A quantified look at the situation in Israel and Gaza

DESPITE international pressure for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the violence in Gaza is entering its second week. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched "Operation Protective Edge" on July 7th in response to militants firing rockets from Gaza. Since then, the Israeli military has hit more than 1,480 targets in the strip. At least 170 Palestinians have died, three-quarters of whom are civilians according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, rockets continue to rain down on Israel. A few of these include a new Syrian rocket, the M-302, which has a range of up to 160km (100 miles). This encompasses most of Israel's area and is more than double the range of previous rockets. Of the 1,000 launched from Gaza since July 7th, around 20% have been intercepted by Israel's defence shield, Iron Dome, which is designed to defend more heavily populated areas. The vast majority of the rest have fallen on Israel, mainly away from population centres.