he throws it in the air and kicks the ball, the ball travels 2ft and an attacker sticks his leg out and intercepts/blocks the ball and the attacker is penalised.
In that situation, I think you can make a really good case that the attacker is challenging the GK while he's in control. If the attacker is really only two feet away and the GK is in control until the moment he kicks the ball, it sounds to me like he's been challenged.
In this case, Benzema is a couple of yards from Karius and the GK decides to turn towards Benzema to throw the ball.