GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military operation that erupted May 10 has killed 232 Palestinians, wounded 1,900 others and destroyed 1,800 housing units and dozens of economic and commercial facilities. On May 20, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire, ending the hostilities. While Israel claimed that the strikes were targeting Hamas — in particular its tunnel network — the militant group has downplayed the damage to the underground system and Gazan officials say the bulk of the damage has been to infrastructure vital to citizens.

The largest bombing operations took place May 14 with the participation of 160 Israeli combat aircraft and dozens of heavy artillery batteries in the northern Gaza Strip. Within 35 minutes, 450 missiles were dropped on 150 targets, destroying entire neighborhoods and displacing thousands of families toward schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Hours after these bombings, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee announced that the army had dealt a heavy blow to Hamas’ tunnel network in an operation dubbed Hamas Metro, destroying underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip and killing hundreds of fighters.

Earlier, the Israeli army allegedly tried to trick Hamas by insinuating that it would carry out a ground attack on northern Gaza in order to prompt hundreds of fighters to hide in those tunnels and subsequently launch airstrikes on the tunnels. Just after midnight local time on May 14, the Israel army put out a statement saying that "air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip." While a clarification was later issued stating that no troops were in Gaza, Israeli military commentators widely described it as a ruse by the army to trap Hamas leaders in tunnels. While some military commentators, such as Or Heller from Israel's Channel 13 TV, described the plot as "successful," Hamas says it discovered the Israeli plan in advance.