Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: 2018 Timeline

The year opened against the backdrop of a fragile, largely informal ceasefire that had held in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. Rocket fire from Gaza into Israel had fallen to minimal levels — just 31 hits in Israeli territory in 2017 — while Judea and Samaria saw persistent but relatively contained violence.[1] Gaza itself was under severe economic and humanitarian strain: electricity shortages, a lack of safe water, and reduced Palestinian Authority funding created conditions that contributed to mobilization throughout 2018.[5]

Israel's relationship with the Palestinian Authority was tense but maintained through security coordination, while Hamas governed Gaza without reconciliation with Fatah despite periodic negotiations. In Washington, the Trump administration had recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017, setting the stage for the embassy relocation that became one of the year's defining flashpoints. On March 13, the United States hosted an international conference on Gaza's humanitarian crisis. Representatives from 19 nations attended, including Israel and Arab Gulf states, but the Palestinians rejected the invitation, which the cited account attributed to anger over the Jerusalem recognition.[6]

On March 30 — Land Day, which Palestinians commemorate in connection with land expropriations in the Galilee in 1976 — thousands of Palestinians gathered near the Gaza–Israel security fence to inaugurate a protest campaign called the "Great March of Return."[7] The IDF estimated that about 30,000 people took part on the opening day; the Hamas-run health ministry ultimately reported 15 Palestinians killed and 1,416 injured.[7] The IDF said it thwarted a shooting attack by two terrorists who approached the fence and fired at soldiers; Israeli forces returned fire, and no Israeli troops were injured.[8]

Hamas backed the protests, and its leaders described their aims in terms of Palestinian return and removing the border.[7] The U.S. State Department's human-rights report describes participants as including unarmed protesters, armed terrorists, militants launching incendiary devices, and others involved in violence; it also records the Israeli government's position that Hamas had co-opted the protests.[2] The weekly marches continued every Friday after March 30, with typical attendance of 5,000 to 20,000.[1]

On April 6, during what was called the "Friday of the Tires," protesters burned large numbers of tires near the fence in an effort to obscure visibility.[9] By late April, Palestinians were flying incendiary kites toward Israel. On April 27, the IDF reported attempts to breach or burn the fence and the use of explosive devices, grenades, Molotov cocktails, and stones; three Palestinians were reported killed in the clashes.[8] The protests were initially planned as a six-week campaign ending around May 15, but demonstrations continued well beyond that window, with participation varying in subsequent months.[9]

The United States inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, in a consulate building in the Arnona neighborhood of west Jerusalem. The opening coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence and the eve of Nakba Day.[3] The temporary embassy housed a small diplomatic staff including Ambassador David Friedman, while most embassy functions continued in Tel Aviv; representatives from 33 other countries attended the ceremony.[3][6]

The same day brought the largest Gaza border demonstrations of the year and the highest single-day casualty toll. The ITIC reported about 40,000 Palestinians gathered at 13 locations along the fence.[10] The Gaza Hamas-run health ministry reported approximately 60 Palestinians killed and more than 2,700 wounded.[11] Accounts varied by reporting time and methodology: the ITIC cited 60 deaths, while a Washington Institute analysis published during the events reported 52 casualties at the time of writing.[10][12] The State Department report later cited media accounts of 62 Palestinians killed.[2]

Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil subsequently claimed that 50 of the approximately 62 people killed were Hamas members, although other sources offered different assessments of combatant status.[9] The State Department report records that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said at least 53 of those killed were affiliated with their organizations, including some active members.[2] Reports described attempts to cross the fence, the placement of explosive devices, incendiary-kite launches, and shooting toward Israeli soldiers.[10][13] Israeli forces struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets.[13] The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning, and Turkey recalled its ambassadors from Israel and the United States.[13]

Ghaith al-Omari of the Washington Institute characterized May 14 as "the bloodiest day for Gaza since the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel."[12] The embassy move also led the Palestinian Authority to sever contact with the Trump administration.[12] On May 24, Israel's Supreme Court rejected challenges by human-rights organizations to IDF rules permitting live ammunition against demonstrators near the fence. The court treated the applicable legal framework as war rather than law enforcement, while calling on the IDF to draw operational lessons and develop nonlethal alternatives; it cited "the number of casualties and injuries, and the fact that many were injured in their upper body and some in the back."[2]

May 28–29 marked the first major rocket exchange after the Great March protests began. Israeli forces struck a Gaza outpost on May 28 and killed three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members after an explosive device had been planted at the border fence the previous night.[9] Palestinian Islamic Jihad responded on May 29 with mortar shells and short-range rockets, including at least 27 mortar shells fired at communities in the western Negev; further rocket and mortar fire followed as Israeli aircraft attacked targets in Gaza.[14] Palestinian groups launched approximately 200 projectiles during the escalation, and the IDF struck more than 65 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets.[15] After approximately 24 hours of exchanges, Hamas announced agreement to a ceasefire.[9]

A June escalation followed on June 19 after an Israeli strike on an incendiary-balloon launching site. Approximately 45 rockets and mortar shells were launched toward Israel, with at least six explosions in communities near Gaza; seven launches were intercepted by Iron Dome and three fell inside Gaza.[8] The IDF struck targets in southern Gaza in response.[8]

A third major round occurred on July 13–14 amid increased violence during the border marches. Israeli aircraft carried out three waves of attacks on Hamas military targets, and Hamas and other Palestinian organizations fired about 200 rockets and mortar shells at Israel.[16] Two rockets struck a home and a synagogue in Sderot, wounding four Israelis.[9] On July 20, a Palestinian sniper shot and killed IDF Staff Sergeant Aviv Levi in southern Gaza.[2] Exchanges of fire followed, with three Hamas military-wing members and another Palestinian reported killed; the IDF then carried out extensive strikes on Gaza infrastructure.[8] Egypt mediated, and Israel later resumed supplies and expanded the fishing zone after a period of reduced attacks.[9]

On August 8–9, another major escalation unfolded after gunfire from a Hamas position near Beit Lahia.[17] Hamas and other organizations fired more than 180 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli territory, while the IDF attacked more than 150 targets in Gaza.[2] By that point, more than 610 rockets and mortar shells had been fired from Gaza during the escalation period from late May through August 9, including intermittent fire between major rounds.[18] An Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire was reported on August 9, although Israel did not officially confirm that an agreement had been reached.[19]

One IDF airstrike during the August escalation killed one-year-old Bayan Abu Khamash and her pregnant mother, 22-year-old Inas Abu Kahmas, while they were asleep at home in Deir al-Balah.[2] Three Palestinians were reported killed overall during the August 8–9 exchange, and several dozen people were wounded on the Israeli side.[19]

Alongside rocket and mortar fire, kites and balloons carrying incendiary material became a persistent feature of the Gaza campaign. According to Israeli government figures cited by the U.S. State Department, the devices sparked nearly 2,000 fires, burned more than 5,600 acres in Israel, and caused approximately 35 million shekels — about $10 million — in damage.[2] The ITIC attributed more than 1,000 fires to incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza and recorded extensive ecological damage to agricultural land and nature reserves, although no fatalities were directly caused by the devices.[1]

The Gaza border violence triggered significant international reaction. In May, the UN Human Rights Council called for an independent international commission of inquiry into events at the fence.[5] On June 13, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution ES-10/20, titled "Protection of the Palestinian Civilian Population," by a vote of 120 in favor, eight against, and 45 abstentions. The resolution condemned Israeli actions, including the use of live fire against Palestinian civilians, and also condemned rocket attacks from Gaza against Israeli civilians.[20]

The ICC Prosecutor's 2018 update, as described by the Institute for National Security Studies, reported that means used by Israeli soldiers against people participating in the Gaza demonstrations had resulted in more than 170 deaths and more than 19,000 injuries since March 30, including among children, journalists, and medical workers.[21] The update characterized most demonstrators as engaged in nonviolent protest while noting that some approached the fence, threw explosive devices, launched incendiary kites or balloons, or attempted to infiltrate Israel. The Prosecutor's Office said it was gathering information on alleged crimes by both sides and that the allegations required further assessment.[21]

On June 1, Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar was shot and killed during a Friday protest near the security fence, according to the State Department report.[2] Her death attracted significant international attention and became a focal point in debates over the use of force at the fence.

The Trump administration pursued a series of policy changes toward Palestinian institutions during 2018. In January, the United States pledged $60 million to Palestinian refugee programs administered by UNRWA but held $65 million for future consideration; a subsequent announcement withheld another $45 million in food aid.[6]

On August 31, the State Department announced that the United States would make no further contributions to UNRWA.[4] Congressional Research Service figures placed U.S. contributions at $359.3 million in FY2017 and $65 million in FY2018. On August 24, the administration separately directed the reprogramming of $200 million in FY2017 bilateral economic aid, with approximately $231.5 million ultimately reprogrammed.[4]

On September 10, the State Department announced that the PLO's representative office in Washington, DC — which had served since the 1990s as a focal point for U.S.-Palestinian relations, although it was not diplomatically accredited — should close.[5] The administration linked the decision to the failure to resume peace negotiations and Palestinian efforts involving the International Criminal Court. PLO official Saeb Erekat condemned the decision and said the Palestinians would act to protect the rights and consular access of Palestinians in the United States.[22]

In Judea and Samaria, the ITIC recorded 55 significant terrorist attacks — defined as shootings, stabbings, vehicular attacks, explosive-device attacks, or combined attacks, excluding stone-throwing and Molotov-cocktail incidents — that killed 12 people: seven civilians and five members of the Israeli security forces.[1] The IDF year-end review counted 87 attacks under its own definition and also recorded 2,057 stone-throwing incidents and 893 Molotov-cocktail incidents.[23]

Several attacks stood out for their lethality or circumstances. In January, a drive-by shooting killed an Israeli civilian. In March, a vehicular-ramming attack killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded two more. In July, a stabbing in a settlement northeast of Jerusalem killed one Israeli civilian and wounded two.[24]

On September 16, Ari Fuld, a 45-year-old American-Israeli resident of Efrat and father of four, was stabbed outside a shopping mall at the Gush Etzion Junction by a 17-year-old Palestinian.[25] Fuld pursued and shot his attacker before collapsing and later dying of his wounds.[25] The State Department report dates the fatal stabbing to September 17 and identifies the attacker as Khalil Jabarin.[2]

On October 7, Palestinian gunman Ashraf Na'alowa entered offices at the Alon Group in the Barkan Industrial Park and shot three people. Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi were killed, and a third woman was moderately wounded.[26] Na'alowa fled, prompting a large manhunt and road closures. Israeli forces located and killed him nine weeks later in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus.[27]

On October 12, a large stone allegedly thrown by settlers struck Aysha al-Rabi through her car window, killing her. Prosecutors subsequently announced an intention to indict a minor from the Rehelim settlement on manslaughter charges.[2] The international terrorism report also records an increase in "price tag" attacks by Israelis, including settlers, compared with 2017, although it records no fatalities from those incidents.[24]

The ITIC noted that attacks increased in the final four months of the year, with nine in December alone, but cautioned that it was unclear whether the late-year surge marked a new trend or a temporary rise.[1]

On October 12, around 15,000 people demonstrated at the Gaza border. An explosive device blew a hole in the fence, and approximately 20 people entered Israel under cover of smoke from burning tires. Most returned to Gaza, while three who continued toward a military outpost were shot and killed.[28] Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced a halt to industrial-fuel supplies to Gaza over the following weekend.[28]

On October 17, a rocket fired from Gaza struck the courtyard of a home in Beersheba, causing serious damage but no injuries — only the second rocket to reach the city since the 2014 Gaza war.[29] The IDF identified two launches and responded with airstrikes against about 20 targets in Gaza, including a Hamas border-crossing tunnel.[29]

The October 26 Gaza border march was particularly violent. Hand grenades and explosive devices were thrown at Israeli soldiers, demonstrators attempted to cross the fence, and seven Palestinians were reported killed.[30] That night and into the following day, about 40 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israeli territory — the heaviest rocket fire since August — targeting Sderot and other communities in the western Negev and south of Ashkelon.[30]

The most dangerous episode of the year began on the night of November 11, when an Israeli special-forces operation near Khan Yunis inside Gaza was exposed and turned into a firefight. An Israeli lieutenant colonel was killed and another officer wounded; seven Palestinian operatives were killed, six of them from Hamas's military wing.[31] Hamas initially fired 17 rockets and mortar shells at nearby Israeli communities in response.[31]

On November 12–13, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched approximately 460 rockets and mortar shells toward Israel over roughly 24 to 25 hours.[31][32] Iron Dome intercepted about 100 of them.[31] One person — a Palestinian laborer from Halhul — was killed in Ashkelon by a Gaza-launched rocket, and roughly 100 Israelis were injured, most with minor wounds.[31][2] The IDF struck approximately 150 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza during the exchange.[31] Qatar delivered $15 million in cash to Gaza on November 11, as the crisis was developing.[5]

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on the afternoon of November 13 after Egyptian and United Nations mediation and approximately 24 hours of exchanges.[31] Israel did not formally confirm the agreement publicly.[32] The cabinet's acceptance of the ceasefire was politically controversial: Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned in protest the following day, criticizing Israel's response as insufficient.[5][32] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently took over the defense portfolio after accepting the truce on the advice of Israel's defense establishment.[33]

The final weeks of the year brought a cluster of deadly terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria that underscored the late-year increase identified by the ITIC.

On December 9, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a bus stop outside Ofra. The ITIC reported nine people wounded, two critically.[34] A Times of Israel account reported seven wounded, including a woman who was seven months pregnant; doctors delivered her baby by emergency Caesarean section, but the infant died four days later.[35] Israeli forces subsequently killed Saleh Barghouti, whom they identified as responsible for the attack, near Ramallah. Hamas praised the shooting.[27]

On December 13, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at the Givat Assaf junction, killing two IDF soldiers and seriously wounding two other people.[34][35] On December 14, a soldier was critically wounded in a stabbing at Beit El.[34] Israeli forces also killed Ashraf Na'alowa, the Barkan industrial-zone gunman who had evaded capture since October 7, in the Askar refugee camp on December 13.[27]

Ynet counted 15 attacks during the two months before mid-December, reporting five deaths and 22 wounded during that period. Its tally was a report on the late-year wave rather than a calendar-year total.[36]

Relations between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas deteriorated further during 2018. In March, a roadside bomb targeted Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah's motorcade during a rare visit to Gaza. Hamas condemned the attack, but the PA blamed Hamas because it controlled security in Gaza; relations between the two factions worsened afterward.[5]

Gaza's economic and humanitarian deterioration — including electricity shortages, a lack of safe water, and declining funding — shaped both the protest campaign and intra-Palestinian dynamics throughout the year. Beginning in the fall, Israel permitted Qatari fuel and cash shipments intended in part to alleviate electricity shortages and the effects of reduced PA funding.[5]

Full-year statistics assembled from multiple sources show dramatically elevated violence compared with the preceding several years, although the figures vary depending on definitions, counting periods, and methodology.

On the Gaza front, the ITIC's annual report recorded 1,119 rocket and mortar-shell hits in Israeli territory during 2018, against 31 in 2017.[1] The IDF year-end review recorded approximately 1,000 rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza; approximately 250 were intercepted by Iron Dome and 45 landed in built-up areas.[23] The State Department report recorded more than 1,150 rockets and mortars launched between March 30 and December 5 alone and approximately 865 Israeli strikes against targets in Gaza during the year.[2]

Palestinian casualty figures at the Gaza fence varied by source and scope. The State Department report cites B'Tselem's year-end figure of 190 Palestinians, including 41 minors, shot and killed by Israeli forces at the fence, while the World Health Organization reported 6,239 Palestinians injured by Israeli live fire during the protests.[2] A November Congressional Research Service report cited UN OCHA figures of more than 200 Gazans killed by Israeli personnel as of October 22 — a different period and broader category than the State Department's year-end fence figure.[5] B'Tselem's wider accounting placed total Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in 2018 at 290: 254 in Gaza, 34 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and two inside Israel. It classified 149 of those killed in Gaza as not having taken part in hostilities.[37]

The IDF year-end review reported 16 Israelis killed in attacks during 2018 — nine civilians and seven security-force members — and 199 wounded.[23] A Jerusalem Post account citing Foreign Ministry data reported 14 fatalities in 11 incidents. The sources do not reconcile the difference, which may reflect different categorical definitions.[38] The State Department report separately noted that terrorist attacks targeting Jewish Israelis inside Israel killed two people and injured 23, with incidents in Jerusalem, Acre, Sderot, Beersheba, and Ashkelon. Israeli security forces foiled approximately 500 terrorist attacks during the year, according to the same report.[39]

In Judea and Samaria, the ITIC recorded 55 significant attacks killing 12 people. The State Department reported that Palestinian assailants killed seven Israeli civilians and five IDF soldiers in West Bank attacks during 2018.[1][2] The IDF counted 87 attacks under its broader definition.[23]

The events of 2018 generated sharply divergent characterizations. On the Great March of Return, the ITIC emphasized Hamas's organizational role, violent tactics, and attempted fence breaches, characterizing Gaza policy as "controlled violence."[1] A Washington Institute analysis described the protests as largely peaceful while acknowledging Hamas participation and violent incidents.[12] The ICC Prosecutor's update, as summarized by the Institute for National Security Studies, assessed that most demonstrators were engaged in nonviolent protest.[21]

The Israeli government maintained that live fire was used as a last resort when there was a clear and imminent threat, while human-rights organizations argued that most people killed at the fence did not pose such a threat.[39] The IDF opened internal inquiries into each Palestinian death at the fence, and the Military Advocate General had opened five criminal investigations into IDF actions at the fence by year's end.[2]

Casualty figures varied significantly depending on the source, reporting date, scope, and counting methodology. On May 14 alone, reports cited by the article ranged from 52 casualties during the events to a later media figure of 62 deaths.[12][2] The circumstances surrounding specific deaths — including those of Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar on June 1 and Palestinian resident Aysha al-Rabi on October 12 — were disputed or under investigation at the time of reporting.[2]

The U.S. decisions concerning Jerusalem, Palestinian aid, UNRWA funding, and the PLO office were also politically contested. U.S. officials presented stated diplomatic, financial, and policy rationales, while Palestinian officials and other critics opposed the measures.[5][4]