Palestinians in Gaza acknowledge that the Israeli air force has caused problems for them in previous military confrontations — problems that for a long time have remained without adequate resolution. Domination of the skies has afforded Israel a platform for achieving its major objectives, such as assassinations and elimination of weapons emplacements, at minimal cost. The armed factions in Gaza are determined to counter this capability through anti-aircraft missiles and are now in possession of a few versions, although in limited quantities.

The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza puts the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli Air Force at 911, out of the 2,269 killed, from 2008 until today. Most of these deaths occurred during the war waged during 2008–2009. In contrast, the 2012 confrontation saw 143 Palestinians killed by the Israeli air force, out of a total of 171 dead.

Palestinian fighters have tried to evade the wrath of Israeli aircraft in recent encounters by taking the utmost care and caution in their movements. As previously reported in Al-Monitor, fighters have avoided wired and wireless communications, which through analysis of their voice prints might have been one of the primary reasons for locations being exposed, as was the case in many an assassination.

Furthermore, Al-Monitor determined that a few months ago Palestinians had begun using a tactic by which they covered narrow side streets with long pieces of cloth, blankets, canvases and tarpaulins during Israeli overflights to obscure the vision of surveillance aircraft and prevent them from monitoring their whereabouts and field movements, thus reducing the risk of being targeted.