Prior to the current bloody bout between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli military has carried out at least three large-scale military operations inside the Gaza Strip with the declared goal of halting rocket fire that has tormented southern Israel for over a decade.

Below is a list of Israel's major military operations in Gaza and key Hamas figures assassinated by the Israeli army in the last decade:

-- Operation "Days of Penitence," from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16, 2004: Following the death of two Israeli children from a Qassam rocket fired by Hamas militants at the town of Sderot, Israel retaliated by launching the operation, with the stated objective of preventing militants from firing rockets and mortars into communities bordering Gaza, and particularly Sderot, which frequently came under rocket barrages.

The offensive, led by armored units and infantry, focused on the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The campaign left at least 104 Palestinians dead, some 42 of them civilians. On the Israeli side, five were killed in the 17-day fighting, three of them civilians.

The United States on Oct. 5, 2004 vetoed a proposed UN Security Council resolution condemning the Israeli action. Twelve days later, Israel announced that it was withdrawing its troops, proclaimed the attack a success and warned to return if the rocket attacks resumed.

-- The Nov. 4 incident: In September 2005, Israel completed its disengagement initiative, withdrawing every Israeli soldier and all 8,000 Israeli civilians from Gaza. After that, attacks from Gaza grew sharply, skyrocketing to an all-time high in 2008, 1,593 missiles and rockets and 1,685 mortars in total that year, prompting Israel to launch a military strike on Hamas that began with the targeting of a smuggling tunnel along the Egyptian border.

In the first and biggest incursion into the territory since a truce went into effect in June that year, Israeli tanks, infantry and bulldozers entered 250 meters into the territory, killing one Hamas operative and prompting the organization to retaliate with a barrage of rocket fire at troops. Five Hamas members were killed in consequent Israeli airstrikes, and another three in what was reportedly an Israeli drone strike over the el-Bureij refugee camp.

-- The Gaza War: Intense rocket attacks and a slew of border clashes between the Nov. 4 incident and mid-December came to a head on Dec. 27, when Israel launched Operation "Cast Lead," a three-week foray into Gaza with the stated aim of curbing the rocket fire and destroying weapons smuggling tunnels. What initially began with a wave of airstrikes quickly turned into an all-out war with the launching of a ground invasion into densely populated Palestinian cities, mainly Gaza, Khan Yunis and Rafah.

Massive Israeli forces -- armor, infantry and combat engineering units supported by air force and naval craft -- targeted Hamas' police stations, weapons caches and rocket crews, as well as political and administrative institutions during the assault, during which Hamas increased its rocket attacks against civilians in southern Israel, extending their range to the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod for the first time.

A unilateral ceasefire declared by Israel on Jan. 18 went into effect 12 hours later, with Israeli forces completing their withdrawal on Jan. 21.

When the smoke cleared, Israel came under fierce international condemnation, accused of intentionally targeting non-combatants. The conflict left at least 1,166 Palestinian militants and 13 Israelis dead.

A UN probe mission, headed by South African justice Richard Goldstone, later produced a damning report which accused both the Israeli military and Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

-- Operation "Pillar of Defense" starting on Nov. 14, 2012: Israel launches the operation with the targeted assassination of Hamas' military wing chief Ahmed al-Jaabari and the stated goal of rooting out Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza. Hundreds of Israeli airstrikes that thus far targeted over 1,000 Gaza sites have claimed the lives of at least 107 Palestinians.

Hamas, for its part, "declared war" on Israel. As of Monday, Palestinians have fired upwards of 1,000 rockets at Israel, including a few toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, killing three Israeli civilians and wounding dozens of others.

As international efforts led by Egypt to broker a truce are ongoing, Israeli forces are massed along the border with Gaza ahead of a possible ground operation.

PROMINENT HAMAS FIGURES ASSASSINATED BY ISRAEL

-- Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin: The founder of Hamas and its spiritual leader was said to had masterminded suicide and other attacks that claimed the lives of hundreds of Israelis. A helicopter gunship fired missiles at Yassin, a quadriplegic, on March 22, 2004, as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers, killing him, two bodyguards and nine bystanders.

-- Abdel Aziz Al-Rantissi: As a cofounder of Hamas, Rantissi was named the organization's political leader and spokesman in Gaza following the killing of Yassin. On April 17, 2004, an Apache helicopter gunship targeted Rantissi with Hellfire missiles fired at his car.