At the time of this writing, Israel had shelled several Gaza Strip locations in response to rockets of unknown origin being launched against its territories from Gaza’s eastern border, in a new wave of what Palestinians have come to describe as “sporadic fire” between the two sides.

The Israeli air force dominated Gaza’s airspace during the last war of November 2012, conducting an average of 1,500 sorties in which it bombed various parts of the Strip, destroying 19 of Hamas’ headquarters and field offices, as well as targeting 980 underground guided-rocket platforms, 140 smuggling tunnels, 42 command centers, 26 weapons manufacturing and stockpiling sites, in addition to dozens of short- and medium-range rocket systems.

Military incursions

After war’s end, the Israeli army adopted a new tactic whereby its air force markedly cut down on the number of sorties, except to perform occasional mock raids over Gaza. This change was driven either by a desire not to provoke Hamas, the Israeli air force’s preoccupation in missions over other areas, or a belief that the Strip was calm and did not require constant and intensive overflights.