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Israel-Hamas understanding key to quick end to Gaza fighting

Egypt-Qatar mediation brought about what Israel was seeking — a quick end to the violent conflict with Islamic Jihad.
This picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon shows Palestinian rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, Aug. 7, 2022.

The decision by Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip, to sit out Israel’s three-day pounding of Islamic Jihad this past weekend did not come as a surprise. Not to the Israeli military brass in Tel Aviv, not to the politicians and diplomats in Jerusalem, nor to officials in Cairo and Doha. Are Israel and Hamas approaching a “hudna” (Arabic for cease-fire)? Do these two sworn enemies intend to turn their unofficial relationship into a temporary or permanent arrangement? 

Al-Monitor put this question to a senior military source in the aftermath of Israel’s Aug. 5-7 operation — codenamed “Breaking Dawn" — against Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The answer was nothing short of amazing.

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