According to IDF estimates, the conflict on the Gaza front has reached a crossroads. Senior General Staff members believe the four years of calm provided by Operation Protective Edge have come to an end and the State of Israel must now decide whether it is headed towards an arrangement or towards a war in Gaza.

The “arrangement” the IDF and the cabinet are talking about is not just a humanitarian-rehabilitative arrangement, but a “package deal,” which also includes aspects of a long-term stable ceasefire and restrictions on the military arming of the strip’s armed groups.

To the defense establishment, a war could only result in Hamas, and likely Islamic Jihad too, needing years to recover—if they even manage to recover.

Read the full story at Ynet.