Hamas is again threatening an escalation, and it appears that it’s not only the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that’s motivating the movement’s leadership to send aggressive signals and messages to Israel.
The most recent round of violence between Israel and Hamas ended a month ago, on May 6, after some 700 rockets were fired toward Israel, killing four Israeli civilians. As with previous rounds, a cease-fire was implemented with the mediation of Egypt and Nikolay Mladenov, UN envoy to the Middle East, after Israel offered various relief measures for Gaza. Has Gaza’s situation changed for the better since May 6? No.