Operation Black Belt was a two-day military operation launched by the Israeli government against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip from 12 to 14 November 2019 in response to a series of PIJ rocket attacks against Israeli civilian targets. The clashes left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 wounded, while 62 Israelis were wounded. The PIJ claimed 12 of the Palestinian dead, while the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed 3 of the dead and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed 2 of the dead.
Background[]
Following the May 2019 clashes between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, Hamas entered into talks with the Israeli government about a peace settlement. In late October 2019, the new Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah was invited to Cairo, Egypt to discuss the future calm with Israel, and Egypt and Israel coordinated Egypt's release of 25 captive PIJ members as a token of goodwill as the talks made progress. However, ten days after the talks, the PIJ fired rockets on Israeli communities near Gaza, and Hamas and Egypt were angered by the PIJ's breach of the peace talks. Israel held the PIJ's northern sector commander Baha Abu al-Ata responsible for the attacks, as he had rebelled against the group's leadership during a power struggle. On 12 November 2019, the Israeli Air Force killed Abu al-Ata in an airstrike on Gaza, and Israel also fired 3 missiles at a home in Damascus, Syria, targeting PIJ commander Akram al-Ajouri; the missiles killed 2 (including his son) and injured 6 others. Israel decided against targeting Hamas, which remained committed to the peace talks, and instead decided to retaliate directly against the PIJ.
Operation[]
Immediately following Abu al-Ata's assassination, the PIJ launched further rocket attacks on Israel. The PIJ fired 200 rockets at Israel, but 90% of the rockets were destroyed by the Iron Dome defense system. Israel retaliated with 20 airstrikes and 10 artillery strikes against the PIJ in Gaza, and, during al-Ata's funeral, PIJ official Khaled al-Batsh labelled the Israeli strikes as a "declaration of war". On 13 November, the PIJ launched a new barrage striking targets as far as Netivot and Beit Shemesh, and the PIJ entered into negotiations with Israel that same day. On 14 November, an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into being, but, less than an hour later, another rocket barrage targeted Israeli communities near Gaza, as well as Ashkelon and Netivot. The truce was violated four times by the PIJ, and Israel responded with another airstrike, which killed PIJ commander Rasmi Abu Malhous. However, the fighting ceased after 14 November, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu experienced a boost in popularity as he sought to form a new Israeli government despite his electoral defeat at the hands of Benny Gantz. On 16 November, Israel launched fresh strikes against Gaza in retaliation for further Gazan rocket strikes.