A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Aug. 21 exploded in downtown Sderot, in southern Israel. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the explosion caused significant damage to a building. The rocket interrupted the relatively long-standing quiet in Sderot and other localities surrounding the Gaza Strip and interfered with preparations for a major music festival that opened that same evening. Since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, rocket fire from Gaza has declined considerably. Nevertheless, Qassam rockets have occasionally been fired, mainly, in the words of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), by “recalcitrant” groups that have sprouted up in Gaza beneath Hamas’ radar.

Israel was quick to respond the same afternoon. A tank fired a shell or two at Hamas targets in Beit Hanoun, and an Israeli drone flying over Gaza at the time responded with symbolic fire against a few targets. To that point, everything was a matter of routine. The Israeli response followed the rules of the game eked out in blood and fire over the past two years: If a single rocket, or a few rockets, is fired from Gaza, Israel will respond by firing back immediately, and quiet is restored in a matter of hours.

Later on the night of Aug. 21, however, something unusual happened. The Israeli air force launched a wide-scale attack against some 50 Hamas targets throughout Gaza. The explosions resonated for several hours in Gaza and on the Israeli side of the border. The attack, based on high-quality intelligence, was focused and enduring. Intended to deliver a significant blow to Hamas’ capacity to gather intelligence, it came as a real surprise to the Hamas leadership in Gaza, which had grown used to the long-standing situation in which Israel responded by returning symbolic fire. The question is, what lay behind Israel’s unusual response to this particular attack?

Avigdor Liberman was behind it. The recently appointed defense minister is trying to redefine himself. A few days earlier, on Aug. 17, he had presented his “carrot and stick” plan as a new policy toward the Palestinians on the West Bank. He is well aware of the vast difference between his statements as an antagonistic, aggressive and relentless member of the opposition before his appointment as defense minister at the end of May and his moderate and measured activities after taking over the post. In this regard, over the past few weeks, the Israeli media and satirists had made mincemeat of Liberman.