The cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, which has been in force since August 2014, is maintaining relative calm following the end of the 50-day war on Gaza. No breaches were recorded by either side except for rare incidents, most recently on May 27, when missiles were fired from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides following clashes between Hamas and the Salafists.

However, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, began taking a series of unprecedented steps in the beginning of 2015 in the confrontation with the Israeli army.

Al-Qassam Brigades have recently implemented extensive missile tests, with the number of test missiles reaching five a day, according to the website Al-Majd, known for its close ties to Hamas.

On March 14, al-Qassam Brigades published photos of military training sites adjacent to the fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel, which the latter had built following the recent Israeli war on Gaza in the summer of 2014. Hamas announced that the sites are a defiant message to Israel, and that they are being continuously developed and expanded so as to have all it takes to train Hamas fighters.