My side is the oppressed, regardless of what their rulers or countrymen did. Objectively speaking, the Palestinians have been pushed out of their homes for decades and denied all the necessary aspects of independence. This does not justify terrorism, but it explains the mounting desperation which fuels hate. If you can understand why rockets create fear in Israel, surely you can understand airstrikes and artillery bombardment are orders of magnitude worse in an impoverished region like Gaza.
RE: How big is Israel's military really? Hint: Wikipedia is WRONG!