Gaza Strip Bombings 2008-09 · Global Voices

A six month truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended on December 19. On December 27, air strikes by Israel hit over 40 Hamas targets in Gaza. According to early reports, the air strikes resulted in the bloodiest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine. The bombardments set off angry demonstrations in Israel's Arab towns and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as protests in other countries of the region and around the world.
Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on January 17. During this 22-day war, Global Voices authors reported on the voices of bloggers in Gaza, including personal stories of horror and death, at a time of a media blackout. According to Palestinian medics, more than 1,300 people died in Gaza, at least half of them civilians. Another 5,000 people were wounded. At least 14 Israelis died, including 3 civilians.
Our favorite posts
21 Jan – “In Gaza, only the dead have seen the end of this war”
18 Jan – Greece: Outcry over arms shipment to Israel
18 Jan – Israel: IDF Operating a Moral War in Gaza?
13 Jan – Palestine: “Tell me, please God, tell me this is going to end”
12 Jan – From Italy to Palestine: Vittorio Arrigoni writes from Gaza
12 Jan – MENA: Israel and the Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza
04 Jan – Palestine: Israeli ground forces enter Gaza
29 Dec – Israel: Israeli Bloggers React to Gaza
28 Dec – Palestine: “The Bloodiest Day Since 1967″
Read Global Voices in Arabic
See our complete archive of coverage
Twitter
Follow Twitter users around the world talking in real time about the events in Gaza by subscribing to the Gaza hashtag (#Gaza)—and read this Global Voices post for an analysis of Twitter's role in the Gaza commentary.
Videos
-See videos from the Gaza strip at the Palestine Vlog, including the one below of the December 27 attacks:
-You can also find a few videos on this post at Digital Journal.
Photos
-Sabbah Blog has posted a slideshow of over 160 photos of the Gaza bombings.
-Lubna T's photostream on Flickr has several photos from the Gaza strip, as well as this set of marches in Ramallah to protest the airstrikes. The photo below belongs to that set:
Other Resources
-Global Voices previous Middle East special coverage pages: on the 2007 peace negotiations and on the July 2008 prisoner exchange between Israel and Lebanon
-Wikipedia page on the 2008 Gaza Strip bombings and of the 2008 Israel-Gaza conflict.
-BBC's Middle East Crisis page
Global Voices Compete Coverage
: A flimsy ceasefire is brokered; Palestinians assess the damages and Israelis question the morality of war.
23 Feb – Palestine: Attacks on Gaza Continue
18 Feb – Egypt: Bloggers Take on the “Sons of Zion”
17 Feb – MENA: Is the BBC Impartial in its Refusal to Air the Gaza Appeal?
22 Jan – Israel: A Russian Photojournalist's Notes
21 Jan – “In Gaza, only the dead have seen the end of this war”
19 Jan – Palestine: Assessing the Aftermath in Gaza
18 Jan – Greece: Outcry over arms shipment to Israel
18 Jan – Israel: IDF Operating a Moral War in Gaza?
18 Jan – Indonesia: Bloggers vs. mainstream media
18 Jan – Israel: Unilateral “Ceasefire” goes Into and Out of Effect
17 Jan – Israel: Voices against the violence
17 Jan – Palestine: “Everything is in vain in Gaza – breathing, running, hoping”
Against all odds, blog posts continue to pour out of Gaza; bloggers vividly describe their fear; and casualties rise as Israeli troops enter Gaza.
16 Jan – Israel: Loving and Hating Yonit Levi
16 Jan – Morocco: A Country Divided Over Gaza
16 Jan – Palestine: Israeli Troops Enter Residential Areas
15 Jan – Syria: Arab Leaders Can't Come Together, Even in Room
14 Jan – Palestine: “I don't have guns or weapons. I struggle by telling the truth”
14 Jan – Global: Online Petitions Launched in Action for Gaza
14 Jan - Palestine: Prank Calling the IDF
13 Jan – Arab World: Phoning Gaza and the Tech War on Israel
13 Jan – Palestine: “Tell me, please God, tell me this is going to end”
13 Jan – “Why the Children of Gaza Don't Deserve to Die?”
13 Jan – Palestine: “They Don't Know If They Will Live”
12 Jan – From Italy to Palestine: Vittorio Arrigoni writes from Gaza
12 Jan – MENA: Israel and the Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza
12 Jan – Israel: Construction Workers From Gaza
11 Jan – Palestine: “I see hatred in every blast pounding Gaza”
11 Jan – Egypt: Reporting Live from Rafah
10 Jan - Egypt: Civil disobedience and protests over Gaza
10 Jan – Palestine: “How many deaths in Gaza is enough?”
10 Jan – Palestine: “I do not want my kids to see me torn into pieces”
Worldwide reactions to the bombings continue; millions around the world take to the streets demonstrating for an end of the war; activists plan aid and a parallel online war begins.
09 Jan – China and Hong Kong: Views on Gaza Conflicts
08 Jan – Iranian government uses Gaza conflict to repress
08 Jan – Egyptian bloggers visit injured Palestinians
08 Jan – “In Gaza, we are subject to news but cannot watch TV”
07 Jan – Egypt: Bloggers on the Fence
07 Jan – Syria: Gaza On Our Minds
07 Jan – Bangla Blogs: Praying For Peace In Gaza
06 Jan – Egyptian Bloggers Ask: WHY?
06 Jan – An Egyptian Blogger's take on Robert Fisk's Piece
06 Jan – Australia: Locals divided over Gaza
06 Jan – Egypt: From Egyptian Artists to Artists of the World
06 Jan – Palestine: UN School Hit By Israeli Shells
06 Jan – Palestine: In Gaza our future is almost destroyed
06 Jan – Palestine: Communicating with Gaza
05 Jan – Palestine: “Gaza is not searching for an aspirin for its bloody wound”
05 Jan – Facebook War Continues with Group Hacks
05 Jan – Global: Protesters in Full Force Against Gaza War
05 Jan – Jordan: The Gaza Connection
05 Jan – Is Facebook Censoring Information on Israel and Palestine?
04 Jan – Palestine: People of Gaza “trapped, traumatized, terrorized”
04 Jan – Americas: Calls for peace in Palestine
04 Jan – Global: Protests for Palestine
04 Jan – Indonesia: Indonesian Bloggers Respond to Gaza Attack
04 Jan – Syria: The Red Crescent Sends Convoys to Gaza
04 Jan – Palestine: Israeli ground forces enter Gaza
Israel bombs Gaza; the Arab world reacts and Global Voices Online brings us the voices of Gazan bloggers who remark: “In Gaza, It's 9/11 every hour, every minute”
03 Jan – Egypt: How Can We Help Gaza?
03 Jan – Saudi Arabia: Who is to blame for Gaza?
03 Jan – Australia: Following Gaza from Afar
02 Jan – Palestine: “The earthquake in Gaza is called Israel”
02 Jan – Gaza and Sderot: “After war we need a new beginning”
01 Jan – Palestine: West Bank protests hindered by factional tension
31 Dec – Morocco: “We Are All Gaza”
31 Dec – Libya: “Gaza Burning!” Blogger solidarity with Palestine
31 Dec – Egypt: The other side of Gaza’s story
31 Dec – Moroccan, Tunisian bloggers on the Gaza bombings
30 Dec – Egypt: Solidarity with Palestine
30 Dec – Palestine: “In Gaza it's 9/11 every hour, every minute…”
30 Dec – Lebanon: Solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
30 Dec – Syria: More on the Israeli Attacks in Palestine
30 Dec – Syria: Myths about Israeli Attacks in Palestine
30 Dec – Israel: Consulate Holds Twitter “Press Conference”
30 Dec – Israel: Perspectives on Gaza Operation Cast Lead
29 Dec – Palestine: Bloggers in Gaza describe the fear
29 Dec – Syria: Bloggers Infuriated by “Israeli Massacre in Gaza”
29 Dec – Palestine: French Blogger Weighs In On Gaza
29 Dec – Israel: Israeli Bloggers React to Gaza
29 Dec – Israel: Preparing for War
28 Dec – Palestine: On the ground in Gaza
28 Dec – The Global Twittersphere Discusses Gaza
28 Dec – Syria: Outrage at the “Massacre in Gaza”
28 Dec – Palestine: “The Bloodiest Day Since 1967″
27 Dec – Arab World Reacts to “Gaza Massacre”
27 Dec – Palestine: Israeli Airstrikes Spur Actions from Bloggers
26 Dec – Iran: Islamist bloggers support Gaza