In a straight fight between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, there is no question who has the upper hand.
Israel's armed forces are among the world's most sophisticated. Their ability to mount a drone strike of the kind that killed Hamas military leader Ahmed Jaabari attests to a deadly combination of precise weaponry and accurate intelligence.
But in the latest round of the conflict, the Palestinians have used a weapon that gives them a rare if short-lived advantage - a rocket that can strike at Israel's civilian heartland. This is the Fajr-5, developed by Iran and also supplied to Hezbollah, Tehran's Lebanese ally.
It has a range of up to 75 kilometres, which means it can hit Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the heavily populated conurbation in central Israel.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, announced on Wednesday that Israel had destroyed most of these missiles in air attacks during the first hour of its continuing offensive.