The author points out that "Israel's ruthless offensive has already cost it dear in world opinion".  This opinion, further, is generated by the "emotional impact" of "heart-wrenching images".  In other words, because the images of the destruction in Gaza are more widely disseminated and available than the images of rockets falling into Israel at all hours of the day and night, Israel's efforts are somehow more wrong.  The PR war, in other words, is being won by Hamas, and the PR war these days is almost more valuable than air superiority. There's no mention made of holding Hamas accountable for it's actions.  There's no call for Hamas to be pressured out of it's role in Gaza.  There's no denunciation of Hamas.  The focus is solely on Israel.  

The essay concludes with the insight that "However justified it [Israel] believes this war to be, it is a war that has done the casue of peace profound damage."  The implication being that peace was pretty much on the way prior to Israel's attack on Gaza.  But peace wasn't on the way.  Hamas was firing rockets with impunity into Israel on a regular basis.  Where was the international outcry then?  Where was the demand for cease and desist?  Where was the moral indignation?

Israel has things to answer for, without a doubt.  Fresh off a stunning stand-off in Lebanon, Israel was keen to make sure that there were no pulled punches.  Israel hit and hit hard, to once again try to impress on it's neighbors that it is more than willing and able to militarily defend itself as well as pummel it's enemies.  Unfortunately, this is a point which, no matter how poignantly made, never seems to stick with the leaders of Hamas or Hezbollah.  When you are ideologically committed to the destruction of something, you are willing to absorb incredible losses in your quest for destruction.  The ultimate problem in this continuing conflict is that ideology is hard to deal with through half-hearted military reprisal.  Until the international community becomes committed enough to ending the ideological brainwashing that suffuses much of the Arab & Muslim Middle East, indoctrinating people against Israel without any thought of personal culpability or involvement, this situation is going to keep repeating itself until somebody has the resolve to use nuclear force - at which point the entire region will have lost - perhaps permanently - this struggle.  

Perhaps the lesson that Israel needs most to learn from this conflict is that it needs to devote more attention to the PR war, and not simply the military war.