What is the historical background to the crisis?

Q&A: Israel-Gaza violence

Israel launched its military offensive against Gaza on 14 November, marking the latest eruption in a conflict with Palestinian militants which has raged between the two sides for years.

Here is a guide to some of the key issues involved.

How did this start?

Israel's offensive on Gaza began with an air strike that killed the commander of Hamas's military wing, Ahmed Jabari, whom it accused of responsibility for "all terrorist activities against Israel from Gaza" over the past decade.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) subsequently announced the start of Operation Pillar of Defence, which it said was intended to protect Israeli civilians from rockets and mortars fired by militants in Gaza, as well as cripple Hamas's capability to launch attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was launched because he could no longer "accept a situation in which Israeli citizens are threatened by the terror of rockets".

Israeli air strikes on what it said were rocket-storage sites and on Hamas facilities, and a surge in Palestinian rocket-fire into Israel, ensued.

Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, said Jabari's assassination had "opened the gates of hell".

Although Jabari's killing signalled the start of Israel's offensive, it was preceded by spates of deadly cross-border violence which saw Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas's Qassam Brigades, firing hundreds of rockets into southern Israel and the Israeli military shelling Gaza and carrying out air strikes.

Some observers have noted that the offensive was launched only nine weeks before parliamentary elections in Israel. Others have alleged that Operation Pillar of Defence was intended to undermine the Palestinian plan to request non-member observer state status at the UN later in November. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has rejected the suggestion that he and Mr Netanyahu have an interest in going to war. And prior to the offensive, polls already suggested Mr Netanyahu's Likud Beitenu alliance would come out top in the forthcoming elections.

What is the historical background to the crisis?

The shape of the Gaza Strip was defined by the armistice line following the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-9. Some 1.1 million of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are registered as refugees.

Egypt controlled the Strip between 1948 and 1967, when Israel captured it during the Six Day War. In 2005, Israel pulled its troops and settlers out. Israel considered that the end of the occupation, but it still exercises control over most of Gaza's land borders, territorial waters and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza's southern border.

For the last decade, the people of Gaza have suffered severe socio-economic hardship. Eighty per cent of the population is dependant on international assistance. Israel's blockade, which was tightened with Egypt's co-operation in 2007 to weaken Hamas after it came to power and to end rocket attacks, has resulted in what the UN describes as "the impoverishment and de-development of a highly-skilled and well-educated society".

In 2010, Israel partially eased the blockade, but restrictions on imports and exports continue to hamper recovery and reconstruction. The UN has described the blockade as "collective punishment", while a UN report found the naval blockade was legal.

The blockade and the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been cited by militants in Gaza as reasons for their continued attacks on Israel since the 2005 withdrawal. Despite carrying out scores of air strikes across Gaza, Israel has failed to halt rocket attacks. This led the Israeli military to launch of a major ground offensive in December 2008. Operation Cast Lead dealt a serious blow to the capability of Gaza's militant groups - and also destroyed much of the territory's civilian infrastructure - but they gradually recovered and rocket-fire resumed.

Though smaller groups were behind the majority of the attacks between January 2009 and October 2012, Hamas' armed wing was also involved. Israel has said it holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from the territory.

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