Israel Defense Forces: Hamas May Spark War In Bid To Garner International Support

According to the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence, Hamas is liable to spark a war in the near future in order to coax the international community into sending aid to the Gaza Strip. The army warned that Iranian proxy Islamic Jihad, the second largest terror group in the Palestinian enclave, could likewise attempt to draw Israel into a conflict by perpetrating an attack, possibly by sending fighters into the Jewish state though a subterranean tunnel. While the security assessment stressed that the most severe long-term threat to Israel emanates from the north—that is, from Hizbullah in Lebanon and from Iran and its Shiite proxies in Syria—the most acute danger comes from Gaza. Israel and Hamas were on the brink of war in November, when a vague 11^th-hour cease-fire was forged. Since then, there has been multiple incidents of rocket fire originating from Gaza, to which the IDF has responded with air strikes targeting Hamas assets. Meanwhile, the weekly “March of Return” protests have continued with thousands of Palestinians rioting along the border every Friday.