The recent 11-day operation in Gaza witnessed an unprecedented level of rocket fire, closed airports in Israel and a record number of interceptions of Hamas rockets in a short period of time. When the ceasefire came into force in the early hours of May 21 there were celebrations by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank claiming victory. Israel also says it made impressive gains. So what is the “scorecard” of the conflict?
Here is a look at what we know.
Israel’s IDF says that it killed at least 225 Gaza-based terrorists and 25 senior commanders. These were commanders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel also targeted the Hamas “metro” of underground tunnels that enable Hamas to move weapons and fighters underneath the Gaza Strip. 100 kilometers of the tunnel network was struck. The IDF also struck command and control centers located in the residences of 12 senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip, used for terror purposes.
Israel carried out numerous strikes on the residences of Hamas members. For instance, it hit the operational apartments that “belonged to Hamas operatives, including those of Ja’adi Cha’alah, company commander in the Hamas ‘Al-Farqin’ Battalion, Jamal Alaeda, company commander in the Hamas ‘Northern’ Battalion, and Muhammad Shuaf, company commander in the Hamas ‘Nuhba’ Battalion,” according to a statement.
ONE OF the houses that was struck was the home of Izz al-Din Hadad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and the head of combat support during recent hostilities. IDF statements also noted it struck “the house of Amjad Abu Najeh, the commander of the Nuhba battalion in the Gaza Strip, who directed attacks from his home; the house of Ibrahim Muhammad Mustafa Qareh, the commander of the southern Khan Yunis battalion, who was involved in shooting attacks against IDF forces as well as responsible for rocket fire at Israel; the house of Ahmed Shamali, the commander of the Nuhba battalion in Shuja’iyya – the building contained military communications infrastructure and stored weapons; and the home of Nasim Abu ‘Ajuna, commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion, whose house contained military infrastructure.”
The IDF and Israel Security Authority also said they targeted Hasam Abu Harbid, Commander of the Northern Division in the Islamic Jihad terror organization. The IDF his the houses of the commanders of the Hamas ‘Central Camps’ Brigade and the Hamas ‘Karrara’ and Parkain Battalions, “both of which served as Hamas military infrastructure.” In addition, Israel said it struck “a large number of rocket launch sites and underground rocket launchers, among them a multi-barrelled rocket launcher, from which rockets were fired at Jerusalem a few days ago. A number of terrorist squads on their way to launch rockets into Israeli territory were also struck, along with a Hamas post which included an Anti-Tank missile launcher in Jabalia.”
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Hamas forces in Rimal in Gaza were hit as well as storage warehouses. “In these warehouses were paragliders intended for aerial infiltration into Israeli territory and Hamas air force equipment was stored.” Israel also took out a Hamas unmanned submarine and other naval vessels. Observation posts and military compounds were hit as well as a joint IDF and ISA raid on a complex and “first-of-its-kind operation to simultaneously eliminate a number of senior commanders in the Hamas terrorist organization, in the city of Gaza and Khan Yunis.”
HAMAS KAMAKAZI drones were all shot down by Iron Dome and F-16s. These included at least six Hamas UAVs. Israel said that the Iron Dome system achieved ninety percent success against thousands of missiles fired from Gaza. These included 4,340 that were launched, of which 640 fell in Gaza. Overall a total of some 430 Hamas and Islamic Jihad launchers were struck and some 20 rocket launching operatives were killed. The last days of the campaign saw 30 rocket launching posts struck. In addition, during the first week Israel hit a number of anti-tank missile teams in Gaza.
While Israel carried out some 570 airstrikes on rocket launchers, it also took down several large buildings in Gaza. These included 10 government and 11 security targets, as well as five banks linked to Hamas or terrorism. Israel targeted the Al Jala media building, receiving critique for hitting a building that had been where media worked in Gaza. When it was struck it was the fourth multi-story building Israel hit, and critics around the world accused Israel of destroying civilian infrastructure. Israel said the buildings were used by Hamas.
Israel used one larger series of airstrikes, using some 160 aircraft in one operation in the first week of the war to begin the strikes on Hamas underground tunnel network. Some 150 targets were struck with 450 missiles in 40 minutes. Controversy erupted over whether international media was briefed about a ground incursion that never happened and was perhaps designed to lure Hamas into the open.
BY CONTRAST, Hamas boasted of new drones that it had developed and said it targeted infrastructure in Israel with them. It also boasted of a new long-range rocket called Ayyash with a range up to 250km. It was able to fire massive barrages of up to 140 rockets over several minutes, trying to overwhelm the Iron Dome system. It targeted Israel’s airports, according to its media and media in Iran. Hamas targeted an Israeli bus with a Kornet anti-tank missile on May 20 and used similar missiles on other days of the conflict. Hamas said it targeted the Ramon airport near Eilat and also other air bases. It said it also targeted a chemical factory in Nahal Oz. PressTV said that Hamas had also targeted Iron Dome batteries.
Hamas and pro-Palestinian activists pointed to the death toll of civilians in Gaza, claiming some 227 people, including 102 women and children, were killed. 1,400 were reported injured. 12 were killed in Israel, including two foreign workers and one IDF soldier in a jeep hit with an ATGM on May 13.
Hamas took credit for redrawing the equation of power in the region in its battle with Israel, asserting that Israel is now in a state of decline. It celebrated and Palestinians also celebrated in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Iran says that Israel gave in to a ceasefire due to the “resistance heavy rocket barrage.” Egypt helped broker the ceasefire and Israel was pressured by the US to sign on. China led efforts to condemn Israel at the UN and only Hungary helped forestall greater critique in a possible EU statement. Israel received some support from Greece, Slovak, Czech and German diplomats who visited during the conflict.
HAMAS COMMANDERS and Iran warned of new capabilities against Israel during this conflict. Rockets were launched from Lebanon and Syria at Israel and a drone flown from Iraq or Syria. Rockets even flew near Kiryat Yam not far from Haifa. These were serious incidents as well as protests in Jerusalem, across the West Bank and in Arab areas in Israel and in Jordan and Lebanon. Iraqi Shi’ite militias said they sent fighters to join the battle against Israel. Iran and Hamas portrayed the clashes in Israeli cities as a possible intifada and a major shift after decades of malaise. Israel was forced to increase security forces in Israel, send border police to Lod and increase IDF presence in the West Bank as well as calling up some 10,000 soldiers to deal with the various fronts and crises. Major clashes led to concern over civil conflict in Israel and the use of illegal weapons. Israelis travelled from the West Bank to Lod and a few nights looked more like a city with mobs run amok, than a city secured by Israel. People said dozens of calls to police went unanswered and they had to flee the city. In Acre, Nazareth, Kfar Kana, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Rahat, Umm al-Fahm and many other places there were clashes and lynchings on both sides. An uptick in attacks in the West Bank and a car ramming in Sheikh Jarrah added to the tensions. Khaled Meshaal of Hamas called for a new intifada.
THE CONFLICT also mobilized anti-Israel views around the world. Pakistan and Turkey joined. Forces to oppose Israel and Turkey consulted with Iran about a full court diplomatic press against Israel. Gangs of men in New York, California, London and across Europe attacked Jews and synagogues, threatening to “rape” Jewish women. Rabbis were attacked. He unprecedented outpouring of Palestinian national far-right hooligans driving around in convoys of cars looking for Jews to attack in the US and Europe was a new phenomenon of this conflict. Although some politicians condemned it, there were no counter protests in solidarity with Jewish minorities. Some far-left Jewish activists in the US reacted to the war by saying they had nothing to do with Israel and that Israel should be destroyed or become part of a one-state solution. Several members of Congress and US Senator Bernie sanders harshly bashed Israel, calling for an end to military sales. Congresswoman Ilhan Oman and several others called Israel apartheid. Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote that “apartheid states aren’t democracies” and her colleague Cori Bush wrote the same thing. Turkey’s president called Israel a “terror state” and Chinese CGTV including an antisemitic comment about Israel. Pakistan’s foreign minister went on CNN and made antisemitic comments. Several antisemitic Pakistan celebrities praised Hitler during the operation. CNN and AP both parted ways with a writer apparently due to controversial comments.
The anti-Israel axis led by Turkey and Iran and with Pakistan and some other countries joining the chorus, mobilized during this war. The US State Department condemned Turkey’s antisemitic outbursts. It appears antisemitism reached new heights during this war.
Compared to the 2014 war which lasted some seven weeks, Hamas fired around the same number of rockets in only 11 days. It increased its volume and range. While Israel did some 6,000 airstrikes in the 2014 war and a ground incursion, it appeared to do less this time. For instance in the 2014 war only six civilians in Israel were killed, including one foreign worker. Some 67 IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting. 2,125 Palestinians were estimated killed and Israel estimated around 44 percent of them were Hamas members or other terrorists. Israel killed far less Hamas members this time, appearing to concentrate on mid-level or more senior commanders than the rank and file.