The 2008 Hamas–Israel ceasefire was an Egyptian-brokered six-month Tahdia (an Arabic term for a lull) "for the Gaza area", which went into effect between Hamas and Israel on 19 June 2008. According to the Egyptian-brokered agreement, Israel promised to stop air strikes and other attacks, while in return, there would not be rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Once the ceasefire held, Israel was to gradually begin to ease its blockade of Gaza.
During the initial week of the ceasefire, Islamic Jihad militants fired rockets on Israel. Under pressure from Hamas, Islamic Jihad had agreed to abide by the temporary truce, which was meant to apply only to Gaza, but had balked at the idea of not responding to Israeli military actions in the West Bank. The New York Times reported that the Islamic Jihad action broke the Hamas-Israeli Gaza truce. During the next 5 months of the ceasefire, Gazan attacks decreased significantly for a total of 19 rocket and 18 mortar shell launchings, compared to 1199 rockets and 1072 mortar shells in 2008 up to 19 June, a reduction of 98%.
The agreement called on Israel to increase the level of goods entering Gaza by 30 percent over the pre-lull period within 72 hours and to open all border crossings and "allow the transfer of all goods that were banned and restricted to go into Gaza" within 13 days after the beginning of the ceasefire. The increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel did improve, but the increase was only to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. Two months later the volume of goods arriving was too low to significantly improved living conditions, preventing UNRWA from replenishing its stores. Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse".
On 4 November 2008, Israel raided Gaza, killing six Hamas militants and effectively ending the ceasefire.The June 2008 Gaza Ceasefire Carter CenterRory McCarthy, 'Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen,' The Guardian 5 November 2008 The Israeli military said the target of the raid was a tunnel that they said Hamas was planning to use to capture Israeli soldiers positioned on the border fence 250m away. Hamas officials said that the tunnel was being dug for defensive purposes. Following the Israeli raid, Hamas launched barrage of rocket fire at targets in southern Israel. On 20 December, Hamas announced it would not renew the ceasefire. Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead, an organized ground and air assault against military and police targets in Hamas-controlled Gaza, on 27 December 2008, sparking the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict.
Background
After its 2006 Palestinian legislative election victory, Hamas assumed administrative control of Gaza, consolidating its this control after a military conflict with Fatah. Israel and Egypt then partially sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah was no longer providing security. They imposed a blockade on the territory, prohibiting many exports and allowing only enough imported goods to avert a humanitarian or health crisis. After many acts of violence, foreign journalists left the Gaza strip due to the lack of security in the zone.
As a result of the June 2007 tightening of the Israeli embargo on Gaza, Hamas and other Palestinian paramilitias more than doubled the monthly number of Qassam rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza strip into Southern Israel. Israel conducted airstrikes and raids against Hamas and other targets in Gaza during 2007 and 2008. Hamas considers Israel an illegitimate state and Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group that must be dismantled.Gaza Truce May Be Revived by Necessity . By Ethan Bronner. The New York Times. Published 19 December 2008. There is no mutually agreed text or enforcement mechanism in the understanding brokered between the two parties, neither of which recognizes the other, that would facilitate a formal ceasefire or armistice.
After visiting Israel and Palestine in April 2008, former President Jimmy Carter stated that "Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, these leaders claimed that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens." Hamas was willing to consider a cease-fire in both Gaza and the Fatah controlled West Bank, but the Israelis were only interested in a Gaza agreement.
At the beginning of the cease-fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that "We have no illusions. The calm is fragile and likely to be short-lived." He also said that "Hamas is the address in Gaza, and it carries responsibility for everything that happens in Gaza".Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived . By Amos Harel and Jack Khoury. Published 18 June 2009. Hamas leadership had low expectations as well. Just minutes before the start, Israeli aircraft fired on a Gazan rocket launching squad, killing one militant.Olmert: Truce with Hamas 'fragile' . By Joshua Mitnick. The Washington Times. Published 20 June 2008. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh described the proposed period in Arabic as a Tahdia, meaning a temporary moment of calm and not a formal cease-fire.Hamas offering Israel truce, not peace . USA Today. Published 3 December 2008.
The Israeli opposition in the Knesset blasted the agreement. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said, "This is not a relaxation, it's an Israeli agreement to the rearming of Hamas... What are we getting for this?" In Palestine, Authority President Mahmoud Abbas praised it, and he used the lull to seek reconciliation with Hamas. Ha'aretz has alleged that even at the very beginning of the cease-fire Defense Minister Ehud Barak prepared a comprehensive intelligence-gathering program setting up battle plans against Hamas.
Ceasefire Terms The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) summarised the key components of the ceasefire as follows: On 19 June, at 6 am, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect. As part of the ceasefire, Palestinian militants agreed to immediately halt their attacks on Israel and Israel agreed to cease its military operations in Gaza. Israel also agreed to ease its blockade of Gaza and to gradually lift its ban on the import of a large number of commodities. The ceasefire is supposed to be in force for six months. A report by the British House of Commons Library, published on 22 January 2009, provides Hamas' understanding of the terms of the ceasefire: Mutual agreement to cease all military activities by the start of "zero hour" on Thursday 19 June, at 6:00 AM. Duration of ceasefire is six months according to agreement concluded among the national parties under Egyptian auspices. Ceasefire will be implemented under national consensus and under Egyptian auspices. After 72 hours from the start of the ceasefire, the crossing points will be opened to allow 30 per cent more goods to enter the Gaza strip. Ten days after that (i.e. thirteen days after ceasefire begins), all crossings would be open between Gaza and Israel, and Israel will allow the transfer of all goods that were banned or restricted to go into Gaza. Egypt will work to expand the ceasefire into the West Bank later.
The agreement also provided for "movement toward the release of Corporal Shalit". On the day of the agreement the BBC referred to the Shalit issue as "negotiations on the return of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit were expected to resume within a few days". Instead, Shalit's release would be dependent on Israel agreeing to a prisoner swap, and be discussed separately from the truce, as Hamas wanted. Shalit's father and grandfather attacked the Israeli government for leaving the soldier out of the cease-fire agreement.
Ceasefire progress
According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire. Hamas undertook to stop other groups from firing rockets at Israel. It took some days, but it was largely successful, with Hamas imposing its will and even imprisoning some of those who were firing rockets. Nonetheless, some rockets still continued to be fired from Gaza. On the other hand, the Israeli blockade of Gaza was loosened, but the goods shipments, while up some 25 to 30 percent and including a mix of more items, never began to approach the pre-blockade levels. Hamas hoped that the accord would lead Israel to suspend attacks on the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli forces continued to attack Hamas and other militants in the West Bank, prompting the rogue Palestinian militants in Gaza to fire rockets. The Israeli military also found several dozen improvised explosive devices and sniper fire cases on the Gaza border. Israel in turn hoped that the accord would lead to progress on negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit; neither hope was met. USA Today stated on 1 July that it was not clear how Hamas would know definitively whether a rocket was fired. Several militant factions operate inside Gaza. But Israel had taken a zero tolerance policy towards the truce in which every rocket and/or mortar attack would be punished in some way. On 11 August 2008 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that a military invasion of the Gaza Strip would not stop cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, but that the seven-week-old truce mediated by Egypt had halted the barrages for the first time in years. He said the numbers of short-range unguided rockets hitting Israel from Gaza had been reduced from hundreds to a handful. The same day a senior Hamas official said that the Islamic organization was not interested in renewing talks to free the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit until Israel completely lifted the siege on Gaza.
Israeli violations of the ceasefire prior to 4 November 2008 Palestinian Center for Human Rights recorded several IDF violations in the early days of the lull.
On 19 June 2008, just a few hours after the beginning of the ceasefire Israeli forces opened fire against fishermen and farmers in Gaza."IOF troops breach truce in Gaza Strip, shoot at Palestinian fishermen" Palestinian Information Center 20 June 2008
On 23 June, Israeli forces opened fire against children and farmers in northern Gaza Strip, wounding one of the farmers, Jameel 'Abdul Rahman al-Ghoul, 68, in the neck. Subsequently, a mortar was fired at Israel from Gaza.
On 24 June 2008, Israel raided the city of Nablus on the West Bank, outside of the cease-fire area, killing a commander of Islamic Jihad and one other Palestinian. Before the raid, unknown militants had fired a mortar into Southern Israel. Later the same day, three Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza into Sderot, Israel, causing two minor injuries; Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, stating the attack was in response to the Israeli raid. Israel then closed border crossings into Gaza; this was criticized by Hamas which said Israel was "backtracking on the calm". MSNBC has described the violence that day as the truce's "first serious test". Both sides continued to pursue calm afterward.
On 25 June, Israeli forces opened fire against farmers in southeastern Gaza Strip, injuring Salem Ahmed Abu Raida, 82, in the hand. Islamic Jihad threatened to renew rocket fire after the shooting. "We will respond to every Zionist violation at a suitable time," a spokesman Abu Hamza said. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure of all the crossings into the Gaza Strip. In response the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade fired a Qassam rocket at the western Negev the next day.