The current conflict between Israel and Hamas raises a host of legal questions about the application of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). One of the major criticisms raised against Israel is that its actions in Gaza are "disproportional." This position is based on the claims that there are already more than 15,000 Palestinian civilian casualties, many of them women and children.

In fact, the requirement of proportionality in attack appears in the international LOAC in two distinct contexts. One context requires countries to exercise their right of self-defense only to the extent that their response is proportional to the attack that they are seeking to repel (Proportional Use of Force). The other context is the prohibition of launching a specific attack that causes excessive civilian casualties (Principles of Proportionality in the Law of Armed Conflict – LOAC).