During the 11 days of Operation Guardian of the Walls more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets were fired at Israel, of which 3,573 fell inside Israeli territory, the other 787 falling either inside the Gaza Strip or into the sea.
The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rockets. Eleven civilians were murdered in Israel by these explosive laden missiles:
-one a Philippine Nation and another a Thai.
Nine were Israelis; Of these three were Arab-Israelis and one IDF soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile.
Several hundred people were injured and there was property damage to homes, schools, industry, commerce and agriculture.
The IDF attacked about 1,500 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began began to realise the extent of the cost of destruction as a result of the firing of explosive laden rockets on Israel and the results of Israel’s response.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s oPt | Situation Report No. 1 (21-27 May 2021), confirmed that the majority of those killed after seven days were members of Internationally recognized terrorist organizations. On May 21, 2021, the Hamas ministry of health in Gaza reported that all together 248 Gazans had been killed, 122 of those killed: 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).
"According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), up to 27 May, 256 Palestinians, including 66 children and 40 women were killed, of whom 128 were believed to be civilians."
Rebuilding the Gaza Strip began immediately after the ceasefire was announced. Unlike previous rounds of hostilities, Egypt has taken upon itself not only to send money, but to establish a mechanism for transferring the funds and for coordinating donations and the supplies entering the Gaza Strip.
According to the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, Egypt promised to transfer $500 million to rebuild the Gaza Strip and now fills a key position in its implementation. According to report, Egypt’s efforts will not be limited to delivering materials for construction but it will also determine how the $500 million will be used and coordinate donations and supplies that enter the Gaza Strip. Generally speaking the reconstruction project will be carried out by companies belonging to the Egyptian army, limiting the influence of Turkish companies and strengthening cooperation with the Gulf States, which will also send aid in the coming days. According to “sources,” Egypt wants to restore its relations with Hamas and the other “organizations” to the point where they will protect the interests of Egypt, which aspires to ensure the continuation of the lull (al-Akhbar, May 22, 2021).
Hasan Abd al-Aziz, a member of the Egyptian contractors’ association, said that for Egyptian private and public companies the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip would be a national mission and not a profit-making operation. He said the funds Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised would be translated into projects, raw materials and materials for construction, and not cash donations (Sputnik, May 22, 2021).
It was also reported that Egypt is making contacts to hold a conference in Cairo for rebuilding the Gaza Strip through international cooperation (al-Arabiya, May 21, 2021). Following instructions from the Egyptian president, a convoy of 130 trucks will arrive in the Gaza Strip bringing 2,500 tons of food, drugs, clothing, furniture and electrical appliances (Facebook page of the Egyptian president’s spokesman, May 22, 2021)
Hamas and PIJ spokesmen celebrated their “victory” and Israel’s “defeat.” According to the Hamas narrative, they attacked not for the Gaza Strip but rather for Jerusalem, al-Aqsa mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem.
Even though the enlistment of Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem was only partial, the Hamas leadership continues claiming that all the Palestinians participated in the Hamas-led hostilities.
During the 11 days of the operation more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel. Of which 3,573 penetrated Israeli airspace, about 680 fell inside the Gaza Strip and about 280 fell into the sea. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rocket fire.
Two anti-tank missiles were fired at Israel and several launches were prevented. One killed an IDF soldier when it hit his jeep, the other superficially injured an IDF soldier.
The joint operations room of the terrorist organizations in Gaza held a press conference where they claimed they had used “new technology” to fire rockets and that Israel had failed when it relied on “deception” to attack and destroy the “resistance” [i.e., terrorist] leaders and operatives. They also claimed they could have continued firing rockets in response to any Israeli “aggression” against the Palestinians (al-Aqsa, May 21, 2021).
Despite the massive barrages of rocket and mortar fire, relatively speaking Israeli casualties were few and there was relatively light property damage. Eleven Israeli civilians were directly killed by rocket and mortar fire. One soldier was killed when an anti-tank rocket hit his jeep. Two Israelis died when they ran for shelter. Several hundred people were injured, most of them superficially, and many had anxiety attacks.
The rocket fire disrupted routine daily life for people living as far north as Netanya, and Jewish-Arab coexistence in the mixed cities was severely damaged by riots that were influenced by the events in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Response During Operation Guardian of the Walls Israel destroyed more than 1,500 terrorist targets, severely damaging the strategic and tactical capabilities of Hamas and the PIJ.
Israel’s Response During Operation Guardian of the Walls Israel destroyed more than 1,500 terrorist targets, severely damaging the strategic and tactical capabilities of Hamas and the PIJ.
Among the targets hit was the: Hamas’ tunnel system (the “metro”) in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis: The IDF destroyed more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of tunnels used by the Hamas leadership and terrorist operatives as hideouts, and command and control centers. Several attack tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip were also hit.
During the fighting an estimated 50 senior Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives were killed including brigade commanders, and about 20 lower-ranking commanders and about 200 terrorist operatives.
The IDF carried out some 340 attacks on high-trajectory rocket launchers, 230 attacks on surface-to-surface rocket launchers, and about 35 on mortar shell launchers.
The weapons-manufacturing and military- buildup capabilities of the terrorist organizations were hit hard, research and development operatives were killed, and small facilities for the manufacture of weapons, development centers and weapons storehouses were hit.
Dozens of administration offices, 11 buildings belonging the internal security forces, and five banks used to transfer funds for terrorist activities were attacked. A senior source in the Hamas police force said that between 15% and 25% of the police management offices and most of its headquarters were partially destroyed (al-Aqsa, May 22, 2021).
The terrorist infrastructure: The Israeli Air Force attacked dozens of bases, posts, command centers and nine multistory buildings where terrorist activity was coordinated.
Terrorist invasions were prevented, as were attacks from anti-tank missile squads, seven aerial threats (armed UAVs) and two naval threats (including attacks by unmanned submarine vessels).
On May 21, 2021, the ministry of health in Gaza reported that 248 Gazans had been killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).
Hamas exploited the days following the ceasefire to remove the bodies of terrorist operatives from the tunnels.
On May 21, 2021, a mass funeral was held in Khan Yunis for Hamas operatives killed in the tunnels in the al-Fakhri and Soufa areas east of Khan Yunis. The bodies were wrapped in Hamas flags (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 21, 2021).
The PIJ’s military-terrorist wing issued a mourning notice for 19 of its operatives killed during the operation, the most important of whom was Husam Abu al-Rabid, commander of its northern brigade. During a press conference held by the police the names of police casualties were read (al-Mayadeen, May 22, 2021).
It was not the first time serving policemen participated in hostilities as operatives in the military-terrorist wings.
After the declaration of a ceasefire, Hamas’ internal security forces warned that Israeli security and intelligence forces were increasing their efforts to collect information to renew their bank of targets.
When the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began to understand the extent of the damage and destruction, reporting serious damage to the infrastructure, including water and sewage pipes, electric lines, roads and the communications networks. Iyad al-Buzum, spokesman for the ministry of the interior in Gaza, said that immediately after the ceasefire police and security forces were deployed to attack sites and to remove unexploded ordnance (Dunia al-Watan, May 21, 2021).
Naji Sirhan, deputy ministry for public works and housing in the Gaza Strip, said that at least 2,000 residences, four mosques and dozens of police stations had been destroyed. The UN reported that about 800 thousand Gazans had no access to clean water and that about half the water pipes had been destroyed, as were 53 schools, six hospitals and 11 public health centers (AP, May 22, 2021).
Abd al-Hadi al-Agha, deputy ministry of Muslim endowments in the Gaza Strip, said about $5 million worth of damage had been done to mosques and cemeteries. He said three mosques had been completely destroyed and 40 others had been damaged. He claimed the IDF had attacked six cemeteries and the ministry of endowments building in the Ansar facility in Gaza City (al-Quds, May 23, 2021)
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