Gaza Strip Conflict

The conflict in the Gaza Strip, also known as the Gaza-Israeli conflict, is part of the the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is a sub section of the larger Israeli-Arab conflict. The cause of
the underlying hostility between Israelis and their Arab neighbors stems from the founding of
Israel. "On May 15, 1948, the British evacuated Palestine, and Zionist leaders proclaimed the
State of Israel. Neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq) then invaded Israel,
claiming that they wanted to save Palestine from the Zionists." "Jewish claims to this land are
based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, on the fact that the land was the
historical site of the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judea, and on Jews need for a haven
from European anti-Semitism. Palestinian Arab claims to the land are based on their continuous
residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic
majority until 1948. They reject the notion that a biblical-era kingdom constitutes the basis for a
valid modern claim." To acquire some background knowledge on the conflict, one must know
that the Gaza Strip is a stretch of land twenty five miles long, and three and seven miles long at
its narrowest and widest points, respectively. Gaza borders Egypt to the south, Israel to the north
and east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Gaza is part of Palestine, which consists of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The main Palestinian resistance force is called Hamas. "Hamas was formed in late 1987 at the
beginning of the first Palestinian uprising"." Its roots are in the Palestinian branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood, which is a larger unified group with the the goal of creating a Palestinian state, and

Hamas is also supported by a robust sociopolitical structure inside the Palestinian territories. The
groups charter calls for establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel and rejects all
agreements made between the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is the democratic and
official representation of the Palestinian people, and Israel. Hamas' strength is concentrated in
the Gaza Strip and areas of the West Bank.
In July 2014, the calm between Hamas and Israel broke down completely after three
Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank in Junedeaths ascribed by Israel
to Hamas and a Palestinian was killed by Israeli settlers in revenge. Retaliatory rocket attacks
by Hamas' military wing and other Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip escalated into the
longest and most lethal conflict with Israel since 2009. All of this caused Israel to launch
"Operation Protective Edge" in retaliation to the rocket strikes launched by Hamas. According to
Israel, many of these rockets were fired from hidden places amidst civilian areas. "In the current
conflict, they buried their launchers and fired by remote control from concealed locations, often
hundreds of yards away."
Israel claims that there were 2,127 Palestinian casualties during the 50 day war "Israeli
forces have confirmed that they killed 706 civilians. This number likely includes many of the
253 women and 495 children in the U.N. tallies. The Israeli military has determined with 100

percent certainty that Israeli forces killed 616 combatants and terrorist operatives. Israeli
forces killed no more than 5 percent of the enemy of an estimated total of 16,000 Hamas and

5,200 Islamic Jihad soldiers in the field, plus those from the smaller factions." "Approximately
10,700 Gazans were also wounded in the attacks." "The UN calculated that more than 7,000
homes for 10,000 families were razed, together with an additional 89,000 homes damaged, of
which roughly 10,000 were severely affected by the bombing." "The cost to rebuild the damages
in Gaza caused by the war over the next twenty years was calculated to be between four and six
billion dollars." On the other side of the matter, Israel had much fewer losses. "There were 71
Israeli soldiers killed", and 469 injured. "At the conclusion of hostilities 3,000-3,700 claims for
damages had been submitted by Israelis, and $41 million paid out for property damage and
missed work days." "Reconstruction costs were estimated at approximately $11 million". One
reason for the stark difference in numbers is that Israel possess an advanced missile defense
system, while Palestine does not. This missile defense system is called "The Iron Dome", and is a
mobile missile defense system that costs fifty million dollars per missile battery and twenty
thousand dollars each time it is fired. The United States, Israel's ally, helped Israel to obtain these
defenses and to finance them. "As of October 2014, after the war, there had been over 1,200
hostile rockets intercepted by the Iron Dome. This is nearly 90% of the missiles launched by
Hamas." "Both sides of the conflict have been accused of war crimes, with Israel being accused
of killing Palestinians indiscriminately, no matter terrorist or civilian, with their rocket attacks,
the targeting of residential homes with precision, the excessive use of artillery in civilian areas,
and loosening of the rules of engagement. Hamas and other Palestinian factions are accused of

using indiscriminate rocket and mortar fire and of the murder of alleged Palestinian
collaborators. I believe that the future of the Gaza-Israeli conflict, unless it is resolved

peacefully, will either end in Gaza being wiped out by Israel in a future conflict, or mutual
destruction on both sides.

Works Cited

"Amnesty: Hamas Rocket Attacks Amount to War Crimes." BBC News. British Broadcasting
Corporation, 26 Mar. 2015. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
Booth, William. "Heres What Really Happened in the Gaza War (according to the Israelis)."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Jan. 2016
"Counter Terrorism Guide Hamas." Counter Terrorism Guide. US National Counterterrorism
Center, n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
"Everything You Need to Know About the Israel-Gaza Conflict." ABC News. ABC News
Network, 31 July 2014. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
"Gaza-Israel Conflict: Is the Fighting Over? - BBC News." BBC News. British Broadcasting
Corporation, 26 Aug. 2014. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
"Primer on Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict | Middle East Research and Information
Project." Middle East Research Information Project. Middle East Research Information
Project, 1 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
"Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - BBC News." BBC News. British Broadcasting
Corporation, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.