Next week will mark the first anniversary of the assassination of a senior Islamic Jihad member as part of Operation Black Belt. • Fear of conflict escalates in light of the corona crisis in the Gaza Strip
Baha'i Abu al-'Ata
Photography:
AFP
Towards an escalation in the south?
Next week will mark the first anniversary of the IDF's "black belt" operation in the Gaza Strip, during which Israel eliminated senior Islamic Jihad figure, Baha'u Abu al-Ata.
The anniversary has long been mentioned as a time of calamity, and therefore, despite the falling temperatures, the warming in the south of the country is well felt.
Fears of escalation are growing in light of the situation in the Gaza Strip, which is worsening in the shadow of the corona and the economic crisis that threatens to bring the unemployment rate in Gaza closer to 60 percent.
Remains of the house of Abu al-'Ata
In contrast to the first wave of the corona, when only a few dozen patients were registered in Gaza, in the second wave there are already thousands, a few dozen of them in critical condition.
It should be noted, however, that the health care system in Gaza has improved in its preparations: if in the previous wave the Gazans could perform only 186 tests a day, now they can perform about 2,000 tests a day.
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The Palestinian Authority also does not transfer money to the Gaza Strip, and Hamas is reducing its ability to enter and leave Gaza to prevent the Koruna from being infected.
Beyond that, Hamas is disappointed with the lack of progress in the settlement efforts with Israel.
In Israel, progress is being made in finding a solution to the problem of prisoners and missing persons, and in Gaza they are refusing to tie things together.
To this must be added the discovery of the tunnel on the Gaza border in recent days.
