Report: Hamas gearing up for violent escalation with Israel

Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups will meet on Monday evening to determine next steps.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Gaza-based terror groups are on the verge of launching a military offensive against Israel, and are demanding that the Jewish State make concessions or face violent escalation, Arabic language media reported Sunday.

Sources told Arabic newspaper Al Quds that Israel had agreed to a number of concessions around the entry of Qatari cash into the Strip and the opening of border crossings in May 2021, during the last days of the Operation Guardian of the Walls clash.

In exchange for those concessions, Hamas reportedly agreed to the ceasefire agreement which brought about the end of the conflict.

Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups will meet on Monday evening to determine next steps, which will likely include the resuming of riots along the border fence and an uptick in incendiary balloons that have plagued Israel’s southern communities.

A Hamas spokesman told Arabic language media on Saturday that the terror group was gearing up for an attack.

“[Israel’s] siege policy on the Gaza Strip is unacceptable and the conditions in the Gaza Strip are difficult, so Hamas will not be able to restrain itself and Israel will be held accountable,” he said.

According to Al Quds, international mediators from Egypt, Qatar, the United Nations and the European Unions, have been working overtime to discourage Hamas and other terror groups from engaging in violence against Israel.

On Friday, Israel announced that it was opening the Erez border crossing for the first time in 18 months and would allow some 1,000 Gaza-based businessmen to enter Israel.

Israel also announced it would permit medical and telecommunications supplies to be brought into the Strip.

But Palestinian groups consider the goodwill gesture “meaningless” and an effort to divert attention away from Israel’s failure to fulfil the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Al Quds reported.

Due to fears that humanitarian funds and construction materials meant to rebuild Gaza after the conflict would be seized by Hamas and other terror groups, Israel has not allowed millions in Qatari cash and building supplies to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Hamas has charged that the Palestinian Authority is collaborating with Israel to prevent the Qatari aid money from entering the Strip – an accusation which the PA strenuously denies.