Operation Protective
Edge; the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict was a military operation launched by Israel
on 8 July 2014 against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The stated aim of the
Israeli operation was to stop rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, which
increased after an Israeli crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank was launched
following the June 12th kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by two
Hamas members. Conversely, Hamas's goal was to bring international pressure to
bear to lift Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, end Israel's offensive,
obtain a third party to monitor and guarantee compliance with a ceasefire,
release Palestinian prisoners and overcome its political isolation. Some claim
Israel was the first, on June 13th, to break the ceasefire agreement with Hamas
that had been in place since November 2012. However, Israel argues its air
raids on Gaza are responses to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.