Operation Hot Winter
| Operation Hot Winter | |||||||
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| Part of the Israel–Gaza conflict | |||||||
 Area of the conflict |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel (IDF) |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Ehud Olmert Gabi Ashkenazi Yoav Galant Eliezer Shkedi Dan Halutz
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 Khaled Mashal Ismail Haniyeh Mahmoud al-Zahar Ahmed Jabari
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 killed (1 civilian), 8 wounded |
112 killed (52 civilians), 350 wounded |
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Operation Hot Winter (Hebrew: מבצע חורף חם, Mivtza Horef Ham), also called Operation Warm Winter, was an Israel Defense Forces military campaign in the Gaza Strip, launched on February 29, 2008 in response to Qassam rockets fired from the Strip by Hamas onto Israeli civilians. At least 112 Palestinian militants and civilians, along with three Israelis, were killed, and more than 150 Palestinians and seven Israelis were injured.
There was some international concern over the scale of the operation, with the United States Department of State encouraging Israel to exercise caution to avoid the loss of innocent life, and the United Nations criticising Israel's "disproportionate use of force". The European Union demanded an immediate end to Palestinian militant rocket attacks on Israel and also Israel's "disproportionate use of force.
After the Gaza-Egypt border breach by Hamas during an Israeli blockade of Gaza, Shin Bet officials concluded the Palestinian militant groups had smuggled large numbers of longer-ranged missiles, such as Katyushas and Grads into the strip that were capable of reaching Ashkelon, a city six times as large as the rocket-battered town of Sderot.
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