The following charts display statistics on the recent round of Israel-Gaza violence gleaned from diverse sources. Hover your mouse over each chart to see the exact figures. Below the charts, we've listed the sources for the numbers. And below that, we've added a timeline of the events leading up to the hostilities, and up to the ceasefire.
It's also important to be aware that Gaza has been under a suffocating Israeli siege for 14 years, causing growth stunting among children and astronomical unemployment.
To see a chronological list of people killed since September 2000, please visit IsraelPalestineTimeline.org.
Last Updated: 11:55 AM PDT, August 25, 2021
People killed (all ages) between May 10th and 21st
Of the 13 who died in Israel, 5 were Jewish Israelis directly killed by Gazan rockets. The other deaths were 3 foreign workers, 2 Palestinian citizens of Israel, and 3 Israelis who died after falling while running to bomb shelters (including one who had a brain aneurysm).
Of the 260 dead in Gaza, 21 were killed by friendly fire.
Note: We were unable to find statistics for displaced Israelis. However, we found images of about 5 badly damaged homes. Our figure is based on an estimate of 10 residents per home.
In addition, Israeli airstrikes caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including clean water, as reported by OCHA and PCHR. To date, we have not seen similar reports about damages to Israeli infrastructure, except accounts of a tank at a petroleum facility that was hit by a rocket from Gaza.
The West Bank including East Jerusalem, as well as the Palestinian population inside Israel, also saw escalating violence in May. Israeli forces there killed about 28 Palestinians (4 of them children) and injured over 6,800. Israeli forces also arrested 3,100 Palestinians during the same month. (Reports on daily incidents are available on the IMEMC news site.)
Several humanitarian agencies meticulously studied the aftermath of the May 2021 violence. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both allege that Israel committed war crimes. Amnesty stated: "There is a horrific pattern emerging of Israel launching airstrikes in Gaza targeting residential buildings and family homes – in some cases entire families were buried beneath the rubble when the building they lived in collapsed."
Throughout April and May 2021, the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque saw high levels of Israeli aggression as Palestinians protested or worshiped. In Sheikh Jarrah, dozens of Palestinian families are being threatened with expulsion so that Israeli Jews can take over their homes. While Israel pundits describe the issue as a “real estate dispute,” it is actually part of an ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians that began in 1948 and earlier. (Also see this.) Around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, radical Israeli Jews (with backing from the Israeli government) have been holding provocative events, at times requiring Palestinians to leave the premises.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) documented nearly 800 human rights violations committed against Palestinians by Israeli military and settlers during April alone. The May escalation in Gaza was a direct and predictable result of Israel’s policies of expulsion and hostility in Jerusalem.
Some significant incidents include:
Apr 9
Caught on video: Israeli forces shoot Palestinian boy, 14, in the eye (Hebron).
Apr 12
First day of Ramadan (Ramadan is a month-long holiday that includes fasting from sunrise to sunset and public reading of the Qur’an every evening): Israeli police ban Palestinians from sitting on the steps around the Damascus Gate, an important gathering place for Palestinians, especially during evenings in Ramadan. Palestinians protest widely, viewing the move as “a symbol of humiliation and Israeli control.”
Apr 13
A squad of Israeli police invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, one of the most revered sites in Islam, and cut the cables to the loudspeakers that announce prayer time.
Hundreds of supporters of the Jewish supremacist group Lehava march in Jerusalem chanting “death to Arabs,” in a night described as “the most violent night Jerusalem has known in years.”
Apr 15
A video of a Palestinian teen slapping an ultra-orthodox Jewish man goes viral on the social TikTok; Israeli officials are outraged.
Apr. 16
First Friday of Ramadan: Israel imposes a 10,000-person limit on prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, turning away busloads of Palestinians (in 2018, 120,000 attended the first Friday prayer in Ramadan; in 2019, 180,000 attended).
Apr 18
In response to Israeli actions in Jerusalem, Gaza resistance groups fire 5 rockets toward Israel (2 intercepted by Iron Dome).
Israeli police use excessive force against Palestinians at Damascus Gate, including water cannons and assault.
Apr 19
Israel bans Gaza fishermen from the Mediterranean Sea for several days because of rocket fire – despite the fact that they had nothing to do with the rockets (collective punishment, illegal under international law).
Apr 22
Israeli authorities approve the illegal annexation of large areas of Palestinian lands, west of Bethlehem.
Extremist Israeli settlers chanting “Death to Arabs” march through Jerusalem with Israeli police complicity, attacking Palestinians and wounding over 100.
Apr 23
Hamas in Gaza responds to Jerusalem violence against Palestinians again by firing rockets toward Israel.
After a 2-week ban, Israeli police remove barriers at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, allowing Palestinians to congregate.
Apr 29
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delays planned elections.
May 2
Two Israeli settlers (illegally living on land confiscated from Palestinians) are wounded, one killed, in the West Bank.
With no attempt at non-lethal intervention, Israeli forces shoot and kill a 60-year old Palestinian woman is as she allegedly carries out a knife attack.
May 4
Israeli military police storm Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah, attacking activists.
Head of Hamas military threatens that if Israel does not leave Sheikh Jarrah immediately, “we will not stand idly by.”
May 5
Israeli forces and settlers attack Palestinians during a protest in Sheikh Jarrah.
Israeli forces kill a Palestinian child, age 16, in the West Bank.
May 6
Israeli forces and settlers again attack Palestinians during a protest in Sheikh Jarrah.
Far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir sets up a temporary office in Sheikh Jarrah, setting off a fresh round of clashes.
May 7
Israeli soldiers and police officers invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque, causing Palestinians to protest. Police fire stun grenades into the mosque, injuring over 200 Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers kill 2 Palestinians, and seriously injure a third, during an alleged attack. Israeli soldiers also attack many Palestinian journalists who arrive to report on the incident.
Israeli soldiers injure many Palestinians during their weekly protests in various towns all over the West Bank.
May 8
Israeli forces wound about 100 Palestinians around Jerusalem.
Israeli police block buses full of Ramadan worshippers from entering Jerusalem, leading to Palestinian protests on Israeli highways.
Far-right yeshiva students march through Jerusalem’s old city, chanting nationalist slogans.
May 9
Israeli High Court postpones Sheikh Jarrah hearing.
One rocket is fired from Gaza into Israel, landing in an open area; Israeli forces respond by attacking a Hamas military post in the southern Gaza Strip.
May 10 (DAY ONE OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Israeli soldiers invade courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, attacking hundreds of Palestinian Muslim worshipers. More than 300 Palestinians are injured in what is called “a daylong battle.” (The army was trying to remove the Palestinians to allow groups of settlers to tour the courtyards of the holy site.)
The invasion causes excessive damage and a fire in the Al-Aqsa compound.
As seen on a viral video, as the fire burns in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a group of Jewish Israelis chant what some described as “genocidal songs of vengeance” (it may have been a coincidence that the singing was at the same time as the fire).
Israeli soldiers also storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque clinic, assault wounded Palestinians and medics, then empty the clinic and weld it shut.
Hamas announces an ultimatum: Israeli forces must evacuate Al Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah by 6 pm.
Israel fails to meet the deadline, and several rockets are launched out of Gaza.
Israel strikes back.
In a US State Department press briefing, Ned Price can not bring himself to say that Palestinians have a right to self-defense, or to condemn the deaths of Palestinian children.
Gaza daily casualties: 20 dead (9 children), 90 injuredIsraeli daily fatalities: 3 deadMay 11 (DAY TWO OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Israeli forces destroy a 13-story building in Gaza.
Across Israel, Palestinians protest in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah residents; Israeli police and Jewish civilians attack them. Hundreds (mostly Palestinians) are arrested.
Gaza daily casualties: 10 dead, 1 child (totals: 30 dead, 10 children, 203 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 1 dead (total: 4 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 1 deadMay 12 (DAY THREE OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
More Palestinian protests across Israeli cities lead to violent suppression by Israeli authorities.
Gaza daily casualties: 35 dead, 6 children (totals: 65 dead, 16 children, 365 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 4 dead (total: 8 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 7 dead, 1 childMay 13 (DAY FOUR OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Israeli PM Netanyahu declares that the massive damage and death in Gaza so far were “just the beginning. We will hit them with strikes they have never dreamed of.”
Gaza daily casualties: 38 dead, 11 children (totals: 103 dead, 27 children, 580 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 2 dead (total: 10 dead)May 14 (DAY FIVE OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Palestinian demonstrations across the occupied West Bank lead to violence by the Israeli army.
Israeli military claims a ground war is beginning in Gaza; they later retract and apologize for the statement, forcing international journalists to issue apologies for misreporting. Some reporters assert that this was an intentional disinformation campaign to confuse Hamas; some say that Israeli military spokespersons can’t be trusted.
Gaza daily casualties: 39 dead, 4 children (totals: 126 dead, 31 children, 950 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 0 dead (total: 10 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 9 dead, 1 child, + 1 “clinically dead”May 15 (DAY SIX OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Israel bombs and destroys a tower in Gaza that housed Al Jazeera and Associated Press offices, as well as residential apartments, claiming it also housed Hamas military intelligence offices. (An AP spokesperson says they had never seen Hamas in 15 years.)
An Israeli airstrike on a building in a Gaza refugee camp kills 10 members of an extended family.
Gaza daily casualties: 13 dead, 8 children (totals: 139 dead, 39 children, 1038 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 1 dead (total: 11 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 1 deadMay 16 (DAY SEVEN OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
The US blocks the UN for the third time as it attempts to condemn Israel’s violence and call for a ceasefire.
Gaza daily casualties: 49 dead, 16 children (totals: 188 dead, 55 children, 1230 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 0 dead (total: 11 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 3 dead, 1 childMay 17 (DAY EIGHT OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Word gets out of a May 5 agreement by the Biden administration to sell Israel $735 million worth of weapons. Some Congress members support the sale, some condemn it.
An Israeli airstrike hits Gaza’s only COVID-19 testing lab.
Gaza daily casualties: 12 dead, 4 children (totals: 200 dead, 59 children, 1305 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 1 dead (total 12 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 3 deadMay 18 (DAY NINE OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Palestinians in the West Bank stage a general strike to protest against ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Gaza daily casualties: 13 dead, 2 children (totals: 213 dead, 61 children, 1442 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 0 dead (total 12 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 2 deadMay 19 (DAY TEN OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
South African president calls Israel “an apartheid state”
Gaza casualties: 14 dead, 3 children (totals: 227 dead, 64 children, 1620 injured)Israeli daily fatalities: 0 dead (total 12 dead)West Bank daily casualties: 1 dead (killed by a settler)May 20 (DAY ELEVEN OF ATTACK ON GAZA)
Israel and Hamas agree to implement a ceasefire beginning at 2:00 am local time on May 21.
The IDF reports hitting 1,500 total targets in Gaza, while 4,360 rockets were fired at Israel since the beginning of the crisis. Approximately 3,400 rockets from Gaza landed in Israeli territory, 680 fell inside the Gaza Strip, and 280 landed in the sea.
Israeli soldiers injure over 200 Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and assault journalists covering the story.
Israeli soldiers and settlers attack Palestinians protesting their forceful eviction in Sheikh Jarrah.
In Gaza, survivors dig through rubble for survivors and bodies.
Gaza casualty totals: 248 dead, 66 children, 1,948 injured (16 new deaths, 1 child)Israel casualty totals: 12 dead (10 from rockets, 2 from injuries sustained in rush to bomb shelter), 1 child; 324 injuries (114 from shrapnel, 198 while rushing to shelter; an additional 226 were treated for anxiety attacks)May 22
Israeli soldiers use “skunk water” to disperse peaceful protesters in Sheikh Jarrah.
Israeli soldiers and settlers injure and/or harass Palestinians in the West Bank.
May 23
Israeli security troops forcibly clear the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound of Palestinian worshipers to enable a group of right-wing Jews to enter the grounds.
Israeli soldiers block the entrance roads to at least 10 West Bank villages.
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History of the Israel Lobby
Alison Weir's book Against Our Better Judgement: How the U.S. was used to create Israel brings together meticulously sourced evidence to outline the largely unknown history of U.S.-Israel relations.
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