Israel, Hamas Approaching Point Of No Return On Path To War

After seven months of violence along the Gaza Strip border, Israel and the Hamas terror group that rules the Palestinian enclave have reached a crossroads with only two possible outcomes: that is, either a cease-fire agreement will be reached in the next few days or there will be a fourth war between the sides in the last decade. Tensions exploded on Monday, as an estimated 370 projectiles were fired from Gaza into Israel—the highest-ever number in a twelve-hour period—to which the Israeli military responded by striking over 150 targets belonging to Hamas and the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad. The barrage of rockets began at approximately 16:30 local time when a Hamas-launched anti-tank missile struck a bus from which dozens of Israeli soldiers moments earlier had disembarked. In response, the Israel Defense Forces overnight reinforced its positions along the frontier and announced that it will begin calling up “vital” reserve troops. Meanwhile, the security cabinet convened early Tuesday morning for at least 6 hours to discuss next steps, amid conflicting reports about Jerusalem’s intentions. Various leaks to the media suggest that Israel has broken off contact with international mediators attempting to broker a truce, whereas other reports citing anonymous senior officials claim that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will wait to see whether Gaza’s rulers scale back their missile attacks over the next twenty-four hours before ordering a full-scale operation.