Does Israel have the right to self-defence – and what are the restrictions?

There has been much focus on Israeli violations of international humanitarian law (jus in bello) and possible genocide in Gaza. Less attention has been paid to Israel’s claim to self-defence (jus ad bellum) against the terrorist attack on 7 October 2023. I discuss the relevance of the rules on self-defence and point out their implications for restrictions on the Israeli military operations.