Fajr rockets landed in the suburbs of Tel Aviv metropolis. No injuries were reported. This was the first time that Gush Dan has been targeted by missiles since the Persian Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein launched a number of Scud missiles at Israel. On the night of 15 November, the Israeli Air Force launched a series of 70 bombing runs to destroy what it said were underground medium-range rocket launchers. Palestinian sources said that 15 people were killed in Gaza as a result of the IAF strikes, including five militants and two children during the airstrikes.
16 November
The prime minister of Egypt, Hisham Qandil, paid a visit to the Gaza Strip on 16 November. His official purpose of the visit was to "show solidarity with the Palestinian people." He arranged for a 3-hour ceasefire to accommodate his visit. About 50 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip during this window hitting sites in southern Israel. Hamas argued that the IDF bombed a Hamas commander's house in Gaza during the ceasefire, something the IDF strongly denied, and accused Hamas of violating the cease fire.
Mohammed Sadallah, a four-year-old Gazan boy, was killed after an explosion in Annazla. Initially it was stated by Hamas to have been caused by an Israeli bomb. However, experts from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights examined the site and opined the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket. They boy's mother acknowledged that either case could be possible. According to the New York Times, "the damage was nowhere near severe enough to have come from an Israeli F-16, raising the possibility that an errant missile fired by Palestinian militants was responsible for the deaths."Mistaken Lull, Simple Errand, Death in Gaza, New York Times 16 November 2012 Israel denied that it carried out any attacks in the area at the time.Gaza's children face grave risks in crowded urban battle zone, AP 16 November 2012 The Associated Press reported that "no one appeared to have witnessed the strike" and that "local security officials quickly took what remained of the projectile, making it impossible to verify who fired it." The Egyptian prime minister was filmed lifting the body saying "the boy, the martyr...is something that we cannot keep silent about," before promising to defend the Palestinian people.
Through the evening of 16 November, around 500 rockets were fired from Gaza. Iron Dome intercepted 184 of these. Israel at this point had bombed about 500 targets in Gaza. Palestinian militants fired a rocket aimed at Gush Etzion setting off air raid sirens in nearby Jerusalem. A rocket struck a home in Ashdod wounding five Israeli civilians.
Also that evening, the Israeli cabinet approved expanding the cap on reservist call-ups from 30,000 to 75,000. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the government was not considering an overthrow of the Hamas-led government in Gaza.
17 November
The IDF broadened its targets in the offensive from military targets to include Hamas government sites, with an Israeli air strike destroying the office building of the Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza. 30 people were rescued from the rubble of the building.Tunisia foreign minister slams Israel on Gaza visit , AFP
The World Health Organization reported that "Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties from Israel's bombings and face critical shortages of drugs and medical supplies." According to the Health Ministry officials in Gaza "382 people have been injured – 245 adults and 137 children." Israel's Defense Ministry announced it will open the Kerem Shalom border crossing to allow civilian supplies to reach Gaza.
Israel's Interior Minister Eli Yishai explained the offensive as aiming to "send Gaza back to the Middle Ages" by destroying infrastructure, including roads and wells.
Over 70 rockets were launched at Southern Israel. According to Magen David Adom, Palestinian rocket attacks injured sixteen Israelis and twenty Israelis were treated for shock. Two Fajr-5 missiles aimed at Tel Aviv were intercepted by the Iron Dome. Two rockets also landed outside Jerusalem. A home in Ashdod was directly hit, wounding five Israeli civilians. Two rockets were fired at Rishon Lezion and houses were damaged in Eshkol and Be'er Tuviya by missiles; one rocket fell near a Palestinian village in the West Bank damaging properties.
According to CNN, the Israeli government is moving tanks and soldiers in preparation for what could be a ground invasion of Gaza. In the West Bank, several demonstrations in support of Gaza led to dozens of protesters injured and several arrested by Israeli forces.
18 November
Israel continued to bombard the Gaza Strip, and, for the first time, Israeli ships fired shells too. The IDF killed the head of Hamas' rocket program, Yahyia Byya, who according to IDF sources, had been responsible for most of the rocket attacks. Two buildings housing journalists were hit by IDF. The first housed Sky News and other international journalists. No one was injured. Another media tower was hit, with reports of 7 injured Palestinian journalists. The tower, known as the Al-Sharouk compound, contained the offices of Al-Quds TV, Sky News, ARD, Kuwait TV, RAI, and ITN, and had previously also been used by BBC. The IDF said that it targeted Hamas communications devices located on the roofs of two media buildings. It alleged Hamas was using journalists as human shields. Reporters without Borders (an international NGO focused on issues of freedom of the press) issued a strong condemnation of the attacks. Christophe Deloire, the director of RWB, described the attacks as unjustified and as a threat to freedom of information, stating that "even though the outlets targeted are linked to Hamas, it does not legitimize the attacks." The attacks injured five people; one cameraman lost his leg. Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich responded by urging journalists to avoid areas with any Hamas presence whatsoever, while another Israeli government official stated that the offices of both Al Quds and Al Aqsa were legitimate military targets. Sam Kiley, a correspondent for Sky News who was present during the attack, said that there was 'reason to disbelieve' Israel's official account of the incident, and that he believes the incident demonstrates that no civilian in Gaza can feel safe. The Foreign Press Association also issued a statement expressing concern over the strike, and pointing to a UN Security Council statement that condemned all attacks against journalists in combat zones.