Israelis run for cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets in Kiryat Malachi,

Operation Pillar of Defense - Summary of IDF activity

A ceasefire agreement regarding the fighting in the south came into effect at 21:00 on November 21, 2012. Following eight days of operations, the IDF has inflicted severe damage to Hamas and its military capabilities.

As a result of IDF operations, the command and control apparatus of Hamas was significantly struck, beginning with the targeting of the commander of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed Jabari, continuing with the targeting of broad terrorist infrastructure, facilities and military bases, as well as the destruction of dozens of smuggling and explosive tunnels.

During the operation, the IDF damaged and destroyed significant elements of Hamas' strategic capabilities. Among those capabilities were long-range (over 40 km) and hundreds of short- and medium-range rocket launchers. These actions have severely impaired Hamas' launching capabilities. The Iron Dome defense system has accomplished high rate of successful interceptions (84%) and Hamas’ accuracy with regards to hitting populated areas within Israel remained below 7%.

Over the course of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF targeted over 1,500 terror sites including 19 senior command centers, operational control centers and Hamas' senior-rank headquarters, 30 senior operatives, damaging Hamas' command and control, hundreds of underground rocket launchers, 140 smuggling tunnels, 66 terror tunnels, dozens of Hamas operation rooms and bases, 26 weapon manufacturing and storage facilities and dozens of long-range rocket launchers and launch sites.

Senior operatives targeted:

• Ahmed Jabari, head of Hamas' military wing
• Hab's Hassan Us Msamch, senior operative in Hamas' police
• Ahmed Abu Jalal, Commander of the military wing in Al-Muazi
• Khaled Shaer, senior operative in the anti-tank operations
• Osama Kadi, senior operative in the smuggling operations in the southern Gaza Strip
• Muhammad Kalb, senior operative in the aerial defense operations
• Ramz Harb, Islamic Jihad senior operative in propaganda in Gaza city

The current crisis began on Saturday (November 10) when an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck an IDF jeep near the Karni crossing wounding four soldiers, two seriously. An IDF force patrolling near the Karni crossing, inside Israel, sustained a direct hit by an anti-tank missile fired from a location east of the Gaza Strip neighborhoods of Zeitun and Sajaiya. Two soldiers suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Two others were rushed to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon in moderate condition, suffering from shrapnel wounds. The IDF responded to the source of fire.

The IDF soldier who sustained critical head and eye injuries during Saturday's anti-tank missile attack on an IDF patrol jeep near the Gaza border remains hospitalized at the intensive care unit of the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba, and his doctors say he may never see again

 

PM Netanyahu (Nov 11): "The IDF is operating, and will operate, aggressively against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which are taking heavy blows from the IDF. The world needs to understand that Israel will not sit idly by in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to intensify the response."

 

 A total of 121 rocket hits identified in Israeli territory during the current escalation.
The number does not include mortar shells. Source: ITIC

 

 

 Ceiling of a home in Sderot which suffered a direct rocket hit (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)



Rocket fired from Gaza damaged a home in Netivot - Nov 12 (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

 

 

Trails of smoke are seen after the launch of rockets from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel - November 11, 2012 (Photo: Reuters)