2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions
The 2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament played from October 28 to November 2, 2014, on an indoor hard court. It was won by Andrea Petkovic. For the second year of a two-year deal, the tournament by Turkish construction firm Garanti Koza. This was the sixth edition of the tournament as part of the 2014 WTA Tour as well as the third and last held at Arena Armeec in Sofia, Bulgaria. Defending champion Simona Halep did not take part since she qualified for the 2014 WTA Finals.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions, Participants and Format
The tournament was the season ending event for players who had won one of the WTA International tournaments but had not qualified for the WTA Championships. It consisted of a singles draw of eight players including two wild cards in a round robin format, split into two groups of four. Over the first four days of competition, each player met the other three players in their group, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group met the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal met in the championship match.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions, Participants and Format, Round robin tie-breaking methods
The final standings of each group was determined by the first of the following methods that apply:


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions, Prize money and points
The total prize money for the 2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions was 750,000 United States dollars.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions, Participants
The six highest-ranked players who had captured at least one International tournament during the year and who were not participating in singles at the year-end WTA Finals in Singapore. Players with a purple colour qualified for the 2014 WTA Finals. The two wildcards were first awarded to Tsvetana Pironkova and Jelena Janković. On 11 October, Jankovic withdrew from the tournament and the wild card went to Flavia Pennetta. On 23 October, Samantha Stosur withdrew due to a foot injury and her place went to Garbiñe Muguruza.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions – Singles
Simona Halep was the defending champion, but did not participate since she qualified for the WTA Finals.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions – Singles
Andrea Petkovic won the tournament, defeating Flavia Pennetta in the final, 1–6, 6–4, 6–3.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions – Singles, Draw, Serdika Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2014 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions – Singles, Draw, Sredets Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2014 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team
The 2014 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team represented Gardner–Webb University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Carroll McCray and played their home games at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium. They were a member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 0–5 in Big South play to finish in last place.


2014 Garmin–Sharp season
The 2014 season for the Garmin–Sharp cycling team began in January at the Tour de San Luis. As a UCI ProTeam, they were obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2014 Gastein Ladies
The 2014 Nürnberger Gastein Ladies was the 2014 edition of the Gastein Ladies clay court tennis tournament. It was the eighth edition of the tournament, which was part of the 2014 WTA Tour. It took place in Bad Gastein, Austria between 7 and 13 July 2014.


2014 Gastein Ladies, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2014 Gastein Ladies – Doubles
Sandra Klemenschits and Andreja Klepač were the defending champions, but decided not to participate together. Klemenschits teamed up with Mona Barthel, but lost in the quarterfinals to Paula Ormaechea and Dinah Pfizenmaier. Klepač teamed up with María Teresa Torró Flor, but they lost in the final to Karolína Plíšková and Kristýna Plíšková, 6–4, 3–6, [6–10].


2014 Gastein Ladies – Singles
Yvonne Meusburger was the defending champion, but lost to Chanelle Scheepers in the second round.


2014 Gastein Ladies – Singles
Andrea Petkovic won the title, defeating qualifier Shelby Rogers in the final, 6–3, 6–3.


2014 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election
As part of the wider 2014 United Kingdom local elections the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead has 22 of its 66 seats up for election under the common one-thirds system. All of these councillors will be elected for four year terms.


2014 Gator Bowl
The 2014 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 1, 2014 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. The 69th edition of the Gator Bowl, it featured the Georgia Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference against the Nebraska Cornhuskers from the Big Ten Conference. The game began at 12:00 noon EST and aired on ESPN2. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by tax preparation software company TaxSlayer.com and was officially known as the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl.


2014 Gator Bowl
Georgia had a regular season record of 8–4 (5–3 SEC). They finished in third place in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division, and were ranked #22 in the BCS. Nebraska finished their season with a record of 8–4 (5–3 Big Ten), tied for second place in the Big Ten Legends Division.


2014 Gator Bowl
Nebraska beat Georgia by a score of 24–19. Nebraska wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, who had 4 receptions for 129 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown reception, was named the game's most valuable player.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams
The 2014 Gator Bowl marked the third time Nebraska and Georgia have played each other. Georgia won the last meeting 45-31 in the 2013 Capital One Bowl. The series was tied 1-1 coming into the game.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams, Georgia
Georgia entered the game with an 8-4 (5-3 conference) record. The Bulldogs began the season ranked #5 in the AP Poll and were picked by SEC media to be winners of the SEC East division. After losing its opener to Clemson, the Bulldogs would win their next four games, which included victories over #6 LSU and #6 South Carolina, to move to a 4-1 record on the season. However, the injury ridden Bulldogs would go 4-3 the rest of the season, with losses to Missouri, Vanderbilt and eventual SEC champions Auburn in the Prayer at Jordan–Hare.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams, Georgia
The Bulldogs finished third in the SEC East division. In addition, quarterback Aaron Murray suffered a season-ending injury in a game against Kentucky. Murray had passed for 13,166 yards and 121 touchdowns, and had started 52 straight games prior to his injury. Hutson Mason took over quarterback duties following Murray's injury and was the starting quarterback for Georgia in the 2014 Gator Bowl.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams, Georgia
The 2014 edition of the Gator Bowl marked the fourth appearance by Georgia in the game. The Bulldogs won their previous Gator Bowl appearance in 1989 in a 34-27 victory over Michigan State.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams, Nebraska
Nebraska entered the game with an 8-4 (5-3 conference) record. The Cornhuskers began the season ranked #18 in the AP Poll. Nebraska began the season with a 5-1 record, but went 3-3 in the second half of the season to finish third in the Legends Division. In addition, senior quarterback Taylor Martinez was injured in the season opener, and was limited to only four games in 2013. With Martinez's injury, Tommy Armstrong Jr. and Ron Kellogg III took over quarterback duties. After the Cornhuskers lost to Iowa 17-38 in the Heroes Game, there was speculation that coach Bo Pelini would be fired. However, Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst released a statement saying that Pelini will remain Nebraska's coach.


2014 Gator Bowl, Teams, Nebraska
The 2014 edition of the Gator Bowl marked Nebraska's second appearance in the game. The Cornhuskers won their previous appearance in 2009 in a 26-21 victory over Clemson. The 2014 Gator Bowl also marked Nebraska's 50th bowl game appearance.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, First half
The first quarter of the game was scoreless, as all the drives in the quarter ended in punts. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs drove to Nebraska's 10-yard line. However, Georgia was unable to reach the endzone and settled for a 39-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs' defense then forced the Cornhuskers to punt after Nebraska was unable to get a first down. Georgia muffed the ensuing punt, and Nebraska was able to recover the punt at Georgia's 14-yard line.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, First half
Taking advantage of the turnover, the Cornhuskers took a 7-3 lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. to Quincy Enunwa. On the ensuing Bulldogs drive, Georgia once again drove deep into Nebraska territory, but this time were stopped at Nebraska's 11-yard line. Georgia placekicker Marshall Morgan kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it a 7-6 game. On the next drive, Nebraska took a 10-6 lead on a 46-yard field goal from Pat Smith. The Bulldogs responded on its next drive with a 38-yard field goal from Marshall Morgan as time expired in the first half to make it a 10-9 game.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, Second half
Georgia's opening drive of the second half was ended when Hutson Mason was intercepted by Josh Mitchell at Georgia's 42-yard line. Taking advantage of the turnover, Nebraska extended their lead to 17–9 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ameer Abdullah. On the following Georgia drive, the Bulldogs once again drove deep into Nebraska territory. However, Georgia was once again forced to settle for a field goal, closing the gap to 17–12. The ensuing Nebraska drive started at the Cornhuskers' 5-yard line, after Nebraska committed a holding penalty on the kickoff.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, Second half
On a second and 6 play at Nebraska's 9-yard line, quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. fumbled the snap and was sacked at Nebraska's 1-yard line. Facing a third and 14 situation, Armstrong connected with Quincy Enunwa on a 99-yard touchdown pass to take a 24–12 lead with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter. After forcing the Bulldogs to punt, Nebraska once again received the ball with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter. On the third play of the drive, however, Armstrong's pass was intercepted by Shaq Wiggins at Nebraska's 39-yard line with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, Second half
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Georgia scored its first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hutson Mason to Todd Gurley to make it a 24–19 game. Georgia's defense then stepped up, forcing the next two Nebraska drives to end in punts. Starting at their own 20-yard line with 7:31 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs once again drove deep into Nebraska territory. Facing a fourth down and 2 situation at Nebraska's 14-yard line, Georgia elected to go for it instead of kicking the field goal.


2014 Gator Bowl, Game summary, Second half
The Bulldogs were unable to convert, however, when wide receiver Rantavious Wooten dropped what would have been a first-down pass. After forcing the Cornhuskers to punt, Georgia once again drove deep into Nebraska's territory. With 31 seconds remaining in the game, the Bulldogs needed to convert a fourth and 3 situation at Nebraska's 16-yard line. Georgia failed to convert, however, when tight end Arthur Lynch dropped a pass from Mason. With 25 seconds remaining in the game, Nebraska ran the clock out to seal the victory.


2014 Gator Bowl, Statistics
Nebraska wide receiver Quincy Enunwa was named the game's most valuable player. Enunwa had 4 receptions for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Enunwa's 99-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter also set the record for longest pass play in bowl history.


2014 Gator Bowl, Statistics
Georgia outgained Nebraska 416-307 in total yards. The Bulldogs outgained the Cornhuskers 320–163 in passing yards, while the Cornhuskers outgained the Bulldogs 144–96 in rushing yards. The Bulldogs also made seven trips inside of Nebraska's 21-yard line.


2014 Gator Bowl, Statistics
Nebraska's leading rusher was Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 122 yards on 27 carries. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. completed 6 of his 14 passes for 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Armstrong was also the Cornhuskers' second-leading rusher, rushing for 26 yards on 10 carries.


2014 Gator Bowl, Statistics
Georgia's leading rusher was Todd Gurley, who rushed for 86 yards on 21 carries. Gurley was also the Bulldogs' leading receiver, catching 7 passes for 97 yards and 1 touchdown. Arthur Lynch was Georgia's second leading receiver, catching 6 passes for 69 yards. Quarterback Hutson Mason completed 21 of his 39 passes for 1 touchdown and 1 interception.


2014 Gay Games
The 2014 Gay Games, also known as Gay Games 9, were an international multi-sport event and cultural gathering organized by, and specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and musicians. It was held from August 9 to August 16, 2014 in Cleveland, with some events being held in the nearby city of Akron, Ohio. An estimated 10,000 athletes from more than 60 nations participated in 37 sports and cultural events.


2014 Gay Games, Bidding Process
According to the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), fourteen cities expressed interest in hosting the event. During its annual meeting in Cape Town on October 28, 2008, the FGG announced that four American cities made the deadline and were thus in the running to host the games: Boston, Cleveland, Miami, and Washington, D.C.. Of these cities, Boston, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. submitted bid books by the deadline. The FGG selected Cleveland as the host city on September 29, 2009 during its annual meeting in Cologne, Germany.


2014 Gay Games, Sponsors
On April 13, 2013, the Cleveland Foundation announced a US$250,000 grant as the presenting sponsor of the event, which was to be known as "The 2014 Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation," marking the first time the Gay Games had had a presenting sponsor. In addition to local support from sponsors such as the Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Cleveland Indians, the Games saw major corporate sponsorship from large companies like Coca-Cola, Marriott, and United.


2014 Gay Games, Sponsors
The United Church of Christ became the first religious denomination to be a major sponsor of the Gay Games as a fourth-tier silver sponsor of the Gay Games in 2014.


2014 Gay Games, Sponsors
Also announced as a major sponsor was Ernst & Young, with cash and in-kind services.


2014 Gay Games, Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony began at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, at Quicken Loans Arena. Featured stars at the ceremony included singer, dancer and radio host Lance Bass, Broadway actress Andrea McArdle, Alex Newell from Glee, former Olympian Greg Louganis, and The Pointer Sisters. President of the United States Barack Obama made a surprise video appearance.


2014 Gay Games, Events and Venues
The Games featured 37 disciplines of sport and cultural events throughout Cleveland-Akron region.


2014 Gay Games, Records set
At 99 years old, Ida Keeling set an international sporting record at the 2014 Gay Games, becoming the first person in the 95-99 age category to run the 100 meters in an internationally certified race, running the race in 59.8 seconds.


2014 Gay Games, Records set
Brian Jacobson, at age 40, lowered the Masters long course world record in the 50 free to 23.31.


2014 Gay Games, Records set
Kinnon MacKinnon, at age 28, became the first openly transgender man to earn a gold in powerlifting at the Gay Games.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike
The 2014 Gaza Valley airstrike was a friendly fire incident that took place in Zabul Province, Afghanistan on 9 June 2014 when five U.S. troops and one Afghan interpreter were killed when a B-1B Lancer bomber inadvertently dropped laser-guided bombs on their position during a firefight with Taliban forces. U.S. and Afghan government forces were in the Gaza Valley area of Arghandab District conducting security operations in advance of the 2014 Afghan presidential elections when they came under attack from Taliban militants, sparking a firefight. An American air controller on the ground requested close air support from a B-1B bomber flying in the vicinity to support a team of soldiers maneuvering on a ridge. The U.S. aircraft dropped two guided bombs on the position, killing the team of Americans and an Afghan soldier.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike
It was the deadliest incident of fratricide to take place between American forces in the country since the beginning of the Afghanistan War, and raised questions over the standard operating procedures of U.S. troops and their close air support assets.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike
An investigation of the incident blamed the airstrike on the commander of the American troops on the ground, the U.S. combat air controller who coordinated the strike, and a flaw in the design of the B-1B bomber's targeting pod which prevents the aircrew from being able to identify the infrared strobe lights on the helmets of American soldiers that serve to allow pilots to distinguish friendly troops from enemy troops.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Background, Before operation
Zabul Province is a semi-mountainous region in southern Afghanistan that borders Pakistan to the east, Kandahar in the west and in the south, and Oruzgan in the north. Predominantly Pashtun, it is one of Afghanistan's most sparsely populated provinces with just 45 people per square mile according to a 2015 census, mostly rural tribe members spread among numerous isolated villages in the region. Zabul is one of Afghanistan's poorest provinces and serves as a transit point for fighters entering the country through the porous border with Pakistan. The Taliban have had a presence in Zabul for many years.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Background, Before operation
In 2003, it was the first province in Afghanistan where the group was successful in establishing a large base after the invasion two years prior. However, Zabul was the first province to see Afghan army forces operate independently from NATO forces and was heralded as a model for other provinces, and the presence of U.S. troops has largely been reduced to special operations forces.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Background, Before operation
In 2014, Afghanistan held a presidential election to replace incumbent Hamid Karzai. The first round of the election was held with no candidate reaching the required 50% threshold to clinch the presidency leaving former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani to proceed to a runoff election to be held on 14 June. The election was marked by periods of violence perpetrated by the country's Taliban insurgency and it was the first presidential election in Afghanistan where Afghan security forces were leading security for the event. One week before the first round elections, militants attacked the headquarters of the country's election commission in Kabul. In early June 2014, Abdullah Abdullah survived an assassination attempt when his convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing three of his bodyguards.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Background, B-1B Lancer
Though not designed as a close air support platform the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, a four-engine heavy bomber, has been utilized copiously in support of U.S. and coalition ground forces engaged in combat operations against insurgent forces. In 2012, the nine B-1B bombers of the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron flew 770 sorties on its deployment to Afghanistan. The bomber has proved popular in Afghanistan due to its ability to carry a large payload, and remain in the air for long periods of time, allowing it to fly throughout the country and support multiple ground operations in just one sortie.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Background, B-1B Lancer
Beginning in 2007, B-1B bombers began to be outfitted with Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (AN/AAQ-33), an advanced targeting pod that provides high-resolution FLIR imagery to aircrews to help identify ground targets. According to Air Force Colonel Marilyn Kott the pod, "increases the speed and accuracy with which the aircrew and the JTAC can execute the find-fix-track-target portion of the kill chain."


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Units involved and insertion
On 8 June 2014, U.S. troops and Afghan security forces began clearing operations in Gaza Valley, in Zabul Province ahead of the 2014 runoff presidential election to be held on 14 June with the aim of disrupting Taliban insurgent activity and improving security for voters and polling sites. U.S. elements involved in the operation included soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group, and the 4th Infantry Division. Afghan security forces were composed of members of the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP), and the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS).


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Units involved and insertion
The principal ANA unit involved in the operation was the 2nd Kandak, 4th Brigade, 215th Corps, a battalion based in neighboring Helmand Province. One of the units from the 5th Special Forces Group involved in the clearing operations included an Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) under the command of Captain Derrick Anderson. The ODA's joint terminal attack controller (JTAC), an Air Force specialist trained in coordinating air to ground fire had joined the team on 1 June 2014. The ODA was aided by Afghan troops, however less than requested due to manning issues. Prior to the operation the unit assessed the most likely response to the clearing operations by Taliban forces was to be "passive observation" with the threat of small arms fire, and improvised explosive devices.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Units involved and insertion
At 02:30 local time on 9 June, coalition forces entered Gaza Valley by helicopter and began clearing operations with Afghan forces at the lead due to rules of engagement barring U.S. troops from entering Afghan compounds. During the day U.S. and Afghan troops received brief harassing fire from insurgents. It was at this time that Taliban forces began preparing an assault on coalition troops.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Firefight
Shortly before 20:00 local time, as coalition forces moved to their respective pickup zones (PZs), Taliban forces attacked coalition troops. A B-1B bomber was already in the air, in the vicinity of Gaza Valley, to provide overwatch for friendly forces. Captain Anderson's ODA, supported by Afghan and conventional U.S. troops, began taking fire. The team was split into two elements with six members maneuvering to high ground to more effectively engage insurgent forces. The team reported Taliban positions, some as close as 150 meters (490 feet) away.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Firefight
The JTAC, not with the team that had moved to high ground, asked the B-1B pilots if they could see the infrared strobes on the helmets of the U.S. troops on the ground to which the crew responded, "negative IR strobes," before the JTAC began relaying target coordinates to the bomber. In addition, the JTAC gave an incorrect location to the bomber crew of the nearest coalition troops, stating they were 300 meters away (1,000 ft), rather than the actual 150 meters (500 ft), before requesting laser-guided bombs to be dropped on enemy positions.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Firefight
"All friendlies are 300 meters west with IR strobes on taking effective fire; I need you guys in," the JTAC told the bomber crew, to which the crew responded that they would be "in" in one minute. Communication between the element on the ridgeline and the rest of the troops including Captain Anderson, and the air controller degraded as the firefight went on, due to the malfunctioning radios of those troops on the high ground. Just before the airstrike, one of the soldiers, SSgt. Mcdonald of the 5th Special Forces Group had removed the IR strobe on his helmet and attached it to his pack located on the ground to mark his location as friendly.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Fatal airstrike
At 20:20 local time, the controller cleared the B-1 crew to drop ordnance as it made a final pass over the target site, telling the aircraft it was "cleared hot.". At 20:21 local time, the B-1B bomber dropped two, five-hundred pound JDAM guided bombs on the ridgeline with a five millisecond delay between each bomb. Immediately after the airstrike, U.S. forces on the ground realized the strike was awry, having landed on friendly forces with the ODA's team sergeant stating over the radio that the strike had hit "our hill."


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Fatal airstrike
The first U.S. troops took seven minutes to reach the ridgeline where they discovered the extent of damage caused by the strike. The blast instantly killed five of the six coalition soldiers on the ridge, with one, SSgt. Scott R. Studenmund of the 5th Special Forces Group, becoming severely wounded. Army medic, SSgt. Brandon Branch discovered the wounded Studenmund and began to apply tourniquets before the gravely wounded Special Forces soldier succumbed to his wounds. Coalition troops immediately descended on the area to recover remains and equipment.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Operation, Fatal airstrike
The bodies of five of the killed were recovered however a sixth was determined to be incinerated and the troops left the area. A ceremony was held at Kandahar Airfield to honor those killed in the airstrike, before their remains were repatriated to Dover Air Force Base for identification and delivery to the families.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
Air Force Major General Jeffrey L. Harrigian was commissioned to investigate the strike. Harrigan commenced an eight-week probe into the incident which included interviewing the B-1 crew, the air controller, and the other U.S. troops who were on the ground that day as well as examining the U.S. equipment used in the strike, such as the bomber's targeting pod, and listening to radio transmissions.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
At the end of his investigation, Harrigan declared that the "incident was avoidable," and put the blame largely on Captain Derrick Anderson, the commander of the U.S. troops on the ground that day, the unnamed Air Force joint terminal attack controller who had guided the airstrike, and mistakes made by the B-1 crew.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
Harrigan cited a false sense of urgency created by the U.S. troops on the ground who stated they were taking "effective fire" that led to unwarranted pressure being placed on the B-1B crew to hastily carry out an airstrike. During a 60 Minutes interview in 2017, Army medic Brandon Branch and 5th Special Forces Group soldier Henry Montalbano criticized this characterization by saying it was an unfair description of the events on the ground made by someone who was not there at the time.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
In addition, Harrigan pointed to mistakes made by the JTAC including giving an incorrect location of the nearest U.S. troops to the target coordinates, not following correct procedures, lacking situational awareness, failing to declare "danger close" since the nearest friendly forces were within 300 meters, and not assuring that the pilots had made positive identification of the target. Anderson was rebuked for failing to properly supervise the JTAC assigned to his team.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
At no time did the pilots question the information provided by the JTAC, even when the distances of U.S. troops to the target inexplicably changed. Harrigan said the pilots relied too much on a single source of information, the Sniper Pod, and did not take additional steps to confirm the location of friendly forces. The Sniper Pod is not capable of identifying IR strobes and the night-vision goggles used by the crew can only detect IR strobes at ranges up to 7,000 meters, hampering the crew's ability to separate friendly and enemy forces on the battlefield.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings
It was not known by any of the U.S. forces on the ground that day that the B-1B Sniper Pod was incapable of detecting infrared strobes, which is one of the primary methods used by coalition forces to identify friendly forces at nighttime. Instead, the B-1B crew had used muzzle flashes as a way of locating its target.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings, Consequences
Captain Derrick Anderson, through the use of his own lawyers, was ultimately cleared of any responsibility in the strike and faced no punitive action, however the incident led to end of his military career. The Air Force JTAC who called in the strike was ultimately forced out of the special operations community. Despite the flaws in the Sniper Pod, no plans have been made fix the issue, however B-1B crews have been made aware of the critical flaw and received retraining on the device as a result.


2014 Gaza Valley airstrike, Investigative findings, Consequences
No changes have been made to the B-1B's use as a close air support platform. According to Woody Studenmund, the father of one of the soldiers killed in the awry strike, "None of the other mistakes mattered, none of them mattered. When we send our soldiers into battle, it's wrong to have them using a weapon system which isn't capable of doing what it's supposed to be doing. It's not murder, but it's close."


2014 Gaza War
The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (Hebrew: מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, lit. "Operation Strong Cliff")was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas members, the IDF conducted Operation Brother's Keeper to arrest militant leaders, Hamas fired rockets into Israel and a seven-week conflict broke out. It was one of the deadliest conflicts between the Palestinians and Israel in decades. The combined Israeli airstrikes and ground bombardment and Palestinian rocket attacks resulted in thousands of deaths, the vast majority of which were Gazans.


2014 Gaza War
The Israeli operation was designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, which increased after an Israeli crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank was launched following the 12 June kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by two Hamas members. Conversely, Hamas's goal was to bring international pressure to bear to lift Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, end Israel's offensive, obtain a third party to monitor and guarantee compliance with a ceasefire, release Palestinian prisoners and overcome its political isolation. According to the BBC, in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel launched air raids on Gaza.


2014 Gaza War
On 7 July, after seven Hamas militants died in a tunnel explosion in Khan Yunis which was caused by an Israeli airstrike (per Hamas, Nathan Thrall, BBC and a senior IDF official) or an accidental explosion of their own munitions (per the IDF), Hamas assumed responsibility for rockets fired into Israel and launched 40 rockets towards Israel. The operation officially began the following day, and on 17 July, the operation was expanded to an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza with the stated aim of destroying Gaza's tunnel system; Israeli ground forces withdrew on 5 August.


2014 Gaza War
On 26 August, an open-ended ceasefire was announced. By that date, the IDF reported that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups had fired 4,564 rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel, with over 735 intercepted in flight and shot down by Iron Dome. Most Gazan mortar and rocket fire hit open land. More than 280 fell on areas in Gaza, and 224 struck residential areas. Militant rocketry also killed 13 Gazan civilians, 11 of them children. The IDF attacked 5,263 targets in Gaza; at least 34 known tunnels were destroyed and two-thirds of Hamas's 10,000-rocket arsenal was used up or destroyed.


2014 Gaza War
Between 2,125 and 2,310 Gazans were killed and between 10,626 and 10,895 were wounded (including 3,374 children, of whom over 1,000 were left permanently disabled). Gazan civilian casualty rates estimates range between 70% by the Gaza Health Ministry, 65% by United Nations Protection Cluster by OCHA (based in part Gaza Health Ministry reports), and 36% by Israeli officials, The UN estimated that more than 7,000 homes for 10,000 families were razed, together with an additional 89,000 homes damaged, of which roughly 10,000 were severely affected by the bombing.


2014 Gaza War
Rebuilding costs were calculated to run from 4–6 billion dollars, over 20 years. 67 Israeli soldiers, 5 Israeli civilians (including one child) and one Thai civilian were killed and 469 IDF soldiers and 261 Israeli civilians were injured. On the Israeli side, the economic impact of the operation is estimated at NIS 8.5 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion) and GDP loss of 0.4%.


2014 Gaza War, Background
In February 2005 Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, Hamas and Islamic Jihad committed to a ceasefire, which according to some marks end to the Second Intifada. Some place the end-date earlier in October 2004 Others signal the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004 and the subsequent rise of Hamas as heralding the end of the major period conflict that was the second intifada. However Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis continued following the February ceasefire.


2014 Gaza War, Background
Schachter, addressing the range of end-date options, pointed to the progressive decrease in suicide bombings starting in 2004 and culminating in an indeterminate end period in 2005. On 17 March 2005 the 13 main Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed to be bound by the February agreement, conditional on cessation of Israeli military operations.


2014 Gaza War, Background
Concurrent to the Second Intifada (2000-2005), Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon proposed the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2003, which was approved by the Israeli government in June 2004, and the Knesset in February 2005. The unilateral withdrawal plan was executed in August 2005 and completed in September 2005. Nonetheless, the ICRC, the UN and various human rights organizations consider Israel still to be the de facto occupying power due to its control of Gaza's borders, air space and territorial waters.


2014 Gaza War, Background
The following year (2006) Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislative elections. This outcome surprised Israel and the United States who had anticipated the return of the Fatah opposition to power and, together with the Quartet, they demanded Hamas accept all previous agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist, and renounce violence. When Hamas refused, they cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. In mid-2006 an Israeli soldier was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid. The United States and Israel, in response to Fatah moves in October 2006 to form a unity government with Hamas, tried to undo the elections by arming and training Fatah to overthrow Hamas in Gaza. In June 2007 Hamas took complete power of Gaza by force.


2014 Gaza War, Background
Israel then defined Gaza as a "hostile territory" forming no part of a sovereign state and put Gaza under a comprehensive economic and political blockade, which also denied access to a third of its arable land and 85% of its fishing areas. It has led to considerable economic damage and humanitarian problems in Gaza. The overwhelming consensus of international institutions is that the blockade is a form of collective punishment and illegal.


2014 Gaza War, Background
Israel maintains that the blockade is legal and necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. Israel carried out Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 with the stated aim of stopping rocket attacks from Hamas militants. It led to a decrease in Palestinian rocket attacks.


2014 Gaza War, Background
The UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict concluded that the operation was "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability". The Israeli government's analysis concludes that the report perverts international law to serve a political agenda and sends a "legally unfounded message to states everywhere confronting terrorism that international law has no effective response to offer them".


2014 Gaza War, Background, First Hamas–Fatah reconciliation (2011)
Influenced in the Arab Spring and by demonstrations in Ramallah and Gaza, the gap between Hamas and Fatah was bridged in 2011. After the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared his willingness to travel to Gaza and sign an agreement, the IDF killed two Hamas activists in Gaza; the IDF stated the killings were in response to the launching of a single Qassam rocket, which hit no one, but Yedioth Ahronoth's Alex Fishman argued they were a "premeditated escalation" by Israel. In an interview with CNN, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the reconciliation talks were calls for Israel's destruction, and strongly opposed the idea of a unity government.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations
On 14 November 2012, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defence in the Gaza Strip. The operation was preceded by a period with a number of mutual Israeli–Palestinian responsive attacks. According to the Israeli government, the operation began in response to the launch of over 100 rockets at Israel during a 24-hour period, an attack by Gaza militants on an Israeli military patrol jeep within Israeli borders, and an explosion caused by IEDs, which occurred near Israeli soldiers, on the Israeli side of a tunnel passing under the Israeli West Bank barrier.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations
The Israeli government stated that the aims of the military operation were to halt rocket attacks against civilian targets originating from the Gaza Strip and to disrupt the capabilities of militant organizations. The Palestinians blamed the Israeli government for the upsurge in violence, accusing the IDF of attacks on Gazan civilians in the days leading up to the operation. They cited the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the occupation of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as the reason for rocket attacks. A week later, on 21 November, Egypt brokered a ceasefire to the conflict which contained the following agreements:


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
Both Israel and Hamas argue that the other violated the 2012 ceasefire agreement, resulting in 1 Israeli and 8 Gazan deaths and 5 Israeli and 66 Gazan injuries. According to the Israeli Security Agency (Shabak) there was a sharp decrease in attacks from Gaza in 2013. Nevertheless, 63 rockets (average 5 per month) were launched in 36 rocket attacks in addition to various mortar attacks, all prohibited by the November 2012 ceasefire. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reported monthly Israeli attacks involving drones, missiles, small arms fire and airstrikes.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
Six of the deaths in Gaza occurred in the border area's Access Restricted Areas (ARAs, non-demarcated zones within Gazan territory unilaterally defined by Israel as being of restricted access), despite the ceasefire's prohibition on Israeli attacks on these areas. OCHAO, more broadly sourced data, reported 11 deaths in Gaza and 81 injuries for 2013.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
In the first three months after the IDF Operation Pillar of Defense, according to Ben White, two mortar shells struck Israeli territory, while four Gazans were shot dead and 91 were wounded by Israeli forces who fired inside Gazan territory on 63 occasions, made 13 incursions into the Strip, and attacked the Gazan fishing fleet 30 times. Israeli attacks on Gaza steadily increased during the second half of 2013, notwithstanding the decrease in attacks from Gaza.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
From December 2012 to late June/early July 2014, Hamas did not fire rockets into Israel, and tried to police other groups doing so. These efforts were largely successful; Netanyahu stated in March 2014 that the rocket fire in the past year was the "lowest in a decade." According to Shabak, in the first half of 2014 there were 181 rocket attacks compared to 55 rocket attacks in whole 2013.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
As occasional rocket fire continued, the blockade of Gaza continued in direct violation of the ceasefire agreement. "Crossings were repeatedly shut and buffer zones were reinstated. Imports declined, exports were blocked, and fewer Gazans were given exit permits to Israel and the West Bank."


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
Israel halted construction material going to Gaza after it stated that it had discovered a tunnel leading into Israel, some 300 m from a kibbutz. The IDF said it was the third tunnel discovered that year and that the previous two were packed with explosives.


2014 Gaza War, Background, November 2012 ceasefire and its violations, Violations
According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were 85 rocket attacks in the first five months of 2014. Most of the 85 rockets were fired in March, after the IDF killed 3 members of Islamic Jihad. The members of the PIJ say they were firing rockets in response to an incursion by Israeli tanks and bulldozers into Gazan territory east of the Khan Yunis area. The IDF said they were conducting routine military patrols near the Gaza border when they came under fire, and thus responded with airstrikes.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Second Hamas–Fatah reconciliation
Leading up to the collapse of the 2013–14 Israeli–Palestinian peace talks, in the face of Netanyahu's perceived reluctance to make desired concessions, Mahmoud Abbas decided to forge a deal with Hamas. With its alliance with Syria and Iran weakened, the loss of power by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt after a coup d'ètat in Egypt, and the economic impact of the closure of its Rafah tunnels by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on 23 April 2014, ending seven divisive years, Hamas agreed to reconciliation under a unity government with the other main Palestinian faction, Fatah. The government accepted by Hamas was to be run exclusively by PNA technocrats.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Second Hamas–Fatah reconciliation
This Palestinian unity government was sworn in by 2 June 2014 and Israel announced it would not negotiate any peace deal with the new government and would push punitive measures. Netanyahu took Palestinian unity as a threat rather than an opportunity. On the eve of the agreement he stated that the proposed reconciliation would "strengthen terrorism", and called on the international community to avoid embracing it. Most of the outside world, including the European Union, Russia, China, India, Turkey, France and the United Kingdom, proved cautiously optimistic, and subsequently expressed their support for new arrangement.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Second Hamas–Fatah reconciliation
The United States, more skeptical, announced it would continue to work with the PNA-directed unity government. Israel itself suspended negotiations with the PNA and, just after the announcement, launched an airstrike, which missed its target and wounded a family of three bystanders. Netanyahu had warned before the deal that it would be incompatible with Israeli–Palestinian peace and that Abbas had to choose between peace with Hamas and peace with Israel. When a reconciliation deal was signed, opening the way to the appointment of the new government, Netanyahu chaired a security cabinet which voted to authorise Netanyahu to impose unspecified sanctions against the Palestinian Authority.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Second Hamas–Fatah reconciliation
On 4 June, the day before Naksa Day, the Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry published tenders for 1,500 settlement units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a move Minister Uri Ariel said was an "appropriate Zionist response to the Palestinian terror government." Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, alleged that Israel had hoped to disrupt the Palestinian national unity government between Fatah and Hamas by its operation.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
On 12 June 2014, three Israeli teenagers were abducted in the West Bank: Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, and Eyal Yifrah. Israel blamed Hamas, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he had "unequivocal proof" that Hamas was involved and that the abduction was linked to Palestinian reconciliation, and the IDF stated that the two men Israel suspected of having kidnapped the teenagers were known members of Hamas. No evidence of Hamas involvement was offered by Israeli authorities at the time.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
High-ranking members of Hamas denied the group had any involvement in the incident, and ex-Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin doubted Hamas had any involvement. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank attributed the abductions to the Qawasameh clan, notorious for acting against Hamas's policies and any attempts to reach an entente with Israel. Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal said he could neither confirm nor deny the kidnapping of the three Israelis, but congratulated the abductors. The kidnappings were condemned by human rights organizations.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Documents released by Israel suggest that Hamas member Hussam Qawasmeh organized the kidnappings with $60,000 provided by his brother Mahmoud through a Hamas association in Gaza, after requesting support for a "military operation". On 20 August, Saleh al-Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader based in Turkey, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens: "Our goal was to ignite an intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as within the 1948 borders... Your brothers in the Al-Qassam Brigades carried out this operation to support their imprisoned brothers, who were on a hunger strike...


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
The mujahideen captured these settlers in order to have a swap deal." Palestinian security forces said the kidnappings were organized by Saleh al-Arouri. Khalid Meshaal, head in exile of Hamas's political wing since 2004, acknowledged that Hamas members were responsible, but stated that its political leaders had no prior knowledge of the abduction, were not involved in military details and learnt of it through the ensuing Israeli investigations. He also said that while Hamas was opposed to targeting civilians, he understood that Palestinians "frustrated with oppression" were exercising a "legitimate right of resistance" against the occupation by undertaking such operations. Israel states that the IDF and the Shin Bet have foiled between 54 and 64 kidnapping plots since 2013. The PA said it had foiled 43 of them.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Withholding evidence in its possession suggesting that the teens had been killed immediately until 1 July, Israel launched Operation Brother's Keeper, a large-scale crackdown of what it called Hamas's terrorist infrastructure and personnel in the West Bank, ostensibly aimed at securing the release of the kidnapped teenagers. During the operation, 11 Palestinians were killed and 51 wounded in 369 Israeli incursions into the West Bank through to 2 July, and between 350 and 600 Palestinians, including nearly all of Hamas's West Bank leaders, were arrested.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Among those arrested were many people who had only recently been freed under the terms of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner defended the arrests, stating that Hamas members had carried out 60 abduction attempts on Israelis in the West Bank "in the last year and a half", and that "Hamas does not need to give a direct order." The arrests yielded no information about the abduction.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch stated that certain aspects of the operation amounted to collective punishment, and B'tselem said in a press release that the actions have caused "disproportionate harm to the basic rights of Palestinians". During the course of the operation, Israel said it had uncovered a Hamas plot to launch a massive wave of violence throughout the West Bank, with the goal of overthrowing the Palestinian Authority. The purported coup plotters were arrested and their weapons stockpiles were seized


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
On 30 June, search teams found the bodies of the three missing teenagers near Hebron. After their burial, an anti-Arab riot broke out, and a Palestinian teenager was murdered in revenge. His killing sparked Arab rioting. Israel police arrested six suspects belonging to the Beitar Jerusalem F.C. supporters' group La Familia and charged three of them with murder.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
As part of its crackdown and concurrent to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel conducted air strikes against Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip. Hamas apparently refrained from retaliating, though it did not impede other factions from firing rockets towards Israel. From 1 May to 11 June, six rockets and three mortar shells were launched from Gaza towards Israel. From 12 to 30 June 44 rockets and 3 mortar shells were launched from Gaza.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
On 29 June, an Israeli airstrike on a rocket crew killed a Hamas operative, while at least 18 rockets were launched from Gaza through the next day by Hamas according to both J.J. Goldberg and Assaf Sharon, with Goldberg stating that it was the first time Hamas directly launched rockets since the conflict in 2012. Overnight, on 30 June – 1 July, Israeli airstrikes struck 34 Gaza targets in what officials stated was a response to the Sunday rocketry, while Stuart Greer reported the strikes were revenge for the deaths of the three youths. From the day of the abductions on 12 June through 5 July 117 rockets were launched from Gaza and there were approximately 80 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Israel sought a ceasefire but refused to accept Hamas's condition that Palestinians arrested in the West Bank crackdown be released. In a meeting held on 2 July to discuss the crisis, Hamas reportedly tried but failed to persuade armed factions in Gaza to uphold the truce with Israel. Following escalating rocket fire from Gaza, Israel issued a warning on 4 July that it "would only be able to sustain militant rocket fire for another 24, or maximum 48, hours before undertaking a major military offensive."


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Hamas declared it was prepared to halt the rocket fire in exchange for an agreement by Israel to stop airstrikes. Netanyahu said Israel would only act against further rocket attacks. On 5 July, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said rocket fire would continue until Israel lifted its import restrictions on Gaza and the Palestinian Authority transferred money to pay Hamas civil servants. Between 4 and 6 July, a total of 62 rockets were fired from Gaza and the IAF attacked several targets in Gaza. The following day, Hamas assumed formal responsibility for launching rocket attacks on Israel.


2014 Gaza War, Background, Immediate events
Hamas increased rocket attacks on Israel, and by 7 July had fired 100 rockets from Gaza at Israeli territory; at the same time, the Israeli Air Force had bombed several sites in Gaza. Early on 8 July, the IAF bombed 50 targets in the Gaza Strip. Israel's military also stopped a militant infiltration from the sea. Brigadier General Moti Almoz, the chief spokesman of the Israeli military, said: "We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard." Hamas insisted that Israel end all attacks on Gaza, release those re-arrested during the crackdown in the West Bank, lift the blockade on Gaza and return to the cease-fire conditions of 2012 as conditions for a ceasefire.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 1: Air strikes
As the Israeli operation began, and the IDF bombarded targets in the Gaza Strip with artillery and airstrikes, Hamas continued to fire rockets and mortar shells into Israel in response. A cease-fire proposal was announced by the Egyptian government on 14 July, backed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas; the Israeli government accepted it and temporarily stopped hostilities on the morning of 15 July, but Hamas rejected it in "its current form", citing the fact Hamas has not been consulted in the formation of the ceasefire and it omitted many of their demands. By 16 July, the death toll within Gaza had surpassed 200 people.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 2: Ground invasion
On 16 July, Hamas and Islamic Jihad offered the Israeli government a 10-year truce with ten conditions centred on the lifting of the blockade and the release of prisoners who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap and were re-arrested; it was not accepted. On 17 July, a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire, proposed by the UN, took place. Approximately five and a half hours prior to the ceasefire's effect, the IDF sighted 13 armed Hamas militants emerging from a Gazan tunnel on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. IDF destroyed the tunnel's exit, ending the incursion. After the ceasefire, IDF began a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip focused on destroying tunnels crossing the Israel border. On 20 July, the Israeli military entered Shuja'iyya, a populous neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in heavy fighting.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 2: Ground invasion
On 24 July, over 10,000 Palestinians in the West Bank protested against the Israeli operation; 2 Palestinian protesters were killed. 150 Hamas militants who surrendered to the IDF were being questioned about Hamas operations. On 25 July, an Israeli airstrike killed Salah Abu Hassanein, the leader of Islamic Jihad's military wing. On 26 July, another humanitarian ceasefire took place for twelve hours, followed by a unilateral extension by Israel for another twenty-four hours, which was rejected by Hamas. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip topped 1,000.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 2: Ground invasion
On 1 August, the US and UN announced that Israel and Palestine had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire starting at 08:00. There was dispute about the terms of the ceasefire: Israel and the US stated that they allowed Israel to "continue to do operations to destroy tunnels that pose a threat to Israeli territory that lead from the Gaza Strip into Israel proper as long as those tunnels exist on the Israel side of their lines"; Hamas said that it would not accept such a condition. The ceasefire broke down almost immediately after it started.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 2: Ground invasion
Israel blamed Hamas for violating the ceasefire, saying a group of Israeli soldiers were attacked by Palestinian militants emerging from a tunnel. Palestinians said the IDF was the first to breach the ceasefire when at 08:30 it destroyed 19 buildings while undertaking work to demolish tunnels. According to the PLO, the Palestinian Authority and Gazan sources, Hamas attacked an Israeli unit, killing an Israeli officer (Hadar Goldin, who was initially thought to have been captured) while Israeli forces were still engaged in military activities in Rafah on Gaza's territory before the truce came into effect.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 2: Ground invasion
Tweets reported the battle in Rafah before the deadline for the cease-fire. Hamas also killed two soldiers in a suicide bombing attack. Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk accused Israel of creating pretexts to undermine the Gaza ceasefire and said that Palestinian fighters abducted the officer and killed the two soldiers before the start of the humanitarian truce, which a Hamas witness has stated began at 7:30 and lasted five minutes, while Israel said the event took place at 09:20, after the 08:00 start of the ceasefire.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 3: Withdrawal of Israeli troops
On 3 August, IDF pulled most of its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip after completing the destruction of 32 tunnels built by Hamas and other militants. On 5 August, Israel announced that it had arrested Hossam Kawasmeh on 11 July, and suspected him of having organized the killing of the three teenagers. According to court documents, Kawasmeh stated that Hamas members in Gaza financed the recruitment and arming of the killers.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 3: Withdrawal of Israeli troops
On 10 August, another Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire was negotiated and agreed upon Israeli and Palestinian officials, and on 13 August it was extended for another 120 hours to allow both sides to continue negotiations for a long-term solution to end the month-long fighting. On 19 August, a 24-hour ceasefire extension renewal was violated just hours after agreement with 29 Hamas rockets fired in 20 minutes, with IAF airstrikes in response, killing 9 Gazans. The Israeli delegation was ordered home from Cairo.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Phase 3: Withdrawal of Israeli troops
On 21 August, an Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed three of Hamas's top commanders: Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al Atar and Mohammed Barhoum. During the period from 22 to 26 August, over 700 rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel, killing 3 Israelis. On 26 August, Israel and Hamas accepted another cease-fire at 19:00.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Result and post-conflict events
On 16 September, a mortar shell was fired to Israel for the first time since the cease-fire commenced. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon reassured border town populations that fighting would not resume with the Gaza Strip at the end of this month, the same time of year as the Jewish new year.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Result and post-conflict events
According to Palestinians on 1 October, Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip and fired upon Palestinian farmers and farms. No injuries were reported.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Result and post-conflict events
IDF reported that on 31 October a rocket or a mortar shell was launched from Gaza into southern Israel without causing harm.


2014 Gaza War, Operation timeline, Result and post-conflict events
On 23 November, a Palestinian farmer was shot dead in Gaza, marking the first time a Palestinian from Gaza had been killed by Israeli fire since the seven-week war between Israel and Hamas militants ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on 26 August. The Israeli army said two Palestinians had approached the border fence and had ignored calls to halt, prompting troops to fire warning shots in the air. "Once they didn't comply, they fired towards their lower extremities. There was one hit," a spokeswoman said.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
As of 20 July 2014, hospitals in Gaza were ill-equipped and faced severe shortages of various kinds of medicine, medical supplies, and fuel. In response, Israel set up an IDF field hospital for Gazans at the Erez Crossing and Egypt temporarily reopened the Rafah crossing with Gaza to allow medical supplies to enter and injured Palestinians to receive treatment in Egypt. Due to the operation, prices of food, including fish and produce, rose dramatically. A 21 July news report stated that over 83,000 Palestinians had taken shelter in UN facilities. Fatah officials accused Hamas of mishandling humanitarian aid meant for civilians. According to them, Hamas took the aid, which included clothing, mattresses, medicine, water, and food, and distributed it among Hamas members or sold it on the black market for profit.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 273,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been displaced as of 31 July 2014, of whom 236,375 (over eleven percent of the Gazan population) were taking shelter in 88 UNRWA schools. UNRWA exhausted its capacity to absorb displaced persons, and overcrowding in shelters risked the outbreak of epidemics.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
1.8 million people were affected by a halt or reduction of the water supply, 138 schools and 26 health facilities were damaged, 872 homes were totally destroyed or severely damaged, and the homes of 5,005 families were damaged but still inhabitable. Throughout the Gaza Strip, people received only 2 hours of electricity per day. Power outage had an immediate effect on the public health situation and reduced water and sanitation services, with hospitals becoming dependent on generators. On 2 September, UNRWA reported that 58,217 people were sheltering in 31 of their school buildings, a fifth of their buildings.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
OCHA estimated that at least 373,000 children required psychosocial support. "Intense overcrowding, compounded by the limited access of humanitarian staff to certain areas, is increasingly undermining the living conditions at many shelters and raising protection concerns. Water supply has been particularly challenging..." More than 485,000 internally displaced persons were in need of emergency food assistance.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
Gaza City, home to 500,000, suffered damage to 20–25% of its housing. Beit Hanoun, with 70% of its housing stock damaged, is considered uninhabitable, with 30,000 residents there in need of accommodation. The only power station in the Strip was damaged on 29 July, and the infrastructure of power transmission lines and sewage pumps was severely damaged, with a major sewage pipe catering to 500,000 badly damaged.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
Among the infrastructure targeted and destroyed by Israel's bombing campaign were 220 factories in various industrial zones, including a major carpentry enterprise, construction companies, a major biscuit factory, dairy farms and livestock, a candy manufacturer, the orange groves of Beit Hanoun, Gaza's largest mosques, and several TV stations. Farms, as a consequence of damage or the presence of unexploded ordnance dropped during the conflict, are often inaccessible, and the damage to agriculture was estimated at over $200 million. 10 out of 26 hospitals closed.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, 203 mosques were damaged during the war, with 73 being destroyed completely. Two of Gaza's three Christian churches were also damaged, with the third suffering some damage to peripheral buildings owned by the parish. In the light of the damage to mosques, Manuel Musallam informed Muslims they could call their prayers from Christian churches. In contrast to Operation Pillar of Defensive, which did not damage a single mosque, Israel maintained that Hamas had a routine military use of mosques and that made them legitimate military targets. According to the IDF, 160 rockets were launched from mosques during the war. It also stated that mosques were used for weapon storage, tunnel entrances, training and gathering of militants. In one Associated Press report, residents denied that mosques damaged by Israeli forces had been used for military purposes.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Gaza residents
The UN calculated that more than 7,000 homes for 10,000 families were razed, together with an additional 89,000 homes damaged, of which roughly 10,000 were severely affected by the bombing. Rebuilding costs were calculated to run from 4–6 billion dollars, over 20 years.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
Hamas and other Islamist groups in Gaza fired rockets and mortars at Israeli towns and villages. Despite Israel's use of the Iron Dome missile defense systems, six civilians were killed, including an Arab Israeli and a Thai civilian worker. An Israeli teen was seriously injured in a rocket strike in the city of Ashkelon. Medical health professionals have noted that Israeli teens prone to mental health problems suffer increasingly during both short-term and long-term conflicts. Experts have identified a number of mental health symptoms which rise during conflict, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, and paranoia. There is some doubt whether these issues will dissipate after the conflict is resolved.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
Rocket attacks from Gaza caused damage to Israeli civilian infrastructure, including factories, gas stations, and homes.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
At the onset of the operation, the Israeli government cancelled all programs within 40 km (25 mi) of Gaza, and requested all people stay at home or near shelter. All summer camps were closed and universities cancelled their final exams. Additionally, all gatherings of 300 or more people were banned. Due to the trajectory of rocket fire from Gaza, many flights in and out of Ben-Gurion Airport were delayed or rerouted. and flights to Ben-Gurion airport were interrupted for some days after a Hamas rocket struck an area in its vicinity. Hamas called the FAA flight ban a "great victory". Michael Ross wrote that the decision was driven by anxiety and caused considerably more damage than the potential danger it prevented.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
About 4,600 claims for direct damage and 28,000 for indirect damage such as missed work days were submitted to Israel's Tax Authority, which paid ₪133 million for direct damage and ₪1.51 billion for indirect damage.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
The Bedouin communities in the Negev, living in many habitations built illegally and unrecognised by the Israeli government, were classified as "open areas" and so their 200,000 residents did not have warning sirens or anti-rocket protection.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, On Israeli residents
In Israel, an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 citizens temporarily fled their homes due to the threat of rocketry from Gaza. The economic cost of the operation is estimated at NIS 8.5 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion) and GDP loss of 0.4%. At the conclusion of hostilities 3,000–3,700 claims for damages had been submitted by Israelis, and $41 million paid out for property damage and missed work days. Reconstruction costs were estimated at approximately $11 million.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Reports of casualties in the conflict have been made available by a variety of sources. Most media accounts have used figures provided by the government in Gaza or non-governmental organizations.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Current reports of the proportion of those killed who were civilians/militants are incomplete, and real-time errors, intentional data manipulation, and diverse methodologies produce notable variations in various sides' figures. For example, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry has issued instructions for activists to always refer to casualties as "innocent civilians" or "innocent citizens" in internet posts. However, B'Tselem has stated that after the various groups finish their investigations, their figures are likely to end up about the same.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
UNICEF and the Gaza Health Ministry reported that from 8 July to 2 August 296–315 Palestinian children died due to Israeli action, and 30% of civilian casualties were children; by 27 August, the total number of children killed had risen to 495–578, according to OCHA and the Gaza Health Ministry. In March 2015, OCHA reported that 2,220 Palestinians had been killed, of whom 1,492 were civilians (551 children and 299 women), 605 militants and 123 of unknown status. According to ITIC, 48.7% of the identified casualties were militants and in some cases children and women participated in military operations.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
In December 2014, the ITIC published a list of 50 Gazan militants killed in the war whose names did not appear on the casualty lists released by Hamas. In 2015, it released a list of another 50 militants, including 43 from Hamas, who had been killed in the war and were not listed by Hamas.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
The ITIC estimated the number of Hamas-affiliated militants killed in the war at 600–650, and claimed that Hamas unofficially reported that it lost 400 fighters, although it estimated that this was lower than the actual figure and excluded those affiliated with Hamas' security apparatus and civilian infrastructure that supported its military activity. The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine was reported as claiming that 121 or 123 of its fighters were killed in the war. The ITIC estimated that the true figure was several dozen higher, up to 150 or 170.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
In a September 2014 meeting with foreign journalists, a senior Israeli intelligence officer said that to date, the IDF had determined that 616 of the dead were militants, including 341 from Hamas, 182 from Islamic Jihad, and 93 from smaller Palestinian factions. Israel later updated its estimate to 936 of the dead being confirmed militants and 428 others whose status as civilians or militants could not be ascertained. Of the 936 identified as militants, 631 were from Hamas, 201 from Islamic Jihad, and 104 from smaller factions such as Fatah networks and organizations affiliated with global jihad.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
The IDF captured the bodies of 19 Hamas fighters killed during the war. Israel continues to hold the bodies pending a prisoner exchange deal.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
According to the main estimates between 2,125 and 2,310 Gazans were killed and between 10,626 and 10,895 were wounded (including 3,374 children, of whom over 1,000 were left permanently disabled). The Gaza Health Ministry, UN and some human rights groups reported that 69–75% of the Palestinian casualties were civilians; Israeli officials estimated that around 50% of those killed were civilians. On 5 August, OCHA stated that 520,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (approximately 30% of its population) might have been displaced, of whom 485,000 needed emergency food assistance and 273,000 were taking shelter in 90 UN-run schools.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Human rights groups and the UN use the Gaza Health Ministry's number of Palestinians killed in Gaza as preliminary and add to or subtract from it after conducting their own investigations. For example, human rights groups say that the casualty count provided by the Health Ministry most likely includes victims of Hamas executions, domestic violence, and natural deaths, but they (the human rights groups) remove the accused collaborators (who were shot as close range) from their own counts. Israel contends that the Health Ministry's casualty count also includes deaths caused by rocket or mortar malfunctions.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
According to the OCHA 2015 overview, of the 2,220 Palestinians killed in the conflict, 742 fatalities came from 142 families, who suffered the loss of 3 or more family members in individual bombing incidents on residential buildings. According to data provided by the Palestinian International Middle East Media Center, 79.7% of the Palestinians killed in Gaza were male, with the majority between 16 and 35.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
In contrast, a New York Times analysis states that males of ages that are most likely to be militants form 9% of the population but 34% of the casualties, while women and children under 15, who are least likely to be legitimate targets, form 71% of the general population and 33% of the casualties.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Israel has pointed to the relatively small numbers of fatalities among women, children and men over 60, and to instances of Hamas fighters being counted as civilians (perhaps due to the broad definition of "civilian" used by the Gaza Health Ministry), to support its view that the number of the dead who were militants is 40–50%. The IDF calculates that 5% of Gaza's military forces were killed in the war.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Jana Krause, from the war studies department at King's College London, stated that "a potential explanation other than combatant roles" for the tendency of the dead to be young men "could be that families expect them to be the first ones to leave shelters in order to care for hurt relatives, gather information, look after abandoned family homes or arrange food and water." ITIC reported instances in which children and teenagers served as militants, as well as cases where the ages of casualties reported by GHM were allegedly falsified, with child militants listed as adults and adults listed as children.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Palestinian
Abbas said that "more than 120 youths were killed for violating the curfew and house arrest orders issued against them" by Hamas, referring to reports that Hamas targeted Fatah activists in Gaza during the conflict. Abbas said that Hamas also executed more than 30 suspected collaborators without trial. He said that "over 850 Hamas members and their families" were killed by Israel during the operation. During the fighting between Israel and Gaza, solidarity protests occurred in the West Bank, during which several Palestinians died; see Reactions.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Israeli
A total of 67 IDF soldiers were killed, including one who died of his injuries after two and a half years in a coma, and two soldiers, Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul and Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, whose bodies were taken by Hamas and are currently being held in Gaza. Another 469 soldiers were injured. The IDF said that 5 soldiers were killed and 23 were wounded by friendly fire.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Israeli
In addition, Palestinian rocket and mortar fire killed 6 civilians in Israel, 5 Israelis and 1 Thai migrant worker, while another 2 Israeli civilians died of heart attacks triggered by air raid sirens. One other person died due to natural causes brought on by the conflict.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Israeli
According to Magen David Adom, 837 civilians were treated for shock (581) or injuries (256): 36 were injured by shrapnel, 33 by debris from shattered glass and building debris, 18 in traffic accidents which occurred when warning sirens sounded, 159 from falling or trauma while on the way to shelters, and 9 in violence in Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Casualties and losses, Israeli
The first Israeli civilian death occurred at the Erez border crossing with Gaza when a Chabad rabbi, delivering food and drinks on the front line, was killed by mortar fire. The second Israeli civilian killed was a 32-year-old Bedouin who was hit by a rocket in the Negev Desert. A Thai migrant worker was also killed by mortar fire while working at a greenhouse in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. In addition, an elderly woman in Haifa collapsed and died of heart failure during an air-raid siren. On 22 August, a 4-year-old Israeli child was killed by a mortar fired from Gaza. A barrage of mortar fire killed two Israeli civilians in the Eshkol region, an hour before a ceasefire went into effect.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Economic impact
Palestinian officials estimated on 4 September that, with 17,000 homes destroyed by Israeli bombing, the reconstruction would cost $7.8 billion, which is about 3 times Gaza's GDP for 2011. Gaza City suffered damage to 20–25% of its housing and Beit Hanoun with 70% of its housing uninhabitable. The New York Times noted that damage in this third war was more severe than in the two preceding wars, where in the aftermath of the earlier Operation Cast Lead the damage inflicted was $4 billion, 3 times the then GDP of Gaza's economy.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Economic impact
Strikes on Gaza's few industries will take years to repair. Gaza's main power plant on Salaheddin Road was damaged. Two sewage pumping stations in Zeitoun were damaged.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Economic impact
The biggest private company in Gaza, the Alawda biscuit and ice cream factory, employing 400, was destroyed by a shelling barrage on 31 July, a few days after undertaking to supply its Choco Sandwich biscuits to 250,000 refugees in response to a request from the World Food Programme; other strikes targeted a plastics factory, a sponge-making plant, the offices of Gaza's main fruit distribution network, the El Majd Industrial and Trading Corporation's factory for cardboard box, carton and plastic bag production, Gaza's biggest dairy product importer and distributor, Roward International. Trond Husby, chief of the UN's Gaza development programme in Gaza, commented that the level of destruction now is worse than in Somalia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Economic impact
A number of tunnels leading into both Israel and Egypt were destroyed throughout the operation. There were reports that the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt were bringing an estimated $700 million into Gaza's economy through goods or services. Several Palestinians argued that the tunnels had been critical to supporting the residents of Gaza, either through the employment they provided or through the goods that they allowed in—goods which were otherwise not available unless shipped through Egypt. However, tunnels along the Israeli border serve a purely military purpose.


2014 Gaza War, Impact, Economic impact
During the ground invasion, Israeli forces destroyed livestock in Gaza. In Beit Hanoun, 370 cows were killed by tank shelling and airstrikes. In Beit Lahiya, 20 camels were shot by ground forces. Israel's Minister of Finance estimated that the operation would cost Israel NIS 8.5 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion), which is similar to Operation Cast Lead in 2009 and higher than Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. The forecast included military and non-military costs, including military expenditure and property damage. The calculation indicated that if the operation lasted 20 days, the loss in GDP would be 0.4%.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, International
International reactions to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict came from many countries and international organizations around the world.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, International
Canada was supportive of Israel and critical of Hamas. The BRICS countries called for restraint on both sides and a return to peace talks based on the Arab Peace Initiative. The European Union condemned the violations of the laws of war by both sides, while stressing the "unsustainable nature of the status quo", and calling for a settlement based on the two-state solution. The Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, and most Latin American countries were critical of Israel, with some countries in the latter group withdrawing their ambassadors from Israel in protest. South Africa called for restraint by both sides and an end to "collective punishment of Palestinians".


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, International
There were many pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations worldwide, including inside Israel and the Palestinian territories. According to OCHA, 23 Palestinians were killed and 2,218 were wounded by the IDF (38% of the latter by live fire) during these demonstrations.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, International
Concerns were raised regarding rising anti-Semitism and related violence deemed related to the conflict.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, United States
U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself, but urged restraint by both sides. Meanwhile, the United States Congress expressed vigorous support for Israel. It passed legislation providing Israel with an additional $225 million in military aid for missile defense with a bipartisan 395–8 vote in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate. This was in addition to strong measures supporting Israel's position passed with overwhelming support in both houses. Israel received strong statements of bipartisan support from the leadership and members of both houses of Congress for its actions during the conflict.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, United States
During the U.S. presidential primary race of 2016, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders criticized Israel for its treatment of Gaza, and in particular criticized Netanyahu for "overreacting" and causing unnecessary civilian deaths. In April 2016, the Anti- Defamation League called on Sanders to withdraw remarks he made to the New York Daily News, which the ADL said exaggerated the death toll of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. Sanders said "over 10,000 innocent people were killed", a number far in excess of Palestinian or Israel sources' estimates.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, United States
In response, Sanders said that he accepted a corrected number of the death toll as 2,300 during the course of the interview, which was taped, and that he would make every effort to set the record straight. The written transcript of the interview failed to note that Sanders said "Okay" to the corrected number presented by the interviewer during the course of the interview.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Gaza
On 6 August 2014, thousands of Palestinians rallied in Gaza in support of Hamas, demanding an end to the blockade of Gaza. After the 26 August ceasefire, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted a poll in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: 79% of respondents said that Hamas had won the war and 61% said that they would pick Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as the Palestinian president, up from 41% before the war.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Gaza
According to The Washington Post, a percentage of Gazans held Hamas accountable for the humanitarian crisis and wanted the militants to stop firing rockets from their neighborhoods to avoid Israeli reaction. Some of the Gazans have attempted to protest against Hamas, which routinely accuses protesters of being Israeli spies and has killed more than 50 such protesters. Around 6 August, Palestinian protesters reportedly attacked and beat up Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri because they blamed Hamas for inciting Operation Protective Edge.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Gaza
An unknown number of Palestinians, estimated in the hundreds or thousands, tried to flee to Europe due to the conflict. The Palestinian rights group Adamir collected the names of 400 missing persons. In what was described by International Organization for Migration as the "worst shipwreck in years", a boat carrying refugees was rammed by smugglers and capsized off the coast of Malta, resulting in the deaths of about 400 people. According to interviews with survivors, they paid smugglers between $2,000–$5,000 or used legal travel permits, to get to Egypt. One refugee who died had considered the boat to be rickety but told his father "I have no life in Gaza anyway".


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
A majority of the Israeli public supported Operation Protective Edge. A poll conducted after a temporary ceasefire came into effect during the war in July found that 86.5% of Israelis polled opposed the ceasefire. Another poll in July found 91% support for the operation among the Jewish public, with 85% opposed to stopping the war and 51% in support of continuing the war until Hamas was removed from power in Gaza, while 4% believed the war to be a mistake. Two other polls found 90% and 95% support for the war among the Jewish public.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
Towards the end of the war, after Israel announced the withdrawal of ground forces from Gaza, a poll found 92% support for the war among the Jewish public, and that 48% believed that the IDF had used the appropriate amount of firepower in the operation, while 45% believed it had used too little and 6% believed it had used too much. The poll also found that 62% of Israeli-Arabs believed the operation was unjustified while 24% believed it was justified, and that 62% believed too much firepower was used, 10% believed too little firepower was used, and 3% thought the appropriate amount of firepower was used.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
The war saw strained relations between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Many Arab businesses closed as part of a one-day general strike in solidarity with Gaza, leading to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to call for the boycott of Arab businesses that participated in the strike. Thousands demonstrated against the war, including some who threw stones and blocked streets. About 1,500 Arabs were arrested over involvement in protests against the war. Numerous Arabs were fired or disciplined by their employers over comments against Israel and the war on social media.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
The most notable case was that of a psychological counselor who worked for the Lod municipality, who was terminated on the orders of the Mayor of Lod after writing a Facebook post expressing joy over the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers in the Battle of Shuja'iyya. Arabs reported an increase in racism and violence from right-wing Jews. However, some Israeli Jews against the war joined in anti-war protests, and a handful were also arrested.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
There were continuous protests and clashes in the West Bank. The funeral of Mohammed Abu Khdeir on 4 July was joined by thousands of mourners, and was accompanied by clashes across east Jerusalem throughout the weekend. According to OCHA, 23 Palestinians were killed and 2,218 were wounded by the IDF, 38% of the latter by live fire. According to the PLO, 32 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in the period 13 June – 26 August, nearly 1400 were wounded by Israeli fire and 1,700 were detained in the largest offensive in the West Bank since the Second Intifada. The PLO also stated that 1,472 settlement homes had been approved over the summer.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
During the war there were over 360 attacks on Jews from the West Bank, a spate that was thought by The Jerusalem Post to have "peaked" on 4 August with a tractor attack in Jerusalem and the shooting of a uniformed soldier in the French Hill neighborhood, leading to an increase in security in the city.


2014 Gaza War, Reactions, Israel and the West Bank
On 1 September, Israel announced a plan to expropriate 1,000 acres of land in the West Bank, reportedly as a "reaction to the deplorable murder in June of three Israeli teenagers", which Amnesty International denounced as the "largest land grab in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the 1980s". The EU complained about the land expropriation and warned of renewed violence in Gaza; the US called it "counterproductive".


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
A number of legal and moral issues concerning the conflict arose during course of the fighting. Various human rights groups have argued that both Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli targeted destruction of homes of Hamas and other militia members violated international humanitarian law and might constitute war crimes, violations of international humanitarian law. Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, accused Hamas militants of violating international humanitarian law by "locating rockets within schools and hospitals, or even launching these rockets from densely populated areas." She also criticized Israel's military operation, stating that there was "a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes", and specifically criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza as disproportionate.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
Amnesty International found evidence that "[d]uring the current hostilities, Hamas spokespeople reportedly urged residents in some areas of the Gaza Strip not to leave their homes after the Israeli military dropped leaflets and made phone calls warning people in the area to evacuate", and that international humanitarian law was clear in that "even if officials or fighters from Hamas or Palestinian armed groups associated with other factions did in fact direct civilians to remain in a specific location in order to shield military objectives from attacks, all of Israel's obligations to protect these civilians would still apply."


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
B'tselem found that Hamas had breached provisions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), both firing from civilian areas and firing at Israeli civilian areas. It also stated that the Israeli policy of bombing homes, formulated by government officials and the senior military command, though claimed to be in conformity with IHL, was 'unlawful', and designed to 'block, a priori, any allegations that Israel breached IHL provisions', in that it relies on an interpretation that leaves 'no restrictions whatsoever on Israeli action' so that 'whatever method it chooses to respond to Hamas operations is legitimate, no matter how horrifying the consequences.'


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged the Palestinian Authority to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC); the fact that the PA has not done so yet has prevented the ICC from launching a formal investigation. ICC prosecutor Geoffrey Nice said that a "decision to do nothing clearly emerges from the meeting" with the PA foreign minister Riad Malki. The UNHRC commissioned the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, led by William Schabas to investigate war crimes allegations by both sides.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
Israel criticized Schabas as biased because he repeatedly made statements against Israel and in support of Hamas, and has announced its own investigations of both military and civilian leadership and the conduct during the war. Schabas denied any bias, but on 2 February 2015 resigned from the position.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law
According to The New York Times, "Of 44 cases initially referred to army fact-finding teams for preliminary examination, seven have been closed, including one involving the death of eight members of a family when their home was struck on 8 July, the first day of the Israeli air campaign, and others are pending." Human rights organizations have expressed little confidence in Israel's measures, citing past experience. Moreover, several human rights organizations were denied access to Gaza by Israel, rendering it impossible for them to carry out on-site investigations. B'Tselem has refused to participate in the army investigation.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing and shooting of Gazan civilians
Twenty civilians from Shuja'iyya were killed while protesting against Hamas. A few days later, Hamas reportedly killed two Gazans and wounded ten after a scuffle broke out over food handouts.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing and shooting of Gazan civilians
The IDF stated on 31 July that more than 280 Hamas rockets malfunctioned and fell inside the Gaza strip, hitting sites including Al-Shifa Hospital and the Al-Shati refugee camp, killing at least 11 and wounding dozens. Hamas denied that any of its rockets hit the Gaza Strip., but Palestinian sources said numerous rocket launches ended up falling in Gaza communities and that scores of people have been killed or injured. Israeli Military sources said the failed Hamas launches increased amid heavy Israeli air and artillery strikes throughout the Gaza Strip.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing and shooting of Gazan civilians
They said the failed launches reflected poorly-assembled rockets as well as the rush to load and fire projectiles before they are spotted by Israeli aircraft. While the Al-Shifa Hospital incident is disputed, early news reports have suggested that the strike was from an Israeli drone missile. Amnesty International concluded that the explosion at the Shati refugee camp on 28 July in which 13 civilians were killed was caused by a Palestinian rocket, despite Palestinian claims it was an Israeli missile.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing of suspected collaborators
During the conflict, Hamas executed Gazan civilians it accused of having collaborated with Israel, thirty on 30 July. The United Nations Investigatory Commission concluded that at least 21 persons were killed in Gaza City in summary executions for collaboration between 5 and 22 August 2014 in Gaza City, most on the last date. 11 of those shot by firing squads on 22 August, a day after 3 al-Qassam brigade commanders had been killed in an Israeli strike at Rafah, had been taken from Al-Katiba prison. 7 were shot the same evening in "Operation Strangling Necks" directed against alleged collaborators. Norman Finkelstein compared the dilemma facing Hamas regarding collaboration within the ranks as similar to that expressed by Jewish leaders in the aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing of suspected collaborators
Abbas' Secretary-General, Al-Tayyib Abd al-Rahim, condemned the "random executions of those who Hamas called collaborators", adding that some of those killed had been detained for more than three years. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Palestinian human rights groups condemned the executions. Bodies of the victims were brought to hospitals to be added to the number of civilian casualties of Israeli operation. According to a Shin Bet official, "not even one" of the alleged collaborators executed by Hamas provided any intelligence to Israel, while the Shin Bet officially "confirmed that those executed during Operation Protective Edge had all been held in prison in Gaza in the course of the hostilities."


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing of suspected collaborators
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk confirmed that some victims were kept under arrest before the conflict began and were executed to satisfy the public without due legal procedure.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing of suspected collaborators
Shurat HaDin filed a suit with the ICC charging Khaled Mashaal with war crimes for the executions of 38 civilians. Hamas co-founder Ayman Taha was found dead; Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported he had been shot by Hamas for maintaining contact with the intelligence services of several Arab countries; Hamas stated he was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Killing of suspected collaborators
On 26 May 2015, Amnesty International released a report saying that Hamas carried out extrajudicial killings, abductions and arrests of Palestinians and used the Al-Shifa Hospital to detain, interrogate and torture suspects. It details the executions of at least 23 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel and torture of dozens of others, many victims of torture were members of the rival Palestinian movement, Fatah.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Endangerment of Civilians
The European Union condemned Hamas, and in particular condemned "calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields." Confirmation of this practice was produced by correspondents from France24, The Financial Times, and RT, who respectively filmed a rocket launch pad which was placed in a civilian area next to a hotel where international journalists were staying, reported on rockets being fired from near Al-Shifa Hospital, and reported on Hamas firing rockets near a hotel. In September 2014, a Hamas official acknowledged to an Associated Press reporter that the group had fired rockets from civilian areas.


2014 Gaza War, Alleged violations of international humanitarian law, Alleged violations by Hamas, Endangerment of Civilians
While the Israeli government repeatedly stated that many civilian casualties were the result of Hamas using the Gazan population as human shields several British media organizations (including The Guardian, and The Independent) dismissed such claims as "myths" and the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen likewise said he "saw no evidence of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields." Additionally the London-based NGO, Amnesty International, dismissed such claims, stated it was unable to verify them and emphasized that even if they were true the IDF would still have a responsibility to protect civilians.