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An Assessment of the Latest Fighting in Gaza
(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - After the two days of fighting ended, IDF officials stressed the need for an accompanying diplomatic effort in Gaza to ensure longer-term quiet. They estimated that the extensive air strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza would only yield a few weeks of calm. Moreover, Islamic Jihad, as a result of Iranian instigation, is liable to try to reignite the situation sooner rather than later. The indirect arrangement that was ultimately reached with Hamas appears to be another return to the understandings reached at the end of the 2014 war. The idea is to keep a regular cash flow going into Gaza, to ease movement at the border crossings and to finally get infrastructure repair projects going. In return, the Palestinians are supposed to ensure total quiet on the border: no rockets, no sniper attacks, no incendiary balloons. The IDF did operate somewhat differently than in previous rounds of fighting. It responded with greater force, resumed targeted killings after a nearly five-year-long hiatus, struck a large number of targets, including some high-rise buildings, and managed to thwart several Palestinian attempts at surprise attacks - including bombings via drone aircraft. The Palestinians showed their ability to produce intensive and continuous fire. In addition to the 700 rockets that flew over the border fence into Israel, about 200 more apparently fell inside Gaza. This attests to a poor level of maintenance, but also to a nearly endless supply of rockets. Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas operate underground production lines, which can replenish the stock in a short time.