“For an entire year, Hamas did not take responsibility for activity from the Gaza Strip against Israel, and did not carry out such activity.  It did not even take part in the large-scale round of fire in March 2012.  But in the past 24 hours, not only has Hamas fired Kassam rockets at Israeli communities, it also rushed to loudly claim responsibility for the fire.

‎Israel has also been taking irregular action against Hamas in the past few days.  After an Islamic Jihad terrorist who infiltrated Israel killed soldier Netanel Moshiashvili on June 1, the IAF attacked Hamas targets in response.  In the past too, the IAF has attacked such targets as a signal to the central government in Gaza: Take responsibility.  But this time it did not attack symbolic targets, such as tunnels, for example, but rather “‎hardcore” ‎targets such as missile and rocket depots.

‎In Israel, these irregular air strikes did not receive special attention.  Hamas, for its part, also restrained itself, with the understanding that the unwritten “‎rules of the game” ‎state that Israel is “‎permitted” ‎to exact a price for the killing of a soldier.  However, Hamas was surprised by the intensity of the Israeli response and by the military targets that were attacked.

‎The Grad rocket fire from Sinai into the Negev and the terror attack carried out on Monday on the border fence with Egypt caused the IAF to return to attacking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.  Since the beginning of the week, 11 people have been killed in these strikes in Gaza.  With this, from Hamas’‎s standpoint, Israel broke the rules—‎since Hamas did not feel that it was responsible for the latest terror attacks from Sinai, and Israeli officials did not accuse it of being responsible.  It was global jihad that explicitly took responsibility for the terror attack—‎but nonetheless, Israel returned to attacking “‎hardcore” ‎Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

‎Hamas knows exactly which targets the IAF is attacking and what damage it caused, and this is what led it to break the year-long “‎fast” ‎that it imposed on itself.

‎So in the meantime, Hamas is firing Kassam rockets and announcing that it is only firing at military installations, and not at civilians.  But a highly volatile situation has evolved, in which Hamas can decide to turn the death of the child yesterday evening—‎whether this was the outcome of Israeli fire or the result of miscalculated Hamas fire, as the IDF Spokesperson’‎s Office asserts—‎into a pretext for setting a great blaze.  On the Israeli side, a Border Policeman was injured, and this could cause Israel to turn up the flames.

‎In Hamas’‎s military wing and in the more extreme Islamic organizations in the Gaza Strip, there are more than a few figures who would be glad to light this bonfire.  The explosive potential is immense—‎and the coming hours are critical.”