March 25: Haaretz reported that Hamas is interested in maintaining the relative lull in violence surrounding the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that
March 23: Hamas negotiator Moussa Abu Marzouk and Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed signed the Sanaa Declaration, which stipulated that "We, the representatives of Fatah and Hamas, agree to the Yemeni initiative as a framework to resume dialogue between the two movements to return the Palestinian situation to what it was before the
March 19: Fadel Kawash, the head of the PA Water Authority, announced that the water and hygiene situation in
March 18: Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy chief of Hamas’ politburo, announced that Hamas would be willing to engage in negotiations with Fatah within the framework of the Yemeni government’s initiative to reconcile the two rival factions. The terms of the initiative, known as the “Sanaa Declaration”, were that
March 15: Three Palestinian militants were killed in an IAF strike east of
March 14: Gazan militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Sderot, end one week of relative calm along the Gazan border. The attacks came one day after the IDF had killed five members of Islamic Jihad in the
March 8: In recognition of International Women's Day, Hundreds of women marched though the streets of Gaza City, and delivered a letter to the UN headquarters there demanding an emergency security council meeting that would aim to end the siege of the Strip.
March 7: Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad met with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss management of the Rafah crossing. Israel has stated that missile strikes from Gaza must cease before the blockade is lifted. Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha stated Hamas would be open to a ceasefire on condition that it be bilateral.
March 6: A coalition of UK-based humanitarian organisations (including Amnesty, CARE International U.K., CAFOD, Christian Aid, Medecins du Monde UK, Oxfam, Save the Children U.K. and Trocaire) released a report stating that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its worst since the occupation began in 1967. 80% of residents are completely dependent on food aid, and unemployment is at 40%. Israeli officials rejected the report's assertion that Israel is to blame for the crisis. The groups "should point their criticism towards the Hamas terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip," stated a press release from the Foreign Ministry.
March 5: Twenty-five IDF armoured vehicles entered southern Gaza, and killed Yusuf Samiri, a militant leader in Islamic Jihad. A one-month-old baby was also killed in the incursion.
March 3: After a five-day ground offensive in Gaza, during which 106 Gazans were killed, the IDF withdrew and Hamas claimed "victory". B'Tselem reported that 54 of those killed were unarmed civilians. Olmert promised the Knesset that Israel would continue to fight Hamas and that the negotiations would continue, in spite of the fact that the previous day Mahmoud Abbas declared a suspension on peace talks in protest of Israel's actions in Gaza. Abbas also offered to moderate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, though neither group responded to his suggestion.
February 29: Israel's deputy minister of defense, Matan Vilnai, stated that if Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel, they will bring a "bigger holocaust" on the people of Gaza. Fighting intensified in Gaza, with at least 18 Palestinians killed by Israeli aerial strikes.
February 28: In response to the previous day's civilian death, Olmert promised to continue attacks on Hamas in Gaza. "No one in Hamas, neither among the low ranks nor among the senior ranks, will be immune to that war," he said. 12 Palestinians killed in fighting, including a baby which died when an Israeli aircraft bombed an administrative building.
February 27: Qassem rocket attacks result in the death of a 43-year old Israeli near Sderot.
A poll conducted by Haaretz revealed that sixty-four percent of Israelis say the government must negotiate with the Hamas government in Gaza "toward a cease-fire and the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit".
February 14-20: PCHR Weekly Report Summary: During the week, six Palestinians, including one child, were killed by the IDF during two incursions into Gaza.
February 15: After having visited the Gaza Strip, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affais John Holmes said, "I have been shocked by the grim and miserable things that I have seen and heard today, which are the result of current restrictions and the limitations on the number of goods that are being allowed into Gaza... Around 80 percent of the population is dependant on food aid from international organizations. Poverty and unemployment are increasing and the private sector has more or less collapsed. Only ten percent of the amount of goods that entered Gaza a year ago are being permitted to enter now." Holmes also states that he in his meeting with Israeli officials, he would urge them to lift the blockade and resume trade with the Strip to alleviate the crisis.
February 19: The IDF moved into Wadi al-Salqa, central Gaza, at about 1pm. Clashes with local militants ensued, and an eleven year old boy was killed while trying to escape his house, which was under heavy fire.
February 17: Five Palestinians, including two non-combatants, were killed during an IDF raid on al-Shouka, south of Rafah.
February 15: The IDF launched a surface-to-surface missile into Beit Hanoun, destroying much of an inhabited house, though no casualties were reported.
February 7-13: PCHR Weekly Report Summary: 11 Palestinians were killed by the IDF and another 40 were wounded by IDF gunfire in Gaza. 20 dunams of agricultural land were razed in the town of Wadi al-Salqa. Six military incursions were made into Gaza.
February 10: The IDF bombed a factory in Rafah. The factory and a neighboring house were completely destroyed, although nobody was killed. Also, two businesses outside of Gaza City were bombed and destroyed by IAF jets.
February 2-8: OCHA: Some crossings have opened, allowing for a minimal amount of essential goods to enter Gaza, however, the Strip continues to suffer from a massive energy and fuel shortage. Some areas experience electricity cuts of up to 12 hours per day, and breakdown in the sanitation system has resulted in the dumping of over 40 million liters of untreated sewage into the Mediterranean every day.
February 7: Six Palestinians were killed in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, during clashes with the IDF. A school teacher in Beit Hanoun was killed when an IDF missile hit a children's school. Three of the students were wounded.
January 31-February 6: Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Weekly Report Summary: 10 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, and an additional 22 people were wounded.
February 5: In the wake of a suicide attack in the Israeli town of Dimona, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza which killed 9. One missile killed seven men: some reports claim these men were civil police officers, while others assert they were Hamas militants.
February 3: Hamas and Egyptian officials agree to seal the Rafah crossing once again. Hundreds of Palestinians return to Gaza after their two-week shopping spree. (NYT)
January 24-30: PCHR Weekly Report Summary: 4 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, all in extra-judicial executions, and one was injured.
January 25-29: OCHA oPt reported that Israel is only allowing enough fuel into Gaza to meet 75% of its energy requirements. About 50% of Gazan households have access to water for only four to six hours per day. Due to a fuel distributors' strike which began January 18, garbage has not been collected, and has accumulated on the streets.
January 26: Over 1200 activists arrive at Erez crossing in an attempt to break the blockade and move humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
January 25: Four member of the Ezzedeen al-Qasem Brigades killed in two separate targeted missile attacks in Gaza.
January 18-24: According to OCHA oPt, no food, medicine, or fuel entered Gaza between the 18th and the 21st of January. Power cuts were extended to 12 hours per day everywhere in Gaza except Rafah. At least 40% of Gazans were denied access to running water, and a breakdown in the sewage system led to 30 million liters of raw sewage being released into the Mediterranean Sea each day during the week. The World Food Programme reported that food entering Gaza during the week totally only 31% of basic food needs.
January 17-23: PCHR Weekly Report Summary: A total of 26 Palestinians were killed and 44 wounded in the Gaza Strip during IDF operations there.
January 23: After a small demonstration at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Hamas officials blew up sections of the wall. Hundreds of Gazans swarmed across the Egyptian border to buy food, fuel, and other consumer goods. (NYT)
A 50-year old Palestinian farmer was and killed near the Gaza border. Eyewitnesses claimed the area was totally calm at the time.
January 20: UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon and undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs John Holmes demanded that Israel lift the Gaza blockade in order to avert a developing humanitarian crisis. Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror reassured the international community by saying, "There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza." Gazan militants fired more than 130 rockets and 80 mortars into Israel in the three days prior. (Haaretz)
Following the complete closure of all crossings into Gaza, the Strip's only operating power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel. Five hospital patients died within hours of the blackout. Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror accused Palestinian officials of complaining of a crisis that doesn't exist. (Haaretz)
January 1: Violence broke out in Gaza during a celebration of the 34th anniversary of the founding of Fatah. Six were reported killed, and up to thirty wounded. A group of Israeli settlers attacked three members of the Public Committeee Against the Wall in Bil’in. (PCHR)
January 19: One Palestinian in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, was killed during an IDF incursion there, and another died during an airstrike in Gaza City.
January 18: Israel seals all crossings with Gaza following a spike in the number of Qassem rockets and mortars being fired into Israel. An IAF jet bombed a 5-storey building in the southwest of Gaza City. The building was completely destroyed, and a piece of shrapnel killed a 52-year old woman who was on her way to her nephew's wedding. 46 other civilians were wounded.
January 17: Seven Gazans, including at least two women and a child, are killed in retaliatory IAF strikes and Israeli ground operations. Qassems wound four in Sderot. Olmert and Barak promise to step up actions against militants in Gaza. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says negotiations with Israel will be impossible as long as IDF raids continue in Gaza. Regarding the Qassem rocket attacks, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says, "The answer is unbridled war on terror."
January 10-16: PCHR Weekly Report Summary: 26 Palestinians were killed by the IDF in Gaza, 8 of whom were non-combatants. 44 others were wounded, and 30 dunams of agrarian land were razed in the Strip. PCHR reports that the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.
January 15: Seventeen Gazans were killed during a four-hour IDF incursion to the east of Gaza City.
January 16: An IAF jet fighter fired a missile towards a car said to be carrying militants of the Al Quds Brigades in Gaza City. The missile missed and hit a nearby civilian car, killing three.
January 13: The IDF carried out two extra-judicial executions in the Strip. Also, two members of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades were killed by an Israeli shell during clashes near the border.
January 3-9: Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Weekly Report Summary: 20 Palestinians were killed by the IDF in its four incursions into Gaza during the week. At least two houses were demolished. The Israeli military maintained its closure of the Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing, but allowed 144 Gazans in need of medical assistance to enter Israel.
January 9: The IDF fired a missile towards Beit Hanoun, from which a number of Qassems had been fired at Israeli villages. The missile landed on a civilian farm, killing two and wounding four.
January 2-8: OCHA oPt reports that the Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC) was forced to reduce its energy output from 65 MW to 42 MW, as a result of an Israeli blockade implemented on October 28 2007. The GPGC power plant no longer has enough fuel to operate at its former levels of production, and as a result Gazans are experiencing power cuts of up to eight hours per day. The IAF bombed the power plant in June 2006, and the transformers that have been installed since have a lower generation capacity.
January 6: IDF forces occupied Al-Boreij refugee camp, in central Gaza. Four Palestinians were killed in total, and another 40 were wounded. Several houses were destroyed or damaged during raids, and by tank shells. During the operation IDF troops opened fire at a group of boys who were watching the incursion, killing one and wounding six. (PCHR)
January 4: At 2am, IDF forces moved into Beit Hanoun. Two Palestinian militants were killed in fighting that followed. During the operation IDF troops razed at least 120 dunams of land. (PCHR)
January 3: IDF forces moved into al-Qarara, east of Khan Younis, killing 7 Palestinians including a woman, her two sons, her daughter and her nephew. 22 Palestinians were wounded, including two members of the militant ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, who bled to death when medics were unable to reach them. (PCHR)
January 1: Violence broke out in Gaza during a celebration of the 34th anniversary of the founding of Fatah. Six were reported killed, and up to thirty wounded.
Sources: OCHA oPt, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Haaretz, Reuters, Associated Press and the New York Times.
