2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire

The 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire was an <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egyptian</a>-brokered six-month <a href="/facts/Tahdia/5P6JAAA1">Tahdia</a> (an Arabic term for a lull) "for the Gaza area", which went into effect between Hamas and Israel on 19 June 2008. According to the Egyptian-brokered agreement, Israel promised to stop air strikes and other attacks, while in return, there would not be rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Once the ceasefire held, Israel was to gradually begin to ease its <a href="/facts/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip/AxDFH2Cd">blockade of Gaza</a>.
During the initial week of the ceasefire, Islamic Jihad militants fired rockets on Israel. Under pressure from Hamas, Islamic Jihad had agreed to abide by the temporary truce, which was meant to apply only to Gaza, but had balked at the idea of not responding to Israeli military actions in the West Bank. The New York Times reported that the Islamic Jihad action broke the Hamas-Israeli Gaza truce. During the next 5 months of the ceasefire, Gazan attacks decreased significantly for a total of 19 rocket and 18 mortar shell launchings, compared to 1199 rockets and 1072 mortar shells in 2008 up to 19 June, a reduction of 98%.
The agreement called on Israel to increase the level of goods entering Gaza by 30 percent over the pre-lull period within 72 hours and to open all border crossings and "allow the transfer of all goods that were banned and restricted to go into Gaza" within 13 days after the beginning of the ceasefire. The increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel did improve, but the increase was only to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. Two months later the volume of goods arriving was too low to significantly improved living conditions, preventing UNRWA from replenishing its stores. Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse".
On 4 November 2008, Israel raided Gaza, killing six Hamas militants and effectively ending the ceasefire. The Israeli military said the target of the raid was a tunnel that they said Hamas was planning to use to capture Israeli soldiers positioned on the border fence 250m away. Hamas officials said that the tunnel was being dug for defensive purposes. Following the Israeli raid, Hamas launched barrage of rocket fire at targets in southern Israel. On 20 December, Hamas announced it would not renew the ceasefire. Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead, an organized ground and air assault against military and police targets in Hamas-controlled Gaza, on December 27, 2008, sparking the <a href="/facts/Gaza_War_(2008%E2%80%9309)/2CTaAgcT">2008-2009 Gaza conflict</a>.

2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire open-in-new

2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire