December 2008 Gaza Strip airstrikes

Gaza War

Map of Gaza

Date

27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009
(3 weeks and 1 day)

Location

Result

Israeli military victory

Israel declared unilateral ceasefire, 12 hours later Hamas announced a one-week ceasefire.
Humanitarian crisis and deterioration of infrastructure and basic services in Gaza.
Number of rockets being fired from Gaza reduced.
See results

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Strength

IDF: 4,000–20,000 deployed in ground invasion and tens of thousands of reservists mobilized (176,000 total active personnel)

Hamas (Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades and paramilitary police): 20,000 (est. total)
Other Palestinian paramilitary forces: 10,000

Casualties and losses

Total killed: 13
Soldiers: 10 (friendly fire: 4)
Civilians: 3

Total wounded: 518
Soldiers: 336
Civilians: 182

Total killed: 1,417 (PCHR), 1,391 (B'Tselem), 1,166 (IDF)

Militants and police officers:
491* (PCHR), 600* (B'Tselem), 709 (IDF), 600–700 (Hamas)
Civilians: 926 (PCHR), 759 (B'Tselem), 295 (IDF)

Total wounded: 5,303 (PCHR)

Total captured: 120 (IDF)

One Egyptian border guard officer killed and three wounded, and two children wounded.
Over 50,800 Gaza residents displaced.

Over 4,000 homes destroyed; around $2bn worth of damage to Gaza

*255 (PCHR) or 265 (B'Tselem) police officers were killed.

Israeli military victory