The 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire was an Egyptian-brokered six-month Tahdia (an Arabic term for a lull) "for the Gaza area", which went into effect between Hamas and Israel on 19 June 2008. According to the Egyptian-brokered agreement, Israel promised to stop air strikes and other attacks, while in return, there would not be rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Once the ceasefire held, Israel was to gradually begin to ease its blockade of Gaza.
During the initial week of the ceasefire, Islamic Jihad militants fired rockets on Israel. Under pressure from Hamas, Islamic Jihad had agreed to abide by the temporary truce, which was meant to apply only to Gaza, but had balked at the idea of not responding to Israeli military actions in the West Bank. The New York Times reported that the Islamic Jihad action broke the Hamas-Israeli Gaza truce. During the next 5 months of the ceasefire, Gazan attacks decreased significantly for a total of 19 rocket and 18 mortar shell launchings, compared to 1199 rockets and 1072 mortar shells in 2008 up to 19 June, a reduction of 98%.
The agreement called on Israel to increase the level of goods entering Gaza by 30 percent over the pre-lull period within 72 hours and to open all border crossings and "allow the transfer of all goods that were banned and restricted to go into Gaza" within 13 days after the beginning of the ceasefire. The increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel did improve, but the increase was only to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. Two months later the volume of goods arriving was too low to significantly improved living conditions, preventing UNRWA from replenishing its stores. Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse".
On 4 November 2008, Israel raided Gaza, killing six Hamas militants. The Israeli military said the target of the raid was a tunnel that they said Hamas was planning to use to capture Israeli soldiers positioned on the border fence 250m away. Hamas officials said that the tunnel was being dug for defensive purposes. Following the Israeli raid, Hamas launched barrage of rocket fire at targets in southern Israel. On 20 December, Hamas announced it would not renew the ceasefire. Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead, an organized ground and air assault against military and police targets in Hamas-controlled Gaza, on December 27, 2008, sparking the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict.
Background
After its 2006 Palestinian legislative election victory, Hamas assumed administrative control of Gaza, consolidating its this control after a military conflict with Fatah. Israel and Egypt then partially sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah was no longer providing security. They imposed a blockade on the territory, prohibiting many exports and allowing only enough imported goods to avert a humanitarian or health crisis. After many acts of violence, foreign journalists left the Gaza strip due to the lack of security in the zone.
As a result of the June 2007 tightening of the Israeli embargo on Gaza Hamas and other Palestinian paramilitias more than doubled the monthly number of Qassam rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza strip into Southern Israel. Israel conducted airstrikes and raids against Hamas and other targets in Gaza during 2007 and 2008. Hamas considers Israel an illegitimate state and Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group that must be dismantled. There is no mutually agreed text or enforcement mechanism in the understanding brokered between the two parties, neither of which recognizes the other, that would facilitate a formal ceasefire or armistice.
After visiting Israel and Palestine in April 2008, former President Jimmy Carter stated that "Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, these leaders claimed that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens." Hamas was willing to consider a cease-fire in both Gaza and the Fatah controlled West Bank, but the Israelis were only interested in a Gaza agreement.