A blatant Wag the Dog

The facts:
- Gaza ia 25 miles x 5ish miles with over 1.5 million residents
- Hamas is NO angel, not even close; Israel (present govt) isn't very far behind
- The cease-fire has been violated by both sides: Hamas w/ its rockets, Israel with its 18 month blockade and its own military missiles to take out Hamas leaders.

This is truly a real world Wag the Dog . With the present Israel government on its way out (on corruption charges) this is their last miscalculated knee-jerk.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Hero_(novel)

My problem is that the Israeli response is completely disproportionate. 300+ people killed with over 75 civilians (not including the large number of non-military policemen). This is going to be completely counterproductive. 50% of Gaza is under 18.. What does Israel think they will all grow up to be???