Peter Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively for VK
More than 60 rockets were fired on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening, March 12. This "rocket rain" ushered in a new phase of escalation of tensions in the Gaza Strip.
On the night of Wednesday March 13 the Israeli Air Force attacked 30 targets of terrorists in the Gaza Strip (both missile launchers and weapons caches, and the Headquarters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad). In response, militants in Gaza fired at southern parts of the country, including Ashdod, Ashkelon and Yavne.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to start a new anti-terrorist operation in Gaza, during which Israel will once again take this sector under full control.
However, experts of Israeli military intelligence ( AMAN ) believe that this time the terrorist groups are not acting on their own initiative but under orders from Tehran. Moreover, in their view, Hamas is not interested in an escalation, and the latest militants carrying out the shelling are exclusively from Islamic Jihad.
According to Israeli analysts, the orders from Iran have two main objectives.
First, Iran is thus taking revenge on Israel for intercepting the ship Kloss -Sea.
Secondly, Iran understands that the rocket attacks of Islamic Jihad provoke a severe reaction from Israel. In case of human victims, Hamas will be forced to connect itself to the shelling of Israel to maintain its credibility among the population in Gaza. A new confrontation will lead to an increase in anti-Israeli sentiment in Egypt. Considering the fact that the current Egyptian authorities cooperate closely with Israel, and General Well a-Sisi is actively preparing for the presidential elections, any anti-Israeli hysteria could undermine his position.
Thus, by increasing the escalation around Gaza, Tehran intends to strike primarily at a-Sisi, who does not hide his antipathy toward the Islamic fundamentalists and intends to turn Egypt into a secular, tolerant state.
According to analysts, Jerusalem will refrain from further escalation of the situation, trying to launch surgical strikes against terrorists and their facilities. At the same time, the Israeli leadership is in constant communication with Cairo, informing it of the course of events.
