A Cease-Fire, and New Ideas in Israel and the Palestinian Territories

The cease-fire between Hamas militants in Gaza and Israel didn’t come a second too soon.

Israelis should not have to live in fear of rockets raining down, which killed a dozen people living in Israel since fighting broke out 11 days ago. Nor should people in Gaza live in fear that they might become collateral damage from Israeli bombs. Israeli airstrikes and artillery killed at least 230 Palestinians, including militants and many civilians.

Israel has a right — even a responsibility — to put a stop to the rocket attacks at their source. More than 4,000 were fired at Israel from Gaza in 10 days, though most were intercepted by the Iron Dome antimissile system. But the fighting took an unbearable toll on civilians, the vast majority of them Palestinian. More than 60 children in Gaza were killed, tens of thousands of people were displaced, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged.