The truce, brought about by Egypt’s president, Mohammed Morsi, which called for an end to Gaza rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, came after the most grueling and bloodiest eight days of cross-border fighting that the region has seen in years.
Both armies feel that they have accomplished a lot during their war and even after the cease-fire, there have still been a few shots fired. The answer to the question of “who the real winner is” is still not certain. America, because of the killing of hundreds of Israelis in suicide and other attacks, sees Hamas as a terrorist group and does not meet with its officials. The Obama administration blames Hamas for the latest eruption of violence in Gaza and says Israel has the right to defend itself.
After being silent for so long, Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza after being continuously bombarded by rockets from the Palestinians. Israel killed Ahmed al-Jaabari, the head of Hamas, who had planned numerous attacks on the nation. Israel warned it might step up and take actions after bearing almost a week of relentless rocket fire from Gaza. In Israel’s attempt to defend itself, Hamas declared war on the State of Israel.
Both armies, the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and Hamas, fired at one another. Israel said its airstrikes were in response to days of rocket fire out of Gaza. Israeli Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser explains that the ongoing conflict isn’t over Gaza but rather Hamas’ desire to attack and cause mayhem in the populated city of Tel Aviv. The Palestinians bombed a civilian bus in the city, injuring 11, November 21.
Civilians on both sides are lived in fear. A week into the conflict, 140 Palestians had been killed and five Israelis were dead. School was cancelled for areas of Israel. The IDF sees Hamas’ strategy as “Using civilians as human shields. Fire rockets from residential areas. To store weapons in mosques. And to hide in hospitals as posted on the Defense Force’s twitter account.” Both parties fought not only a war with weapons but also with words. Both militaries live tweeted what went on in Gaza. Initially, IDF tweeted to warn Hamas that they’ve had enough and they were ready to retaliate.
Since Israel began firing at Gaza in retaliation, after years of rocket fire against southern Israel, the Iron Dome has intercepted more than 300 rockets fired at densely populated areas, with a success rate of 80 to 90 percent, top officials said, according to the New York Times.
A representative from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights accused Israel of “inflicting pain and terror” on them, as stated in the New York Times. Israeli officials accused Hamas of locating military sites in or close to civilian areas.