July 8, 2014

In late summer, after more Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilian areas and a Hamas inspired kidnapping/murder of three Israeli boys, Israel bombards Gaza, followed by a limited land invasion. Israel discovers dozens of underground tunnels leading toward civilian settlements. Israel destroys most of the tunnel network, degrades Hamas’s military capacity, and hits civilian sites that house Hamas personnel and weapons. Israel is severely criticized for its attack on civilian areas. More than 2100 Palestinians are killed -1,000 of them are Hamas combatants. Israel loses more than 70 soldiers and civilians. The war, which is the fifth major confrontation Israel has had with Hamas since Israel’s unilateral withdraw from Gaza in August 2005, ends with indirect cease-fire talks conducted in Cairo.