Operation Guardian of the Walls

The beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls was marked by barrages of rockets fired toward Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip on May 10, 2021, at 6:03 pm. Over the course of the next 12 days, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), two terror organizations within the Gaza Strip, fired almost 4,400 rockets at Israel. Approximately 680 of these rockets misfired and fell within the Gaza Strip, causing Palestinian casualties. 

These rockets were fired indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. Israel made great efforts to protect its civilians via a combination of bomb shelters and the deployment of the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System, which successfully intercepted 90% of the rockets fired at its civilians.

In response to Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians, the IDF struck over 1,500 terror targets, including launch sites, command and control centers, and weapons storage sites. Among these targets, the IDF struck many kilometers of Hamas’ extensive tunnel system. This tunnel network enabled military training, mobility, storage of weaponry, the capacity to carry out and manage military operations without exposing terror organizations operatives. The IDF also neutralized hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives. Overall, we succeeded in our mission to defend Israel, fight terror, and ensure the security of Israeli civilians.

What is Hamas?

Hamas is a terror organization that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Hamas is designated as a terror organization across the world, including by the United States, European Union, Canada and Japan. Hamas’ stated goal is to destroy Israel, as it has declared on many occasions. As a deliberate strategy, Hamas embeds its military infrastructure and operates in the heart of densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. By doing so, it commits a double war crime – attacking Israeli civilians while using its own civilians as human shields.

What is the Islamic Jihad?

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another terror organization located within the Gaza Strip, also shares the goal of destroying the State of Israel and creating an Islamic state in its place. Similarly to Hamas, the PIJ is funded by the Iranian regime. The PIJ’s strategy is to wage Jihad against Israel, with the aim of destroying it. The PIJ has been designated as a terror organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia

Terror Activity in Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls:

Israeli civilians are Hamas' explicit target. During the course of Operation Guardian of the Walls, Hamas directed attacks at civilians with rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles and more. Throughout the operation, IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib of the Nahal Brigade was killed by an anti-tank missile fired by PIJ while defending Israel’s border.

In order to protect Israeli civilians from this ongoing wave of terrorism, the IDF combined pinpoint intelligence with sophisticated military capabilities to cripple Hamas’ military infrastructure. This was a difficult mission to successfully complete, due to Hamas’ strategy of conducting from deep within civilian neighborhoods and structures in the Gaza Strip. 

How the IDF Defends Israel and Minimizes Civilian Harm:

Throughout the operation, the IDF maintained its core objective: defeat terror, protect Israel, and while doing so, minimizing civilian harm. The IDF dedicated vast resources to mitigate harm to civilians, both in Israel and in the Gaza Strip. The IDF took all possible precautions to avoid harming civilians during operational activities. Some of the advance warning methods that the IDF uses include messages to civilians, ‘roof knocking’ and phone calls.

The purpose of Operation Guardian of the Walls was to restore the security and ensure the safety of Israel and its civilians. By combining its military defense capabilities with proactive military strikes, the IDF was able to destroy a large amount of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing capabilities, in order to bring an enduring calm to the people of Israel.  The IDF will continue to defend the State of Israel against any and all threats.