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Here's some things that I've gleaned lately whilst trying to read beyond the headlines and MSM:

The main motive for the latest Israeli attack was not rockets, but tunnels: that Hamas has been digging/building in order to raid/kidnap inside Israel. These are not the same as the smuggling tunnels into Egypt.

By Israeli accounts, this tunnel-building has used mountains of concrete, which could (for example) have been put to better use as bomb shelters, as Israel has. (An even better use, on both sides, would be building buildings, but for that everyone would have to stop lobbing rockets at each other). I say 'by Israeli accounts', but I don't see any reason to doubt that tunnels made of concrete require concrete. You may chose to deny the existence of those tunnels, I guess, but if that is your first reaction, maybe you should question your bias, as Hamas apparently doesn't deny them: (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/19/us-mideast-gaza-tunnels-exclusive-idUSKBN0GJ1HS20140819).

Also, many people talk about Israel not accepting a two-state solution, or not respecting UN resolutions. The original 1947 UN plan for partition *was* a two-state solution, and it was the surrounding Arab nations who rejected it, by invading.

I think that it's also unfair to confuse 'Hamas' and 'Palestinian Arabs'. By all accounts, living in Gaza would be fairly hellish even without Israeli 'oppression'. Have you seen justice done Hamas-style? The reports of journalists who aren't free to say (or Tweet) what they think/see until they leave? The common mortals in Gaza may have voted for Hamas 10 years ago, but they haven't been given a chance to vote ever since.

As we all know, positive news doesn't sell well, which is a shame, because we get too war-weary and jaded to even care if we don't also get to hear the stories about people who do care: http://forward.com/articles/201500/families-of-slain-israeli-and-palestinian-teens-tu/

There has been talk in this thread about it being 'those damn politicians' and not 'normal' people at fault. This may make us feel better, but I wonder if this is really the case. I suspect that at the very top level, these people can get on quite well, and probably agree, as witnessed by the leaked PLO documents. (And despite the vitriol and claims that Israel deliberately kills Palestinian children, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's granddaughter was treated in an Israeli hospital last year, albeit unsuccessfully.) It is more likely that, as in any large organisation, the people at the very top and the people at the very bottom feel equally powerless, it's the middle management which pulls all the strings.