The Embassy of Israel informs about Operation Protective Edge which took place during the summer of 2014 in response to increasing attacks to Israel. The report is the result of a thorough investigation concerning factual and legal aspects of the 2014 Gaza Conflict.
On July 7, 2014, the Government of Israel ordered the Israel Defense Forces to launch an aerial operation against Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. This operation, termed “Operation Protective Edge”, was launched in response to increasing rocket and mortar fire on Israel from the Gaza Strip during June and early July 2014, and despite Israel’s continued efforts at de-escalation.
This increase of attacks followed after a decade in which thousands of rockets and mortars were fired at Israel’s population. On July 17, 2014, as a result of Hamas’s continued rejection of ceasefire initiatives, ongoing rocket and mortar fire and the execution of attacks in Israeli territory by sea and through cross-border assault tunnels, the Government of Israel authorized the entry of ground forces into a limited area of the Gaza Strip.
These ground forces were tasked with identifying and neutralizing the cross-border assault tunnels, which originated from the outskirts of the urban areas of the Gaza Strip. The ground forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip on August 5, after locating and neutralizing 32 cross-border assault tunnels, and despite ongoing rocket and mortar attacks against Israel. The 2014 Gaza Conflict concluded on August 26, with an unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The report includes the following official documents:
– The Background to the 2014 Gaza Conflict
– Israel’s Objectives and Phases of the 2014 Gaza Conflict
– Hamas’s Violations of the Law and War Crimes
– The Threat to Israel’s Civilian Population and Israel’s Civil Defence Measures
– IDF Conduct during the 2014 Gaza Conflict
– Israel’s Investigation of Alleged Violations of the Law of Armed Conflict
– Palestinian Fatality Figures in the 2014 Gaza Conflict.
For more information: Please find the executive summary of the publication attached, and a link to the full report online: open the full report in your browser.
Press conference: http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2015/Pages/Briefing-on-publciation-of-Israeli-Report-2014-Gaza-Conflict-14-Jun-2015.aspx
