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  • October 9, 2023

    In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with a military escort raided Duma, setting cars on fire and attacking Palestinians. Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian with live ammunition who was...

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  • June 5, 2012

    Unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the afternoon, Israeli warplanes carry out 3 air strikes n. of Rafah in s. Gaza, targeting a poultry...

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  • August 19, 2011

    Cross-border exchanges in Gaza continue overnight and throughout the day. The PRCs, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB), and a small Salafist group (the Abdullah Azzam Brigades) fire around 17...

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  • August 11, 2011

    Israel’s Interior Min. gives final approval for the construction of the 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem that were first announced during U.S. VP Joe Biden’s...

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  • December 8, 2010

    Israel’s security cabinet agrees in principle to allow more exports out of Gaza and expects details to be fleshed out within the next few days, but there is no serious change before the end of the...

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  • August 31, 2010

    Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), takes responsibility for shooting at a Jewish settler vehicle driving nr. Hebron (in area C, under full Israeli control, where the...

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  • May 21, 2010

    IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fatally shoot 2 armed Palestinian teenagers who infiltrate the border fence nr. Abasan; the IDF claims they are mbrs. of Hamas’s armed-wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam...

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  • March 26, 2010

    IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit,...

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  • February 19, 2010

    Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas...

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  • January 20, 2010

    Israel deports Americans Jared Maslin (chief English editor for the Bethlehembased Palestinian news agency Ma‘an) and Faith Rowold (a volunteer with a Lutheran Church group in Jerusalem) to the U....

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  • September 1, 2009

    In Gaza, 2 mbrs. of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), are killed in a mysterious explosion e. of Jabaliya; Hamas accuses the IDF of targeting the men with artillery...

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  • August 14, 2009

    Israeli naval boats fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast to force them back to shore, seriously wounding a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy on the beach with a gunshot to the head. In...

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  • May 21, 2008

    In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an empty car in Jabaliya r.c. owned by a member of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) in an apparent assassination attempt, destroying the car,...

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  • May 1, 2008

    Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and troops into Abasan to search homes (reportedly using some Palestinians as human shields), exchanging fire (including tank shells) with local gunmen (killing 1...

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  • April 22, 2008

    In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car carrying 2 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. nr. Khan Yunis, missing it, wounding 6 bystanders. Gazan PC mbrs. erect a tent in front of the PC...

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  • January 24, 2008

    With the Rafah border breached, Israel halts emergency imports authorized on 1/22, arguing that Gazans can now get food and fuel fr. Egypt. Meanwhile, the IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. the...

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  • October 15, 2007

    IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza Valley fire on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, seriously wounding 1. The ESF demolishes 2 smuggling tunnels under the Rafah border. In...

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  • May 17, 2007

    The IDF makes at least 6 air strikes on Gaza, killing 9 Palestinians, wounding 10s. Air strikes target an ESF barracks outside the Interior Min. (killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding at least 21...

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  • May 15, 2007

    In Gaza, Fatah-Hamas fighting intensifies, leaving at least 15 Palestinians dead. Among the incidents: PA presidential guardsmen fatally shoot Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Ibrahim Maniah nr....

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  • April 24, 2007

    On the day Israel marks independence day and Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades fires 6 rockets and 8 mortars into Israel, causing no injuries, reiterating...

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  • April 22, 2007

    The IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. Jabaliya r.c. carrying Islamic Jihad mbrs. who had fired rockets toward Israel (causing no damage), missing the vehicle and causing no damage; within the...

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  • March 13, 2007

    Overnight, the IDF revives Operation Hot Winter (see 3/1) in Nablus, conducting major house searches, arresting 2 Palestinians but withdrawing in the morning. During the day, IDF troops on the s....

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  • February 2, 2007

    The worst Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza to date leaves a total of 18 Palestinians dead (including 2 children ages 5 and 7, 6 presidential guardsmen; including 12 in Gaza City, 3 in Jabaliya r.c., 1...

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  • November 25, 2006

    In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car driving nr. Gaza City, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding a bystander; fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Bayt Lahiya attempting to fire a rocket into...

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  • November 8, 2006

    In Gaza, the IDF makes predawn artillery strikes on Bayt Hanun in retaliation for 11/7 rocket fire, hitting a residential area, killing 19 Palestinian civilians (17 in 1 family, including 8...

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  • July 12, 2006

    Overnight, the IDF drops 2 quarter-ton bombs on a 3-story building in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate chief Hamas bomb-maker Muhammad Dayif, 4 times previously the target of Israeli...

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  • July 4, 2006

    Overnight, the IDF sends another 15–20 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) into Bayt Hanun and into the Erez industrial zone, leveling land to clear lines of sight, searching for roadside...

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  • June 25, 2006

    Before dawn, 8 Palestinian gunmen dressed in IDF uniforms sneak across the s. Gaza border into Israel using a tunnel, attack an IDF border post nr. Kerem Shalom with grenades, rifles, antitank...

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  • June 9, 2006

    After Palestinians fire 5 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF shells n. Gaza from land, sea, and air, hitting the Bayt Lahiya beach where families are picnicking, killing...

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  • June 5, 2006

    Overnight, a senior mbr. of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades is killed in Jabaliya r.c. when a large bomb goes off nr. his home; no group takes responsibility. The IDF makes an air strike on a...

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In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with a military escort raided Duma, setting cars on fire and attacking Palestinians. Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian with live ammunition who was trying to fend off the settlers. Israeli settlers also set fire to a tent near Kisan; the Palestinian couple who owned the tent were later reported missing. Elsewhere, an Israeli settler attempted to ram Palestinians on a street in Tuqu’. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling west of Jericho, causing damage. Israeli forces also shot and killed a Palestinian who allegedly attempted to ram soldiers at a checkpoint in Hebron using a tractor. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Arroub refugee camp, killing a Palestinian and injuring 1 other with live ammunition. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed a funeral procession in Beit Umar, killing 1 person and injuring 5 with live ammunition and others with baton rounds and tear gas. Israeli forces also shot and injured 2 people with live ammunition and injured 12 others with tear gas in ‘Ayn Bus. Meanwhile, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Huwwara, injuring 3 with live ammunition and others with tear gas. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters at the Jalamah checkpoint, injuring 2 with live ammunition. Separately, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Bireh, injuring 1 with live ammunition and 3 with baton rounds. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters at a checkpoint near Beit Furik, causing tear-gas related injuries. 40 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Hebron, Tulkarm, Nablus, Salfit, Tubas, Qalqilya, and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting in Isawiya, injuring 1 with live ammunition. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed nearly 200 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction. Near Gaza, Palestinian militants attacked Kibbutz Sa’ad and Kibbutz Be’eri; no injuries were reported. Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem, hitting targets around the city and in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, saying it was retaliation for Israeli attacks on civilian targets. Near the Blue Line, mortar shells were fired from Lebanon toward Israel; no injuries were reported. Israel also said it had 3 killed gunmen entering Israel from Lebanon; Hezbollah denied having an active operation into Israel. Islamic Jihad later claimed responsibility. Israel later fired artillery shells at Marwahin and used combat helicopters to attack South Lebanon, killing 5 members of Hezbollah. 3 Israeli soldiers were killed and 5 injured by forces in Lebanon. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, ALM, AP, AP, HA, HA, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/9; AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 10/10; HA 10/11)

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that as of 9:30 p.m. at least 687 Palestinians had been killed and 3,800 injured in Gaza, while 17 Palestinians, including 4 children, had been killed and 295 injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7. Israeli media reported more than 900 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 2,616 injured. Israel said it had hit 500 targets in Gaza overnight and 1,100 since 10/7. Hamas said Israeli airstrikes have killed 4 Israeli captives in Gaza. The UN reported that more than 187,518 Palestinians were displaced, including 137,427 sheltering in UNRWA facilities. 790 housing units were destroyed and 5,330 were damaged since 10/7. (AJ, ALM, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/9; ALM, AP 10/10)

The Israeli emergency rescue organization Zaka said that the bodies of 108 Israelis were found in Kibbutz Be’eri as were the bodies of Palestinian militants. Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the bodies of 70 militants were found in the town. (HA 10/10; AP 10/11)

Hamas’ Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obaida said the Qassem Brigades would not negotiate the release of captives while Gaza was being bombarded. Earlier in the day Abu Obaida said Qassam Brigades would begin executing 1 Israeli captive each time Israel bombs a civilian target. There was no indication that the threat was carried out as civilian buildings were being bombed by Israel. Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that Hamas is open to discussing a truce and all political dialogue. Hamas leader Ali Barakeh said only half a dozen members of Hamas planned the attack on Israel on 10/7 and none of its allies were informed but Hezbollah and Iran would join the battle if “Gaza is subject to a war of annihilation.” (AJ, REU, REU, REU 10/9; AJ, AP, HA 10/10)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman about the Hamas-Israel war. In a statement, bin Salman’s office said Saudi Arabia “continues to stand with the Palestinian people in their pursuit for their legitimate rights, striving for a dignified life, realizing their hopes and aspirations, and achieving a just and lasting peace.” (AJ, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/9)

Israeli military spokesperson Hagari said Israel had regained control in all communities surrounding Gaza but that Palestinian militants still could be in the area. (HA 10/9)

Reuters reported that Qatar was mediating a prisoner exchange that will see Israeli women and children released by Hamas in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. Egyptian sources also said that Egypt was in close contact with Israel and Hamas to prevent further escalation, calling on Israel to exercise restraint and Hamas to keep the captives in good condition. (HA, REU, REU 10/9; HA, HA 10/10; HA 10/11)

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said that he had ordered that no power, water, food, or gas enters Gaza, saying “[w]e are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.” His office later said Gallant had ordered the intensity of the Gaza bombings to increase. Several Israeli politicians called for the formation of an emergency unity government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said the emergency government should “bring about the complete elimination of Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza.” Benny Gantz’s National Unity party demanded that Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir not be part of the war cabinet and that no legislation unrelated to the war would be promoted. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 10/9; AP 10/10)

Axios reported that Israeli prime minister Netanyahu told U.S. president Joe Biden that Israel will invade Gaza. The Washington Post reported that the U.S. is preparing for a prolonged war in Gaza and is assessing Israeli diplomatic, political, and military needs. The White House briefed members of Congress that Israel will need replenishment for the Iron Dome, ammunition rounds, precision-guided missiles, and small-diameter bombs. Biden said in a briefing that 11 U.S. citizens have been killed by Hamas and that there likely are U.S. captives being held in Gaza. The U.S. also said Iran was complicit in the Hamas attack and warned Iran about getting involved in the fighting. Iran denied any involvement or knowledge. (ALM, HA, HA, REU, REU 10/9; HA, REU, REU 10/10)

Egyptian officials said they had warned Israel about an imminent attack from Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office denied having received warnings. (HA 10/9)

President Erdoğan spoke to Israeli president Isaac Herzog, urging him to end indiscriminate attacks on Gaza. (AJ, ALM 10/9)

The UN Security Council convened a meeting on the situation in Gaza without releasing a statement. Secretary-General Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire and said 137,000 Palestinians were sheltering in UNRWA facilities. Guterres also said he was deeply distressed by Israel’s decision to prevent all power, food, and gas from entering Gaza. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 10/9; AJ, HA 10/10)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken deleted a tweet on X in which he said he “encouraged Turkey’s advocacy for a cease-fire.” The tweet was replaced by language that supported Israel’s “right to defend itself.” (HA 10/9)

Hungary, Bulgaria, and Poland evacuated hundreds of their own citizens and European and Israeli nationals from Israel. (HA, HA 10/9)

The U.S., Germany, the UK, France, and Italy issued a joint statement of support for Israel, saying the countries are coordinating to “ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region.” (AP, REU 10/9; HA, HA 10/10)

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov condemned violence against Palestinians and Israelis and criticized the U.S. for its “destructive policy” of undermining the Quartet by monopolizing Israeli-Palestinian dialogue during a press conference with Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit. (REU, WAFA 10/9)

The EU, Germany, and Austria said they suspended all aid to Palestinians in response to Hamas’ operation in Israel. None of the aid in question is delivered to Hamas. Later EU countries, including Ireland, France, Spain, and Luxembourg, objected to the EU Commission's decision and EU Crisis Management commissioner Janez Lanercic said the EU aid would continue. (AJ, HA, REU, REU, REU 10/9; AJ 10/10)

The Bank of Israel said it will sell $30 billion of foreign currency to maintain the shekel’s stability in light of the war with Hamas. The shekel had lost 10% of its value compared to the dollar in 2023 before the war. (AJ, ALM, HA, REU 10/9)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the afternoon, Israeli warplanes carry out 3 air strikes n. of Rafah in s. Gaza, targeting a poultry farm and damaging a nearby greenhouse; no injuries are reported. Late at night, an Israeli warplane makes an air strike on a group of Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) mbrs. operating nr. the border n. of Bayt Lahiya, wounding 2 IQB mbrs. and damaging a nearby home. Also late at night, Israeli naval vessels halt and seize 3 Palestinian fishing boats off the s. Gaza coast, detaining 3 fishermen (released 6/6). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Jericho and Ramallah in the morning; in 2 villages each nr. Jericho and Ramallah and 1 each nr. Jenin and Tulkarm in the afternoon; and in Jericho and 1 village nr. Ramallah at night. The IDF also bulldozes 5 residential tents in Wadi al-Malih village in the Jordan Valley nr. Tubas (an area designated as an IDF firing zone), and informs another 28 families in the same community that they must relocate or face demolition; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nearby ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., in and around Jenin, and in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm. Dozens of Palestinians demonstrate outside Israel’s Ofer military prison nr. Ramallah in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails; IDF troops fire live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and percussion grenades at the demonstrators, wounding 2. Meanwhile, 10s of Palestinians gather nr. the Qalandia r.c. nr. Ramallah to mark the 45th anniversary of Israel’s 1967 occupation; the IDF fires live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse the crowd, causing no serious injuries. Jewish settlers fr. the Hebron area burn 20 d. of Palestinian crop land in al-Zahiriyya village. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar settlement nr. Nablus beat a Palestinian shepherd grazing animals nearby; other Palestinians race to the scene, prompting 1 settler to fire in the air; IDF troops nearby intervene, arresting the shepherd and 3 other Palestinians. (YA 6/5; PCHR 6/7; OCHA 6/8)

Cross-border exchanges in Gaza continue overnight and throughout the day. The PRCs, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB), and a small Salafist group (the Abdullah Azzam Brigades) fire around 17 rockets (including at least 4 Grads) and at least 2 mortars into Israel, seriously injuring 2 Israelis and damaging a religious seminary and a synagogue. The IDF carries out at least 25 air strikes (warplanes and drones) and 5 artillery strikes, killing at least another 7 Palestinians (5 militants and 2 bystanders, including 1 child) and wounding at least 40; the attacks include the targeted assassination of Islamic Jihad’s senior military cmdr. Mu’ataz Quraiqe‘ in Gaza City, also killing his brother and 2-yr.-old son. (The other 4 militants killed, including senior PRC cmdr. Samed Abed, apparently were targeted after firing rockets.) Other targets include smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, the main waste treatment facility in Nussayrat refugee camp (r.c.) in central Gaza, and numerous Hamas facilities and suspected weapons storage facilities across the Strip. With air strikes continuing into the evening, Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), declares that it no longer considers itself bound by a unilateral cease-fire that had been in place since the end of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 1/2009. Israeli officials discuss the possibility of launching an all-out offensive on Gaza. A Hamas mbr. injured in an 8/15/11 Israeli air strike on Gaza dies. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin and 1 each nr. Jericho, Qalqilya, and Ramallah. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Kafr Qaddum, Ni‘lin, and al-Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers beat and fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, injuring 1 Palestinian. (JP, MNA, YA 8/19; NYT, WP 8/20; IMEU, JAZ 8/21; PCHR 8/25; OCHA 8/26; NYT 8/27)

In Cairo, 100s of Egyptians angry over Israel’s killing of 3 soldiers in the Sinai on 8/18 gather outside the Israeli emb., demanding Israel’s amb. be expelled. Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; the interim military leadership) summons the Israeli amb. to demand an apology and call for an investigation into the killings. The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for pres., Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fatouh, calls the incident an Israeli act of war, saying the SCAF should abrogate the 1979 peace treaty. (NYT, WP 8/20)

Israel’s Interior Min. gives final approval for the construction of the 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem that were first announced during U.S. VP Joe Biden’s visit to Israel in 3/2010 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 156). The ministry says it also intends to give final approval to another 2,700 new units in East Jerusalem’s Givat HaMatos and Pisgat Ze’ev settlements in response to the recent popular protests in Israel that have demanded, among other things, more and cheaper housing. The U.S. says “unilateral action of this kind works against our [peace] efforts.” Israel’s Peace Now accuses the government of “exploiting the housing crisis in Israel to promote its settlement policy” with the intention of undermining the peace process. (NYT, WP 8/12; PCHR 8/18; OCHA 8/19)

In Gaza, a mbr. of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades is killed in a “mysterious explosion” in Rafah. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning and in 1 nr. Jericho late at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah and Tubas. In Nablus, 1,200 international activists fr. 22 countries take part in a peace rally in solidarity with the Palestinians; the event was organized by Los Angles Cable International Center in coordination with Nablus’s governor. (AFP 8/11)

Israel’s security cabinet agrees in principle to allow more exports out of Gaza and expects details to be fleshed out within the next few days, but there is no serious change before the end of the quarter. In the afternoon and early evening, unidentified Palestinians fire 6 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage in 1 instance and moderately injuring 1 Israeli in another. The IDF makes 4 air strikes on al-Mughraqa in c. Gaza, destroying a building used by Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), a partially constructed home, and a well, causing no reported injuries; makes another air strike destroying an IQB building in Gaza City’s al-Zaytun neighborhood, damaging several surrounding buildings but causing no serious injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Kifl Haris nr. Salfit. Israeli authorities deport detained Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Muhammad Abu Tir, whose Jerusalem residency status was revoked in 5/2010, to Ramallah. (JP, UPI 12/8; JP, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 12/9; OCHA 12/10; PCHR 12/16; OCHA 12/17)

Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), takes responsibility for shooting at a Jewish settler vehicle driving nr. Hebron (in area C, under full Israeli control, where the PASF is not allowed to operate), killing 4 Jewish settlers, including a pregnant woman, marking the deadliest West Bank attack on Israelis in more than 2 yrs. and the first staged by Hamas since before the 1/2006 elections. Both Abbas and Netanyahu say the attack should not derail peace talks. The YESHA settlement council vows to renew construction in West Bank settlements immediately, before the temporary freeze ends, to demonstrate Israelis’ “resolve against terrorism.” Following the attack and throughout the night, the IDF seals the entrances to Hebron, Halhul, and al-Fawar r.c. and imposes a curfew on nearby Bani Na‘im village, raiding and searching homes and detaining Palestinians with suspected connections to Hamas. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers implementing their “price-tag” doctrine to punish Palestinians for any state acts against settlers, beat Palestinian farmers working their land nr. Emanuel settlement nr. Salfit and stone Palestinian vehicles traveling on the Nablus–Qalqilya road (2 separate incidents) as well as on a road bypassing Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron attempt to break into a nearby Palestinian home but are prevented by the IDF. Late at night, the IDF patrols 2 villages nr. Salfit; no incidents are reported. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that in the previous wk. 3 Palestinians were killed in 2 separate tunnel collapses on the Rafah border. (NYT, WP, WT 9/1; PCHR 9/2; OCHA 9/3)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fatally shoot 2 armed Palestinian teenagers who infiltrate the border fence nr. Abasan; the IDF claims they are mbrs. of Hamas’s armed-wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB). The IDF sends troops 800 m into Abasan to raze a Palestinian house under construction, a poultry farm, and 2 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of agricultural land planted with olive and palm trees to clear lines of site. Later, IDF troops and armed Palestinians exchange fire across the Gaza border, leaving 1 IDF soldier wounded. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall and land confiscations in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin nr. Ramallah, Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih in the north central West Bank, and Bayt Jala and al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving scores suffering tear gas inhalation, injuring 5 Palestinians, and arresting 11 Israelis and internationals (including an Israeli journalist). (NYT 5/22; OCHA, PCHR 5/27)

In Jerusalem, Israeli police inform 4 PC mbrs. fr. the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform party—Khalid Abu ‘Arafa, Muhammad Abu Tir, Ahmad Atwan, and Muhammad Totah (all arrested in 6/06 as part of Israel’s round-up of Hamas-affiliated PC mbrs. and recently released after completing their sentences)— that Israel’s High Court has upheld a 9/09 ruling revoking their permanent Jerusalem residency status because their participation in 1/06 Palestinian elections constituted disloyalty to the state, warning that they will be deported to Gaza if they do not leave Jerusalem voluntarily (Abu Tir by 6/19, the others by 7/3). (NYT 5/22; PCHR 5/27; PCHR 6/7)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit, triggering at least 1 buried device and drawing Palestinian mortar fire, which prompts the IDF to move several tanks and armed bulldozers into Gaza, shelling areas outside Khan Yunis. The exchange leaves 2 armed Palestinians, 1 Palestinian bystander, and 2 IDF soldiers dead and 3 IDF soldiers and 6 Palestinians (including at least 2 civilians, one a 13-yr.-old boy) wounded, marking the 1st deadly exchange of fire in Gaza since OCL ended on 1/18/09. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and a group calling itself Palestinian Taliban (believed to be a radical Salafist splinter group opposed to Hamas) claim their fighters were involved in the initial border incident; the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades claims responsibility for ambushing and firing mortars at IDF troops once they entered Gaza, causing the IDF casualties. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (2 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (JP 3/27; WP 3/28; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; PCHR 4/8)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists (including Palestinian Authority [PA] PM Salam Fayyad, PA communications advisor Sabri Saydam, Fatah Central Comm. mbr. Nabil Shaath, PLO Exec. Comm. mbr. Taysir Khalid, Palestinian National Initiative party head Mustafa Barghouti, and the mayor of Geneva), some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a nonviolent march to the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in protests against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinians staging a nonviolent march to land located between Dayr Nizam and al-Nabi Salih recently confiscated for the expansion of Halamish settlement (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); conducts late-night patrols in Rumana village w. of Jenin. Hamas accuses Fatah of links to the 1/20/10 assassination of Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades founder Mahmud al-Mabhuh, saying that 2 Palestinian suspects in custody in Dubai in connection with the assassination, Anwar Shhaybar and Ahmad Hassanayn, were former Fatah security officers and current employees of a senior Fatah official. Fatah denies the accusation. (NYT 2/20; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25)

Israel deports Americans Jared Maslin (chief English editor for the Bethlehembased Palestinian news agency Ma‘an) and Faith Rowold (a volunteer with a Lutheran Church group in Jerusalem) to the U.S. on visa violations after having detained them the preceding wk. at Ben-Gurion Airport; Palestinians and NGOs operating in the occupied territories view Maslin’s deportation in particular as further evidence that Israel is stepping up its crackdown on individuals and organizations, especially ones with foreign funding, that promote Palestinian interests. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, Ni‘lin, and nr. Hebron. (PCHR, WP 1/21; OCHA 1/27; PCHR 1/28)

Syrian-based senior Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a founder of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, is found murdered in his hotel room in Dubai. Hamas accuses Israel of assassinating him, but Israel refuses to comment. (NYT, WP 1/30; JPI 2/11; NYT, WT 2/16)

In Gaza, 2 mbrs. of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), are killed in a mysterious explosion e. of Jabaliya; Hamas accuses the IDF of targeting the men with artillery fire, but Israel denies involvement, and a medical worker at the scene reports no evidence of shelling in the area. Egyptian police discover approximately 2 tons of TNT underground nr. Sarsuria in the Sinai that they believe was intended for militants in Gaza (cf. 8/30). (WP 9/2; OCHA, PCHR 9/3)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Hebron, arresting 3 Palestinians. (PCHR 9/3)

In East Jerusalem, ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews protesting a parking lot that operates on the Sabbath attack a Palestinian cab driver passing by, heavily damaging his taxi and lightly injuring him. (OCHA 9/11)

Israeli naval boats fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast to force them back to shore, seriously wounding a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy on the beach with a gunshot to the head. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades, skunk at stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the separation wall in Bil‘in; fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian and international activists holding nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in al-Ma‘sara and Ni‘lin, causing no major injuries; conducts late-night house searches in and around Jenin, making no arrests. In Rafah, Hamas police and Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) mbrs. attempt to arrest SCG leader Shaykh ‘Abd al-Latif Musa, surrounding his mosque during Friday prayers, sparking a 7-hr. battle that leaves 24 Palestinians dead (12 SCG, 6 Hamas, 6 bystanders), 130 injured (including a boy inside Egyptian Rafah), and 95 SCG supporters under arrest. The dead include Shaykh Musa, who reportedly commits suicide by detonating an explosives belt, killing s. Gaza IQB cmdr. Muhammad Jibril Shamali, who led the raid. (Agence France-Presse 8/14; MNA, NYT, WP, WT 8/16; Jerusalem Post, OCHA, PCHR 8/20)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an empty car in Jabaliya r.c. owned by a member of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) in an apparent assassination attempt, destroying the car, damaging surrounding homes, causing no reported injuries; sends tanks, troops into areas southeast of Gaza City to bulldozes 200 d. of olive groves. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shell an alleged rocket-launching site w. of Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, injuring 2 Palestinian children (ages 4, 17) and damaging a house. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border direct heavy machine gun fire towards residential areas of Abasan, wounding 1 Palestinian inside his home. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches a store in Yatta nr. Hebron, arresting the owner and confiscating a computer; chases and detains 17 Palestinian children who throw stones at an IDF post outside al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, questioning and releasing 12, arresting 5; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem, displacing a family of 7. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus seize an area of Palestinian land and begin leveling work for construction of a new settler-only bypass road. Jewish settlers angry over the removal of an IDF roadblock nr. Hebron demonstrate, block Palestinian traffic. Israel’s Housing min. issues tenders for construction of 286 new settlement housing units in Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian teenager injured during the IDF’s 4/11/08 raid on al-Bureij r.c. dies (see Chronology in JPS 148). (PCHR 5/22; OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

Israeli police hold a press conference to announce serious new corruption and financial impropriety allegations against Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (see Quarterly Update for details). (NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 5/28)

Israel, Syria, Turkey announce that Israel and Syria have been holding “serious and continuous” indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators since 2/07; high-level Israeli and Syrian negotiating teams are in Istanbul taking part in a preliminary round of indirect negotiations. (IFM 5/21; NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12)

Lebanese political figures holding national unity talks in Doha formally announce that they have reached a comprehensive agmt. ending their 18-mo. political standoff and paving the way for Gen. Michel Suleiman’s election as pres, including agmts. on redistricting Beirut, an electoral law, and allotment of cabinet seats that will give Hizballah veto power over major decisions. (MM, NYT, WP 5/21; MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/22)

Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and troops into Abasan to search homes (reportedly using some Palestinians as human shields), exchanging fire (including tank shells) with local gunmen (killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 1), detaining 21 (releasing them in the evening), and bulldozing 225 d. of agricultural land, a greenhouse, an irrigation system before withdrawing late at night. The IDF also makes an air strike on Rafah, assassinating Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Nafiz Mansur, who allegedly had a role in the capture of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, as he walks through town, seriously wounding a 15-yr.-old bystander, damaging several surrounding homes. IDF soldiers at the Kerem Shalom crossing fire on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, causing no reported injuries. Palestinians fire 30 rockets, mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., Tulkarm and nr. Hebron. In Gaza City, mbrs. of a PRC faction raid and steal office equipment fr. the offices of a rival PRC faction. (NYT 5/2; OCHA 5/7; PCHR 5/8)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car carrying 2 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. nr. Khan Yunis, missing it, wounding 6 bystanders. Gazan PC mbrs. erect a tent in front of the PC headquarters in Gaza City, begin a hunger strike to protest Israel’s ongoing siege. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, wounding 5 with live ammunition; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Israel bars access to the Jordan River to 15,000 Christians making a pilgrimage to Jesus’s baptismal cite to mark Orthodox Christian Holy Week, keeping them behind a fence 30 ft. fr. the river. Birzeit University student council elections allot 25 seats to Fatah, 19 to Hamas, 5 each to the PFLP and a joint Islamic Jihad/People’s Party list. Students clash over the results, prompting the university to close the campus until tensions cool. (OCHA, WT 4/23; PCHR 4/24)

With the Rafah border breached, Israel halts emergency imports authorized on 1/22, arguing that Gazans can now get food and fuel fr. Egypt. Meanwhile, the IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. the Rafah border, assassinating Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Zayid ‘Abd al-‘Aal and Ibrahim al-‘Absi; sends troops into areas e. of Rafah to conduct arrest raids, detaining and taking back to Israel 25 Palestinians possibly connected to the 1/23 border breach. In the West Bank, 2 Palestinians fr. Bayt Umar nr. Hebron infiltrate Kefar Etzion settlement, stab and wound 3 Jewish settlers before being shot dead by settlement security officers; no group takes responsibility. The IDF sends troops into Bayt Umar, fires on residential areas, occupies the homes of the 2 Kefar Etzion attackers, interrogates their families, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 2 Palestinians; later, IDF troops posted at the entrance to the village fire on a funeral procession for 1 of the assailants, injuring 1 mourner. A Palestinian gunman fires on Israeli border police outside Shu‘fat r.c. nr. Jerusalem, killing 1 Israeli border policeman, wounding another, escaping unharmed; no group takes responsibility. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Azun, nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur in Hebron, guarded by IDF troops, add 5 mobile homes to an unauthorized outpost nearby in Halhul. (AP 1/24; NYT, WP, WT 1/25; OCHA 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza Valley fire on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, seriously wounding 1. The ESF demolishes 2 smuggling tunnels under the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Qalqilya in 5 cars with Palestinian license plates in search of wanted Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Yahiya Abu Awad (who is not found), surrounding several homes, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, searching another, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, seriously wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, and nr. Hebron, Ramallah, Salfit (imposing a curfew and firing on Palestinian children returning from school, wounding 3). (OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

The IDF makes at least 6 air strikes on Gaza, killing 9 Palestinians, wounding 10s. Air strikes target an ESF barracks outside the Interior Min. (killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding at least 21 Palestinians, including at least 10 bystanders); a civilian car (apparently mistaken for a Hamas vehicle) driving nr. Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian children, wounding their father, 2 siblings; a trailer used to house ESF mbrs. guarding Interior Min. spokesman Khalid Abu Hilal’s home, killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding 4; a Hamas base e. of Gaza City nr. Qarni, killing 4 Hamas mbrs., 1 bystander and wounding 4 Hamas mbrs., 2 bystanders; a car in Gaza City, in an apparent attempt to assassinate Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) cmdr. Imad Shabanah and a 2d senior Hamas mbr., wounding them, 4 bystanders. The IDF reoccupies an area of prime Palestinian agricultural land northeast of Bayt Hanun and northwest of Bayt Lahiya to expand its n. Gaza buffer zone, declaring the area off limits to Palestinians farmers, leveling land; deploys an artillery battery on the n. Gaza border, shelling areas nr. Bayt Lahiya and in Jabaliya r.c. (targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs.), causing no injuries; sends tanks into n. Gaza to conduct “limited ground operations” to halt Palestinian rocket fire, occupying buildings in Bayt Lahiya, and later Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya r.c. (The U.S. supports Israel’s “right to defend itself.”) A Palestinian teenager is injured in Jabaliya r.c. when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance (IDF UXO). Palestinians fire at least 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, wounding several Israelis and damaging a synagogue, high school, and industrial building. (The Israeli DMin. evacuates 900 residents fr. Sederot, where most rockets have hit, taking them for a “weekend respite” at a recreation center in Netanya; about half of the town’s 24,000 residents have left.) In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Salfit, Tulkarm (firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 2) and in Hebron (also raiding a wedding in Hebron, interrogating celebrants and arresting 3), Nablus; sends troops to patrol in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, firing on residential areas and stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding a 2d. Meanwhile, a new Hamas-Fatah ceasefire significantly reduces violence in Gaza, though at least 6 Palestinians are killed in clashes during the day. The dead include a Hamas mbr. kidnapped, executed by Fatah; a Hamas mbr. killed by a Fatah sniper; 4 Hamas supporters killed, 14 wounded when Fatah forces ambush a funeral for 2 ESF mbrs. killed on 5/16. Hamas mbrs. also attack PA national security forces (NSF) and PSF headquarters in n. Gaza. With the PA security forces unable to guarantee his security, Abbas delays plans to go to Gaza today to discuss the interfactional fighting. (AP, HA, REU 5/17; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 5/18; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

In Gaza, Fatah-Hamas fighting intensifies, leaving at least 15 Palestinians dead. Among the incidents: PA presidential guardsmen fatally shoot Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Ibrahim Maniah nr. Qarni (Hamas claims he was assassinated, Fatah says he died in an exchange of gunfire); in retaliation, Hamas mbrs. attack a PA presidential guard training facility at the Qarni crossing with rockets, mortars, and RPGs, also firing on other PA security forces who come to the guardsmen’s aid, killing 8 national security officers. IDF troops on the Gaza border nearby fire on 2 guardsmen fleeing the scene toward the border fence, killing 1. Outside Abbas’s Gaza City offices, PA security forces loyal to Abbas halt, harass, shoot execution-style 2 Palestinian reporters for a pro-Hamas newspaper. A 12th Palestinian is killed in interfactional fighting in Gaza City. Across the Strip, Palestinian civilians stay in their homes and most stores close, while Fatah and Hamas gunmen take up strategic positions along roads and atop high buildings, and Egyptian mediators work to establish a new cease-fire. PA National Security Adviser Muhammad Dahlan, currently abroad, orders 500 Fatah-affiliated PSF mbrs. undergoing training in Egypt to return to Gaza immediately to help defend the pro-Abbas forces; Israel gives its consent for the forces to enter. Hamas also fires more than 20 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a house and empty school, seriously wounding 1 Israeli, moderately wounding another. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron. (BBC, HA, NYT, OCHA, WP 5/16; PCHR, WP 5/17; WP 5/18)

On the day Israel marks independence day and Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades fires 6 rockets and 8 mortars into Israel, causing no injuries, reiterating that it will no longer abide by the 11/26/06 cease-fire; the IDF responds with helicopter air strikes on n. Gaza and fires on an open area e. of Rafah; no damage or injuries are reported on either side. (Also in Gaza, a Palestinian is injured in Jabaliya r.c. while trying to dismantle an unexploded IDF shell.) Meanwhile, moderates in Hamas’s political wing say they are working to preserve the cease-fire. In the West Bank, the IDF occupies a Palestinian home in Saffa nr. Ramallah as an observation post; patrols, fires on residential areas of Nablus; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Nr. Jenin, 2 Palestinian children (ages 4, 7) are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. Thousands of Jewish settlers march to the evacuated Homesh settlement site to protest the 2005 disengagement despite the IDF’s declaration of the area as a closed military zone; 2 IDF soldiers are injured trying to keep settlers from the site. Jewish settlers escorted by IDF troops bar Palestinians fr. using a road s. of Jenin for several hrs. (BBC, MM 4/24; IFM, MM, NYT, OCHA, WP 4/25; PCHR 4/26)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. Jabaliya r.c. carrying Islamic Jihad mbrs. who had fired rockets toward Israel (causing no damage), missing the vehicle and causing no damage; within the hr., the IDF makes a 2d air strike on a car in the same area, killing 1 Palestinian with no known resistance connections. Citing 9 killings in 2 days, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades declares an end to its observance of the 11/26/06 cease-fire, though PM Haniyeh says that the PA still has every intention of making it work. During the day, Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Ramallah, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian boy; evicts some 80 Palestinians fr. Hadidiyya in the n. Jordan Valley (the Israeli High Court ruled on 1/3 that they posed a security threat to Jewish settlers in nearby Ro’i settlement; see Quarterly Update in JPS 143); confiscates 169 d. of Palestinian land nr. Tulkarm for construction of the separation wall; imposes a curfew on Hawara nr. Nablus; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Nablus. A Palestinian gunmanfires on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hizma checkpoint into Jerusalem, injuring a settler and a Palestinian bystander. In Jabaliya r.c., PRC mbrs. abduct 5 Palestinians, including 2 ESF mbrs., exchanging fire with the ESF that leaves 1 of the abductees dead and sparks local demonstrations. In Gaza City, armed mbrs. of a local clan attack an ESF base, injuring 1 ESF mbr., kidnapping another (who is released later in the day after the PA intervenes). In Khan Yunis, a PA security officer is carjacked, wounded by unidentified assailants. (WP 4/23; BBC, MM, WT 4/24; OCHA 4/25; PCHR 4/26)

Overnight, the IDF revives Operation Hot Winter (see 3/1) in Nablus, conducting major house searches, arresting 2 Palestinians but withdrawing in the morning. During the day, IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers who stray near the border fence e. of al-Qarara, causing no injuries; later sends tanks, bulldozers across the border in the same area to level land, discovering and dismantling 2 roadside bombs. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino attack Palestinian workers repairing a Palestinian home nearby; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai vandalize Palestinian homes nearby. A Palestinian gunman fires on a Jewish settler vehicle driving on the Itamar settlement bypass road nr. Nablus, wounding 1 settler. In Gaza City, suspected Fatah gunmen assassinate Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Ala’ al-Haddad; late in the evening, the ESF fires an RPG destroying a house in Gaza City in apparent retaliation. Fatah-ESF clashes escalate in Bayt Hanun, with ESF mbrs. firing an RPG at the home of a Fatah mbr. and Fatah mbrs. retaliating by firing an RPG at the home of a Hamas mbr.; 3 Palestinians are injured. Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad says that the PA has definite information about who kidnapped BBC corresponded Johnston on 3/12, indicating that they are mbrs. of the powerful Daghmash clan, which is involved in criminal activity and was responsible for the abduction of 2 Fox News journalists on 8/27/06; says the government is working to secure his release. (HA, NYT, OCHA 3/14; PCHR 3/15)

The worst Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza to date leaves a total of 18 Palestinians dead (including 2 children ages 5 and 7, 6 presidential guardsmen; including 12 in Gaza City, 3 in Jabaliya r.c., 1 in Abasan, 1 in Bayt Lahiya), more than 220 injured, with factions exchanging mortar, RPG fire; setting fire to and ransacking rival meeting halls, security compounds (including the n. Gaza headquarters of the PA Military Intelligence, PSF, General Intelligence, as well as a Force 17 barracks, ESF offices, and barracks for the Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades). In the most serious incidents; the Fatahdominated presidential guard attempts to overrun the Hamas-controlled PA Interior Min. offices in Gaza City, exchanging fire with the ESF there, as well as torching parts of Islamic University (a Hamas stronghold); Hamas mbrs. later attack several buildings at Fatah-dominated al-Quds University and destroying the Palestinian Labor Voice radio station in Jabaliya; and Fatah mbrs. raid a mosque in Abasan, firing on worshipers, killing 1, wounding 8, kidnapping 6. A Palestinian woman wounded in the ESF–Presidential Guard exchange on 2/1 dies. Egyptian mediators resident in Gaza broker talks with Hamas, Fatah officials, who order their mbrs. in the afternoon to begin observing a cease-fire, but exchanges continue late into the evening. (As Egyptian officials leave the talks, their convoy comes under fire, causing no injuries.) In Rafah, 300 Palestinians march calling for a halt to intra-Palestinian violence. In the West Bank, unidentified gunmen fire on the home of mayor of Qalqilya, causing no injuries. Meanwhile, the IDF surrounds a mosque in Bayt Kahil during noon prayers, searches and questions worshipers as they leave; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar settlement shoot, wound a 15-yr.-old Palestinian shepherd outside Nablus. (MM 2/2; NYT, WP 2/3; MM 2/6; OCHA 2/7; PCHR 2/8)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car driving nr. Gaza City, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding a bystander; fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Bayt Lahiya attempting to fire a rocket into Israel, also wounding 8 bystanders; shells a group of armed Hamas mbrs. nr. the Qarni crossing, killing 1 Hamas mbr., a PA Preventive Security Forces (PSF) officer at a post nearby; fires into al-Qarara, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer; shells the PA Education Min. offices nr. Bayt Lahiya; directs shells, air strikes on Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya, severely damaging 1 Palestinian home, an UNRWA clinic, a PA school; warns residents of a pending air strike on another Palestinian home nr. Jabaliya, but 10s of neighbors gather in the home, forcing the IDF to call off the operation. Palestinians fire 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas phones Israeli PM Ehud Olmert to offer a total cease-fire in Gaza (including halts to rocket fire, digging of tunnels) in exchange for a halt to IDF operations in the Strip. Olmert agrees that if Palestinians halt actions first at 6:00 A.M. local time on 11/26, the IDF would halt operations, quickly withdraw troops fr. Gaza if the truce holds. Some Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades factions say they will not adhere to the truce until Israel halts actions first. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, IDF troops patrolling in Abu Dis chase a group of Palestinian children who throw stones at their vehicles, firing into the air and firing percussion grenades, detaining 4 children ages 11–13 for questioning; demolishes 4 shops nr. Salfit. PA security forces demonstrate in Gaza City against the Hamas-led government’s failure to pay back salaries. (IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/26; OCHA 11/29; PCHR 11/30)

In Gaza, the IDF makes predawn artillery strikes on Bayt Hanun in retaliation for 11/7 rocket fire, hitting a residential area, killing 19 Palestinian civilians (17 in 1 family, including 8 children, 6 women), wounding 60–80 (including at least 26 children) in what the army says is a regrettable error; Israel suspends artillery fire on n. and e. Gaza pending an investigation. The IDF also fatally shoots 2 Palestinians (at least 1 armed), wounding 6 in Jabaliya; makes an air strike demolishing 1 Palestinian home in Gaza City after warning residents to leave. By nightfall, the IDF completes withdrawal of its forces fr. n. Gaza population centers into the border area btwn. the Strip and Israel officially ending Operation Autumn Clouds, leaving a total of 78 Palestinians dead (including 1 PSF officer and 50 civilians, including 16 children, 10 women), 262 wounded (including at least 67 children, 58 women), 250 d. of land razed, at least 16 homes and a mosque demolished, some 120 homes, 3 mosques, several schools, a hospital severely damaged Palestinians fire 13 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel in retaliation, causing no damage or injuries. In Damascus, Hamas leader Mishal calls on all factions to retaliate; a n. Gaza faction of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades issues a statement blaming the U.S. for the casualties for its support of Israel and calls for attacks on U.S. targets worldwide, but a spokesman for Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades rejects the call, saying Hamas’s only theater of operations is Palestine. Bush sends his condolences, calls on all sides for restraint. The IDF also makes an air strike on a car in Gaza City, assassinating Hamas mbrs. Ahmad Awad (reportedly a chief rocket maker and son-in-law of PA FM Mahmud Zahhar), Ramzi Shuhaybir. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on Palestinians demonstrating against Operation Autumn Clouds, wounding 5; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, nr. Bethlehem and Jerusalem; orders 71 bedouin to evacuate land nr. Ramallah on the grounds that it is “state land.” (BBC, HA, IFM, al-Mezan Center for Human Rights 11/8; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 11/9; OCHA 11/15; PCHR 11/16)

Overnight, the IDF drops 2 quarter-ton bombs on a 3-story building in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate chief Hamas bomb-maker Muhammad Dayif, 4 times previously the target of Israeli assassination since 2000, wounding Dayif, killing senior Hamas mbr. Nabil al-Salima,his wife and 7 children, wounding Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades n. Gaza cmdr. Ahmad al-Gander and at least 33 bystanders, seriously damaging 15 surrounding homes. At the same time, the IDF also expands Operation Summer Rains with a major incursion into central Gaza, sending 10s of tanks, APCs, armored bulldozers across the Kissufim crossing under helicopter and drone escort and moving troops north fr. positions nr. Abasan, cutting the Strip in half, ordering PA security forces to leave the area, shelling and bulldozing surrounding areas. During the day, the IDF reportedly kills at least 22 other Palestinians and wounds at least 14 in major gun battles nr. Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza and in air and artillery strikes around Dayr al-Balah and Khan Yunis; the PRC’s Salah al-Din Brigades Khan Yunis leader Hisham Abu Nusayra, a PA policeman are killed in separate air strikes in Khan Yunis and a police station in alQarara is hit. The IDF also bulldozes 65 d. of agricultural land, partially demolishes 8 Palestinian homes and a car, and occupies 10 Palestinian homes as military posts in Dayr al-Balah; withdraws fr. the Qarni industrial estate (held since 7/8), allowing humanitarian and commercial imports to resume, and from Dahaniyya airport (held since 6/28), allowing PA security forces to enter the airport and the Rafah crossing and around 1,000 displaced Palestinians (see 7/8) to return to their homes. Palestinians try to fire rockets fr. Gaza toward Kissufim, but they fall short, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Dura, Nablus to conduct arrest raids. A Palestinian militant dies of injuries received during the 7/7 IDF air strikes on Bayt Lahiya. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP, WT 7/12; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 7/13; PCHR 7/20; NYT 7/21; B’Tselem 8/3)

Before dawn, Hizballah launches a crossborder attack on Israel, dubbed Operation True Promise, firing rockets across the Blue Line into n. Israel as a diversion; sending fighters in to n. Israel to attack an IDF patrol btwn. Zarit and Shetula, capturing 2 IDF soldiers, killing 3 soldiers, wounding 2. The IDF sends troops into Lebanon to search for the missing soldiers, where an IDF tank hits a mine, killing 4 IDF soldiers and marking Israel’s 1st ground incursion into Lebanon since its 5/00 withdrawal. (An 8th IDF soldier is killed, 2 others are wounded in Lebanon late in the evening as they try to recover the remains of the 4 tank occupants.) The IDF also launches air strikes and directs heavy artillery, tank fire on some 40 Hizballah positions, roads, bridges, power stations in s. Lebanon, killing at least 2 Lebanese civilians, 1 Lebanese soldier, wounding at least 10. The Lebanese government requests that UNIFIL broker a cease-fire, but Israel says a cease-fire would be contingent upon return of the captured soldiers. Hizballah leader Shaykh Hasan Nasrallah says the group plans to hold the 2 soldiers for the release of 3–4 Lebanese held by Israel. During the day, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz calls up a reserve infantry division for deployment to the n. Israel border and sends the Israeli navy into Lebanese waters, threatening a massive invasion of Lebanon; makes air strikes on a Palestinian guerrilla base s. of Beirut. (BBC, HA, IFM 7/12; HA, IFM, NYT, WP, WT 7/13; UNIS 7/14)

Overnight, the IDF sends another 15–20 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) into Bayt Hanun and into the Erez industrial zone, leveling land to clear lines of sight, searching for roadside bombs and tunnels that could obstruct a large-scale military incursion into Gaza (as PA security forces pull out of their border positions at Erez, Palestinians stream into the industrial zone to scavenge fr. closed businesses there); continues to break the sound barrier over Gaza and to make air and artillery strikes on n. Gaza, killing 1 PA security officer, wounding several Palestinians, and destroying an empty building on Islamic University campus. During the day, the IDF continues the n. Gaza build-up, reoccupying the fmr. Nisanit settlement site, occupying 2 more Palestinian homes as operational bases, bulldozing a PA security force base in Bayt Hanun; fires on residential areas around Erez (wounding a Palestinian child) and on a Palestinian Energy Authority repair crew attempting to fix a transformer in the area. The IDF also allows Qarni crossing to reopen for several hrs. to import humanitarian supplies from the World Food Program (WFP) and UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East); WFP reports that there are only 2 days left of sugar and 8 days left of animal feed in Gaza and that milk and dairy products are only available in small quantities. Meanwhile, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades fire a 2-engine Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting an empty school nr. Ashqelon, 7.5 mi inside Israel (the longest-range rocket to date). In the West Bank, the IDF raids Jenin, ambushes and fires on a car, assassinating wanted AMB Jenin cmdr. Fida’i Qandil, wounding a passenger; raids a PA police station in Ramallah, detaining 3 Palestinians captured by the PA in connection with the murder of a Jewish settler on 6/29; arrests Hamas spokesman Farhat Asad nr. Ramallah; patrols in, fires on residential areas of al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Jenin, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, in Nablus and Qalqilya, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Mehola nr. Tubas attack Palestinian farmers working their fields nearby. (HA, IMEMC, MM, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WT, YA 7/4; NYT, WP, WT 7/5; OCHA, PCHR 7/6)

Before dawn, 8 Palestinian gunmen dressed in IDF uniforms sneak across the s. Gaza border into Israel using a tunnel, attack an IDF border post nr. Kerem Shalom with grenades, rifles, antitank rockets, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 4, capturing 1 (IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, apparently wounded in the exchange) in what they call Operation Dispel Illusion; 2 Palestinian gunmen are killed by retaliatory fire; the IDF sends tanks, bulldozers a half-mile inside Gaza to search for the captured soldier, the tunnel; several groups including Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the PRCs, and a previously unknown group, the Army of Islam, jointly claim the attack as retaliation for the IDF’s 6/8 Abu Samhadana assassination; Abbas, some Hamas political leaders call for the captured IDF soldier’s immediate release. In response, Israel shuts all crossings into Gaza (including forcing the closing of the Rafah crossing by barring EU monitors fr. entering Gaza through Kerem Shalom, leaving as many as 3,000 Palestinians stranded on the border inside Egypt, and some 400 medical patients awaiting treatment abroad stranded on the Gaza side); shuts off fuel supplies to Gaza; bars Palestinian fishermen fr. going out to sea; tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement at checkpoints and roadblocks across the West Bank. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (firing on a clearly marked al-Jazeera TV vehicle, causing damage but no injuries), and nr. Hebron, Jenin (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 2), Qalqilya. (AFP, HA, IFM, YA 6/25; MENA, OSC, VOI 6/25 in WNC 6/26; AFP, AP, CSM, JP, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/26; WT 6/27; NYT, OCHA 6/28; PCHR 6/29; NYT 7/8)

After Palestinians fire 5 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF shells n. Gaza from land, sea, and air, hitting the Bayt Lahiya beach where families are picnicking, killing at least 8 Palestinians, wounding 32; the IDF suspends shelling, orders an investigation; Hamas’s Izzeddin alQassam Brigades say they would end their 16-mo. cease-fire to avenge the deaths. The IDF also makes air strikes on a car driven in n. Gaza by PRC mbrs. who allegedly had just fired a rocket into Israel, killing 3 PRC men; on a car driven by Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Jabaliya r.c. who allegedly were on their way to launch a rocket, wounding 2; on 2 cars driven by Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3. In addition, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, Tulkarm. In Gaza City, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the funeral of PRC leader Samhadana, assassinated on 6/8. (NYT, WP 6/10; IFM 6/11; MM, NYT 6/12; MM 6/14; PCHR 6/15; MM 6/16; OCHA 6/21; MA 6/25 in WNC 6/26)

Overnight, a senior mbr. of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades is killed in Jabaliya r.c. when a large bomb goes off nr. his home; no group takes responsibility. The IDF makes an air strike on a car driving in n. Gaza, assassinating PRC mbrs. Imad Asaliyya, Majdi Hammad, wounding 2 PRC mbrs. in the car, 2 bystanders; sends bulldozers, tanks 200 m into Gaza nr. Bureij r.c. to level land for the construction of a cement wall along the n. Gaza border; sends an undercover unit into ‘Anabta nr. Tulkarm in a car with Palestinian license plates to raid a caf´e and arrest 11 Palestinians; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Jericho, 1 nr. Nablus; patrols in Maithalun, stopping Palestinians for random ID checks; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Tulkarm, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin (firing on residential areas); issues military orders confiscating 600 d. of Palestinian land s. of Tulkarm, isolated btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line, for “security purposes”; accompanies an Israeli Archaeological Authority team into Battir nr. Bethlehem to conduct a test dig in the center of the village in search of Jewish historical remains. Gunmen affiliated with Hamas raid a Palestinian TV station in Khan Yunis, damage equipment, accusing the station of supporting Fatah at Hamas’s expense; the Hamas leadership denies the attack was authorized by the group. (MM 6/5; NYT 6/6; OCHA 6/7; PCHR 6/8)