Israel was dragged into Gaza by the hair.
For 10 days, Benjamin Netanyahu, one of Israel's most militarily restrained prime ministers, did almost everything he could to end this round of hostilities without a ground incursion into Gaza. Waiting and pausing, he debated and weighed his options until he found himself at a dead end. The negotiations in Cairo bogged down. The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire was honored only by Israel while Hamas continued its fire as usual. And what about the humanitarian lull? It was the exact same story. During said lull, Hamas continued to fire rockets while attempting to stage a terrorist attack via an explosive tunnel.