Israel, Gaza and Hamas 2014

Israel, Gaza and Hamas 2014: Operation Protective Edge in numbers: 50 days of fighting; 4,258 rockets fired at Israel; 735 Iron Dome interceptions; 5,226 air strikes; 32 tunnels destroyed; 74 dead on the Israeli side; and some 2,200 dead on the Palestinian side. The historical chronology of the accumulation of these on a daily basis can be reaped from on-line newspaper sources. This book goes behind the scenes to analyze the thinking at the time, from the Israel side, on Strategy and Tactics, Comparing Operations Cast Lead, Pillar of Defense and Protective Edge, Missile and Rocket Warfare and Protection, The Tunnels and the Cyber, Legal Issues and Demilitarization, Deterrence and Leverage, Intra-Palestinian Processes, The Civilian Front and Public Opinion and Beyond the Military Front. The goal of victory in a war is the destruction of the enemy's army. This volume concludes that in Operation Protective Edge neither side achieved victory in this sense. The 50 days of fighting didn't resolve the Israel-Palestinian impasse. The door is open for a future Israel, Gaza and Hamas armed conflict. The ball is in the court of the counselors.