GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The firing of dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward surrounding Israeli towns on March 12, and the negotiations that took place between Egyptian mediators and the perpetrator of the attacks, Islamic Jihad, to reinstate the cease-fire, has raised eyebrows in Hamas.

In most of its statements, Islamic Jihad’s leadership tried to portray its so-called “Breaking the Silence” operation, in which it fired rockets from Gaza, as having occurred in coordination with Hamas, and not as a result of a unilateral decision on its part. Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah told Al Mayadeen TV on March 13 that there was “communication and coordination with [other] Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas, in relation to the situation and to find the best way to manage the battle, in light of the plight of our people, and the situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.”

However, Egyptian intelligence services limited their contact to Islamic Jihad in this case, angering Hamas, which expected to have the main say in any return to the truce agreements that came into effect after the Israeli Pillar of Defense operation in November 2012.

Hamas senior official Ghazi Hamad, who's the movement’s intermediary with the Egyptian government, said in an interview with Al Mayadeen, “Egypt did not communicate with us about a return to calm, and limited its contacts to Islamic Jihad. The Egyptians did not inform us of any agreements, despite the fact that they should coordinate with Hamas [regarding such matters].”