A/HRC/12/37 page 6 III. REPORTED VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW DURING THE GAZA MILITARY OPERATIONS 10. On 27 December 2008, Israel launched a large-scale aerial and naval offensive on the Gaza Strip, “Operation Cast Lead”. A ground offensive, which began on 3 January 2009, followed the air and naval strikes. The hostilities lasted 22 days, until Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on 17 January and put it in force on 18 January. Hamas and other Palestinian factions and groups (except the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), which prior to and during Operation Cast Lead had fired rockets and mortars into Israel,10 also declared unilateral ceasefires on the same day. Israeli troops subsequently withdrew from the Gaza Strip, but, as at the time of the writing of this report, no lasting agreement has been reached between the two sides, and the situation remains volatile. 11. Estimates vary as to the exact number of Palestinian civilians killed and injured during the operation: according to various sources, between approximately 1,200 and 1,400 civilians were killed and about 5,300 were injured.11 According to PCHR, while 236 of those killed were reportedly combatants, an additional 255 were members of the civilian police force and the remaining 926 were civilians.12 The Government of Israel, on the other hand, has stated13 that, according to the data gathered by the Research Department of IDF Intelligence, at least 709 were combatants, though this number reportedly includes police officers, who are classified as civilians under international law.14 The Government of Israel is further 10 During the six-month truce between Israel and Hamas, the tahdiya, which started on 18 June and ended on 19 December 2008, a total of 223 rockets and 139 mortar shells were fired at Israel. See Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, “The Hamas terror war against Israel”, 21 July 2009, at www.mfa.gov.il. During the 22 days of Operation Cast Lead, 571 rockets and 205 mortars landed in Israel, according to the Ministry. (“Operation Cast Lead: Israel strikes back against Hamas terror in Gaza, 21 January 2009, ibid.). 11 See Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), press release, 12 March 2009, at www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/press.html. See also Amnesty International, Operation “Cast Lead”: 22 days of death and destruction, 2 July 2009, p. 13; and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) press release, “Vast majority of Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead terror operatives”, 26 March 2009, at dover.idf.il/IDF/English/Press+Releases/09/03/2601.htm. 12 PCHR, press release, 12 March 2009, www.pchrgaza.org. 13 IDF press release, op. cit. 14 Police officers may be regarded as combatants if they participate directly in hostilities. The information available to OHCHR indicates that most of the police officers were killed in the first day of air attacks, including as a result of an Israeli missile attack targeting the police headquarters in Gaza City during preparations for a graduation ceremony for regular civilian and traffic police, see e.g. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 24-31 December 2008.