The fighting between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip is over, for the time being, halted by a truce. But as international aid pours into Gaza to help repair the destruction wrought by Israeli bombers, Israel and the international community face a precarious balancing act, one that has eluded them before.
The challenge? To improve the lives of 2 million Gazans, many of them mired in poverty, while ensuring that Hamas does not spend aid money on rebuilding its rocket arsenal. And in the process, perhaps end the cycle of violence for good, rather than simply postponing its resumption.