Friday 11 July 2014

#Gaza-#Israel conflict: Why are civilians on the front lines?... #GazaUnderAttack #GazaUnderFire #Gaza #PrayForGaza

11 july 2014

Smoke billows from a building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after being hit by a missile (9 July 2014)

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are involved in some of the most intense violence for months. Militants are firing volleys of rockets into Israel and Gaza is being hit by waves of air strikes. Here is a look at what's going on.

Why are Israel and militants in Gaza always fighting? The Gaza Strip, sandwiched between Israel and Egypt, has been a recurring flashpoint in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel captured the coastal territory during the 1967 Middle East war. In 2005, it pulled its troops and settlers out. Israel considered that the end of the occupation, but it still exercises control over most of Gaza's borders, waters and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza's southern border.

Palestinian militants from various factions attend a meeting in Gaza City (17 June 2014)

Palestinian militants in Gaza have blamed Israel for the escalation and vowed to defend themselves

Long-standing restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Strip have caused severe socio-economic hardship for the 1.7 million Palestinians living there. Israel says the restrictions are to prevent attacks by militants, including the Islamist movement Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and is dominant in Gaza.
Hamas cites Israel's measures and the continued occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem as reasons for its attacks on the Jewish state before and after 2005.

Israeli tanks near the Gaza border (9 July 2014)

Israel has hinted it could launch a ground offensive to decisively pare back the militants' capability to attack

Israel says its air strikes and incursions into Gaza have been necessary to secure its borders and protect some 3.5 million people living within range of the rockets.
Two major Israeli offensives in December 2008-January 2009 and November 2012 dealt serious blows to the capabilities of the militants, but they gradually recovered and hostilities resumed.

What caused the latest escalation?

Smoke trails as rockets are fired towards Israel from the northern Gaza Strip (10 July 2014)

The White House expressed its support for Israel's right to defend itself from rocket attacks

Hamas, which governed Gaza from 2007 until a unity government with Palestinians in the West Bank was formed in June, says it has tried to maintain calm since the last Israeli offensive.
Its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, did not officially participate in the rocket attacks that took place between November 2012 and June 2014. However, it also failed to stop launches altogether, drawing Israeli air strikes in retaliation.
Rocket fire and air strikes increased after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in June, which Israel blamed on Hamas and led to a crackdown on the group in the West Bank. Tensions rose after the suspected revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem on 2 July.

Israelis mourn three teenagers who were abducted and murdered in the West Bank in June (12 June 2014)

Rocket fire and air strikes increased after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in June

On 7 July, Hamas claimed responsibility for firing rockets for the first time for 20 months after a series of air strikes that it said killed several Qassam Brigades members. The next day, Israel launched "Operation Protective Edge", which it said aimed to stop rocket attacks and destroy Hamas' capabilities. Since then, there have been hundreds of air strikes and hundreds of rockets have been fired.
What do both sides want? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 9 July that the operation would widen and continue until rocket fire stopped and quiet returned to Israeli cities. "Hamas should no longer have the means to produce rockets," Home Front Defence Minister Gilad Erdan said.

Map showing potential range of rocket attacks from Gaza

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal stressed on 9 July that it did not want an escalation. "We did not ask for this war," he said. "We will do what we have to do to defend ourselves and our people."
Some analysts say Hamas may believe it could gain from a prolonged conflict. They say Hamas could be taking on Israel in an effort to reassert itself as a resistance movement at a time when it has been badly affected by the destruction of smuggling tunnels by the Egyptian authorities.
How come civilians are bearing the brunt?

Relatives and friends of the Kaware family carry their bodies during their funeral in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip (9 July 2014)

Eight people were killed in a strike on a Khan Younis home that Israel said was a Hamas operations centre

Palestinian officials say many of the casualties have been the result of air strikes in residential areas. President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of committing "genocide", while human rights groups have warned Israel air strikes in densely populated areas or direct attacks on civilian homes could violate international law.
Israel has said the homes it has bombed belonged to senior militants and served as command centres where rocket attacks were co-ordinated. It says militants deliberately fire rockets from civilian areas and store rockets in places like homes, school and hospitals.

A woman takes a photo of a car in a district of Tel Aviv that was damaged by the remains of a rocket intercepted by Israel's missile defence system (10 July 2014)

Israel's missile defence system has intercepted rockets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Israel also points out that the hundreds of unguided rockets that have been fired at its territory directly threaten its civilians.
Long-range rockets have been launched towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as further north. Human rights groups have said the firing of indiscriminate rockets that endangers civilians constitutes a war crime.
Is there any mediation?

Palestinians stand behind a fence at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt (10 July 2014)

Egypt has opened its Rafah border crossing for Palestinian casualties, but not for those wanting to flee

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on 10 July that the situation in Gaza was "on a knife-edge" and urged both sides to end hostilities. The US called for a de-escalation but also expressed its support for Israel's right to defend itself from rocket attacks.
Egypt, which has helped broker ceasefires in the past, has downplayed any hopes of mediation. It has opened its Rafah border crossing for Palestinian casualties, but not for those wanting to flee. Officials blame security concerns in the Sinai peninsula, but correspondents say they are also keen to increase the pressure on Hamas, which it sees as a threat.
The two sides have fought wars before. How did they end?

Palestinian inspect a destroyed building in Gaza City on 8 July 2014

Israel is warning of a prolonged assault on Palestinian militants and their infrastructure in Gaza

Israel launched a ground offensive in December 2008 dubbed "Operation Cast Lead" in response to rocket fire. By the time Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire 22 days later, saying its goals were "more than fully achieved", an estimated 1,300 Palestinians had been killed, many of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis also died, including four soldiers in a "friendly fire" incident. Gaza's civilian infrastructure was damaged extensively.
In November 2012, Israel launched "Operation Pillar of Defence" to protect civilians from rocket fire, as well as cripple Hamas's capability to launch attacks. Eight days after the operation began, Egypt brokered a ceasefire agreement that included a promise from both sides to stop attacks. At least 167 Palestinians, and six Israelis, were killed.

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