Reading the mainstream media, you'd think the Israeli attack on Gaza was largely unprovoked. For instance, the Trono Globe and Mail writes, "Slaying of Hamas commander threatens fragile Middle East peace". Or see what Melanie Phillips has to say about it here.
Fortunately the internet provides other sources which point out that there had been a massive increase in rocket attacks from Gaza to southern Israel over the past few days:
U.S. Condemns Hamas Rocket Fire
Deputy State Department Spokesperson Mark C. Toner said Wednesday: "We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence. There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause. Attacking Israel on! a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self-determination." (U.S. State Department)
See also State Department Sides with Israel in New Hamas War - Josh Rogin (Foreign Policy)
See also Prime Minister Netanyahu Speaks with President Obama
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Barack Obama and expressed his deep appreciation for President Obama's support of Israel's right to defend itself. (Prime Minister's Office)
See also Canada Condemns Hamas, Stands with Israel
"We fundamentally ! believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens from terrorist threats," Rick Roth, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, said in a statement. "Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism." (AP-CBC News)
And in the link provided above, Melanie Phillips rightly says,
...let’s get this clear: in the mindset of the BBC and Foreign Office, 120-plus rockets in four days is not an escalation of violence or attempted mass murder; but a targeted strike to kill two individuals who have been organising such attacks, in order to prevent them from organising any more, is an escalation. What kind of hideously warped perspective is this?...
... as far as much of the British media and wretched Foreign Office are concerned, Israel is the only country on earth which is not entitled to defend its people against attack. Does anyone think that if Britain had sustained a rocket barrage of 120 rockets in four days, let alone nearly 800 in a year or more than 5000 in six years, it would not have been at war long ago? But in the British establishment mind, Israel can never be a victim, only an aggressor.
Apparently The Globe has the same warped perspective as the BBC and the British Foreign Office. Pity.
Addendum: So does the NYTimes, which says, essentially, "It's all Israel's fault for not allowing Hamas to continue its rain of rockets."
Ferocious Israeli Assault on Gaza Kills a Leader of Hamas -- Israel hit at least 20 targets in aerial attacks that killed the military commander of Hamas, damaged Israel's fragile relations with Egypt and escalated the risks of a new war in the Middle East.