Operation Protective Edge

Overview

Operation Protective Edge is a military operation launched by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Palestinian Gaza Strip following an escalation between Israel and Palestinian organization Hamas in July 2014.

Background

In June 2014, Israel launched “Operation Brother’s Keeper” during the search for the Israeli teenagers Eyal Yifrach, Natfali Frankel and Gil-ad Shaar. During the operation, the IDF killed ten Palestinians and took 500 members of Hamas into custody. Hamas responded increasing rocket launches against targets in Israel. According to the Times of Israel,^[1] the IDF’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepted 30 of 140 rockets fired at Israel on July 7th, with “no injuries or major damage” from the attacks. The same day, the @IDFSpokesperson Twitter feed posted a tweet announcing the commencement of “Operation Protective Edge” against Hamas (shown below). On the following day, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said “all Israelis have no become legitimate targets for the resistance.”^[2]

Notable Developments

#GazaUnderAttack

On July 8th, 2014, BBC Trending^[3] reported that the hashtag “#GazaUnderAttack” had been tweeted hundreds of thousands of times in the past week and that many of the accompanying images date as far back as 2009 and that many were “from conflicts in Syria and Iraq.”

Applauding Israelis Photograph

On July 9th, RT Middle East correspondent Allan Sorenson tweeted^[4] a photograph of Israelis sitting on a hilltop to view attacks on Gaza and “clapping when blasts are heard” (shown below). In the next two weeks, the post was gathered over 12,200 retweets and 1,900 favorites.

Cease-Fire

On July 14th, Israel agreed to a cease-fire proposed by Egypt, temporarily ending hostilities. The cease-fire was subsequently rejected by Hamas who claimed they were never consulted and rejected “it’s current form.” On July 17th, Al Jazeera^[5] reported that a temporary cease-fire had been agreed to allows UN humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, noting that “at least 226” Palestinians had been killed in the past nine days of bombardment.

Search Interest

External References