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No deal with Hamas will pay off for Israel

Israel's military leadership continues to support efforts to reach an arrangement with Hamas despite knowing that any cease-fire will enable the group to increase its military capabilities.
A general view of the Israeli city of Ashkelon, as an Iron Dome anti-missile fires near the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, November 12, 2018. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen - RC1AEE5946D0
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More than 300 rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israeli territory from the afternoon to the late evening hours of Nov. 12. The concentrated and massive shooting spree testified to the enhanced operational abilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as their large stockpile of rockets that had been ready to fire.

During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, Hamas and the smaller organizations it worked with were careful to fire a limited number of rockets a day — about 50 to 150 on average — to extend the fight for as long as possible. The fighting went on for 50 days.

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