NOTE: Before answering the questions, read the "Background" below and look at the maps in the "Resources" box.

1. When did the Israeli military begin an air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip?

2. When did the Israeli military launch its ground incursion into Gaza?

3. What is the purpose of the Israeli military's offensive?

4. How many Israeli citizens are in danger of being hit by rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas?

5. How has the Palestinian Authority (Fatah - it is Hamas' rival) reacted to Israel's war with Hamas?

6. Why did the Israeli military target some mosques in the Gaza Strip?

7. Israel began an assault on Hamas a week after Hamas began launching rockets into Israel. (Israeli towns were hit by 80 Hamas rockets on Dec. 24.) Do you think that Israel has a right to defend its citizens using air strikes and now a ground assault into Gaza targeting Hamas? Explain your answer.