It was a brief conflict, but the intensity of which raised alarm and concern around the world.
In May 2021, the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces fought an 11-day clash.
In that period, the former launched 4,300 rockets from the Gaza Strip to towns and villages in central and southern Israel, while the latter carried out around 1,500 aerial bombardments in densely populated Palestinian territory, according to a report by UN.
Israel’s actions left a fatal toll of at least 230 deaths, including 130 civilians; while rockets fired by Palestinian groups killed 13 people in Israel and — by accident — about 15 Palestinians in Gaza.
One of the triggers for the conflict were clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at a site in Jerusalem sacred to Muslims and Jews.
It was in this context that Hamas started firing rockets into Israeli territory and Israel responded with bombing in the Gaza Strip.
Hostilities came to an end with a ceasefire agreement largely maintained despite small-scale attacks, such as the November assassination of an Israeli tour guide in Jerusalem by a militant Palestinian teacher for Hamas.
Check out four changes that have taken place since then.
1. Hamas’s popularity rises (and falls)
The conflict in May ended with extensive structural damage in Gaza.
More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged in this Palestinian territory.
Despite this, Hamas proclaimed itself the winner of the conflict.
And, at least in terms of Palestinian public opinion, that’s actually what happened.
A poll conducted in June by the Palestinian Center for Research Policy and Research (PCPSR) revealed that three-quarters of Palestinians believe the Islamic militant group was the winner of the confrontation with Israel.
More importantly, the poll found that 53% of Palestinians considered Hamas the organization that “most deserves to represent and lead” the Palestinian people, far ahead of Fatah, the party led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abas, which earned just 14% of votes.
Hamas and Fatah have been vying for Palestinian leadership for decades.
However, a PCPSR poll carried out in December showed that much of Hamas’ popularity after the May conflict had significantly diminished.
Now, just 34% say they believe the militant group deserves to lead the Palestinians, while 23% are in favor of Fatah.
According to the survey, these results reflect “a clear disappointment with the Hamas leadership” compared with six months ago.
2. More work for the Palestinians… in Israel
The unemployment rate in Gaza is above 40% and it is not easy for those who want to escape this reality.
Several factors make economic conditions in that territory very difficult, including the tight border controls exercised by Israel and Egypt that limit the ability of Gazans to earn a living outside the region.
So when rumors spread in October that Israel would grant more work permits to Gazans, thousands of them applied to get those permits.
Since the end of the conflict in May, Israeli authorities have once again begun issuing this type of document.
This increase considered not only security issues, but also the state of relations with the Palestinians.
In September, Israel announced it would grant up to 7,000 work permits to Gazans, but in October it announced it would release another 3,000, bringing the total to 10,000, the highest number of permits granted since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 .
This gesture was interpreted by specialists as a sign of the will to preserve the fragile calm that exists in the region.
But it is not the only one: Israel has also expanded the fishing zone in which Gazans can fish, has been facilitating the flow of local exports and in November it authorized the reactivation of monthly transfers of around US$ 30 million that the Qatar government supplies to Hamas.
3. A ‘smart’ underground wall
On December 7, Israel announced it had completed construction of a “smart” barrier around its border with Gaza.
The structure, which includes an underground wall, fences, sensors, radar and even a sea barrier, was designed after, in the 2014 war, Hamas militiamen managed to surprise Israeli troops by crossing the border through underground tunnels.
The “smart fence” is 65 kilometers long and 6 meters high. Israeli authorities have not disclosed the depth of the underground wall.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz celebrated the completion of the structure as a way to deprive Hamas of a mechanism the group was using to attack Israel.
Critics of the wall, however, say its construction only serves to confirm Gaza’s status as “the largest open-air prison in the world.”
4. An indirect dialogue
Since the end of the conflict, Hamas and Israel have held indirect negotiations that, with the mediation of Egypt, have allowed the ceasefire to remain in effect.
The objective is to achieve a lasting truce, for which each side has its demands.
On the Palestinian side, in addition to easing restrictions on the free movement of goods and people, the main objective is to promote the reconstruction of Gaza, a project that could cost nearly US$ 500 million, according to a report by the World Bank, the UN and the European Union.
According to the Israeli press, in addition to security guarantees, the Israeli government is committed to a prisoner exchange through which Hamas will free Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two civilians with a history of mental problems, and hand over the bodies. of soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, captured and killed by Palestinian militants in 2014.
The negotiations indirectly involve several countries, as potential donors for the reconstruction of Gaza, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or the United States, among others, have also established conditions for the delivery of resources.
Recently, indirect dialogue between Israel and Hamas appears to have been interrupted by differences between the parties over the eventual exchange of prisoners.
In what is interpreted as a sign of discontent with the pace of negotiations, Palestinian militant groups held military exercises on 15 December.
Several media in the region have published statements attributed to Hamas spokesmen accusing Egypt of needlessly delaying the process of rebuilding Gaza in order to obtain greater concessions from the militant group.
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