The latest round of hostilities between Gaza and Israel ended in a cautious calm following the death of a Palestinian girl and an Israeli worker on Dec. 24. It is obvious that this short round, which lasted only a few hours, reflected the desire of Gazan and Israeli decision-makers to postpone the ultimate confrontation that many Palestinians believe is inevitable. Toward that end, Egypt interceded between the two sides to end this latest skirmish.
A military source in Gaza told Al-Monitor that Israel was readying for a large-scale military campaign against Gaza, following the failure of its deterrence policy adopted after the last war in November 2012 and the increase of field activities by armed Palestinian factions, particularly after the discovery of the latest smuggling tunnel in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip. The situation was further exacerbated by the great pressure on Hamas from Egyptian measures adopted against it, the tightening of the blockade and siege, the continued destruction of tunnels and Tel Aviv’s fear that Hamas might decide to initiate a confrontation in an attempt to escape its political isolation.
