With a cease-fire declared Wednesday, Israel and Hamas appear to have pulled back from a fourth war after a day of intense rocket fire and airstrikes. But the situation could explode at any moment.
Tuesday’s fighting was the heaviest since a 2014 war, with Palestinian militants firing scores of rockets and mortars into Israel, and Israel carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Gaza.
Both sides appeared to have accomplished some short-term goals. But the underlying issues that helped fuel the fighting remain in place.
Hamas, weakened by a decade-long blockade of Gaza, remains defiant and in distress. A confident Israel appears unrestrained by the United States or its Middle Eastern neighbors. Palestinian militants still have an arsenal of rockets and could potentially inflict damage or casualties in Israel, followed by Israeli retaliation.
Here’s a look at the current state of play and potential for escalation.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Eleven years after seizing control of Gaza from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas is in trouble.
Gaza’s economy has been battered by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed to prevent the group from arming. Three wars with Israel have brought widespread destruction, and the Islamic militant group has no close international allies to bail it out.
Frustrated with his inability to regain control of Gaza, Abbas has stepped up economic pressure on Hamas by cutting the electricity supply and reducing the salaries to tens of thousands of former civil servants in Gaza.
Running out of options and rejecting calls to disarm, Hamas has led a series of…
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