Israel's military action targeted the Hamas terrorist infrastructure, including Hamas operational centers, storage depots, workshops, production facilities, smuggling tunnels, rocket launching pads and Hamas gunmen.

For years, Hamas has built up its military resources and know-how with the sole intention of attacking Israel and its population centers. Since Israel's 2005 disengagement from Gaza and Hamas' violent take over of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets against cities in Israel's south, well inside the internationally accepted borders of the State of Israel established in 1948. Hamas temporarily eased its rocket attacks following an Egyptian-brokered six-month "period of calm" in June 2008. As this period drew to a close, Hamas began to once again fire rockets and mortars into Sderot, Ashkelon, and other densely populated centers in Israel's south, launching more than sixty rockets on December 25 alone. Since the start of Israel's operation on December 27, more than 600 rockets have attacked Israel. On December 30, Hamas rockets reached the Israeli city of Beer Sheva. On January 6, rockets hit the central Israeli city of Gadera. Today, more than 900,000 Israeli civilians live with range of Hamas rocket attacks.

Israel hopes that the cessation of Israel's operation in Gaza will include mechanisms that prevent Hamas from re-grouping and rearming. Any formal cease fire agreement must also include the active support and participation of the international community, particularly the U.S., Europe and regional neighbors, in order to assure that Hamas will be prevented from launching rockets, attacking Israel, and smuggling in weapons.