Once again, the fate of Gaza is gaining importance as the failure of Palestinian reconciliation, coupled with the deep rift between Hamas and the new Egyptian rulers, is being felt by every Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. The high-profile military parade by Islamists in Gaza on Nov. 14 shows that Hamas continues to be strong, despite not having been able to pay salaries to its employees for the past three months. The parade was held on the first anniversary of the war on Gaza, which had ended in a cease-fire worked out by then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Israeli fighter jets struck inside Gaza on Nov. 14 claiming that their attack was aimed at two locations from where rockets against Israel were launched. Islamic Jihad is said to be responsible for the attacked site, but no injuries or fatalities were reported.

The parade and clashes reflect both acts of strength and confidence and acts of desperation because of the dire economic situation facing Hamas. The Gaza government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has not shown any serious signs of weakening. Al-Monitor sources in Gaza insist that the Islamist movement is still strong, despite its recent regional losses in Syria and Egypt.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who spent the last few days in Egypt, said from Cairo that he expects Egypt will pay closer attention to the Gaza situation in a few months once they tie up some of the loose ends — such as the new constitution — that resulted in the post-Morsi era. Independent Gazan sources told Al-Monitor that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were hoping that Abbas would succeed in easing the siege from the Egyptian side, particularly regarding badly-needed fuel for running the electric generators. But Abbas’ visit produced no such result. The continuation of the siege, the inability to use the tunnels and the Egyptian opposition to any lessening of the siege from their side does not bode well for Hamas in the long term.

Publicly, Ramallah-based Palestinian officials believe that the road to resolving Gaza’s woes is best traveled through the implementation of the already agreed-to-reconciliation, which includes the elections as a way out of the deadlock.