Palestinians wary of calm on Gaza-Israel border
There have been no exchange of fire between Hamas and Israel in weeks, which could mean both parties are preoccupied with their internal crises and waiting for regional developments to unfold.
Since the weekly marches of return on the Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel first began in March 2018, 10 military escalation rounds have occurred between Gaza and Israel. The latter has fired rockets toward Hamas military targets, while the movement, along with other factions, has responded by firing rockets toward southern Israeli settlements.
The most recent military escalation in Gaza was on Sept. 11, when the Israeli army bombed Hamas positions, including an arms factory, a tunnel and naval targets, in response to rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. The cross-border shelling caused no casualties on either side.
Since then, over six weeks have passed with no tension whatsoever. On the contrary, the Gazan-Israeli border has been almost completely calm, prompting both Palestinians and Israelis to wonder what is behind this calm in the Gaza Strip.
Mahmoud Mardawi, Hamas leader and former official in its military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, told Al-Monitor, “Israel has always initiated attacks on the Palestinian people and the resistance responded, but since Israel is in a political vacuum after two rounds of elections in April and September, it is avoiding aggression against Gaza and provoking the resistance less and less. All parties in the region are in disarray and the resistance is waiting to see how the situation plays out.”
