The Second Intifada and operation "Defensive Shield"
The second, "Al Aqsa," Intifada broke out on September 29, 2000, including riots in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and suicide bombings. By the end of 2003, 900 Israelis were killed, and over 7,000 were injured. The deadly terrorist acts continued well into 2004, 2005, but the number of casualties went down. One of the most dreadful incidents of the second Intifada was the bombing at the Park Hotel (March 27, 2002), during the Passover Seder, in which 30 Israelis lost their lives and 160 were injured. This terrorist act, the most grueling ever perpetrated in Israel, was the main motive in launching a very large military operation in the West Bank, Operation "Defensive Shield," (March 29 – May 10, 2002). The main objective of the operation was the destruction of Palestinian terror infrastructures, and the arresting of the terrorist acts wave against Israel's citizens.