Israeli Strikes in Gaza

As I am sure you must have already heard, Israel today launched intense air-strikes in Gaza, in which more than 10 people have so far been killed, including children. As part of the operation, Israel conducted a targeted killing of one of most senior officials of Hamas. The operations were said to be a response to a recent increase in rocket fire from Gaza into civilian populated areas of Southern Israel. Several hundred rockets were fired in the last week, causing several injuries to civilians. Egypt has recalled its ambassador from Israel and has called upon the Arab League to take action, and has also requested that the issue be taken up by the UN Security Council. There are fears that Israel is planning to mount a more sustained military operation as it did in Operation Cast Lead in 2009, in which more than 1,500 Palestinians were killed and significant portions of Gaza's infrastructure was destroyed.

How would you analyze the situation in terms of the doctrine of self-defense we studied over the last week? Does the rocket fire, much of it conducted by extremist groups operating in Gaza but not directly under the control of Hamas, constitute an armed attack against Israel, triggering the right of self-defense? If so, how would you analyze the necessity of the Israeli operations, and at what point would you suggest that the principle of proportionality is being violated? How would you measure that? Be sure to monitor events as they unfold with these questions in mind.