Hamas said to be surprised by lack of support

Having gained the upper hand over Hamas, Israel has agreed to the Egyptian ceasefire, an Israeli official told journalists on Tuesday. Hamas was unable to “sell” its rocket fire to the Arab world or even to Palestinians in the West Bank, who remained largely indifferent to Operation Protective Edge. The officer said that Hamas was “unpleasantly surprised” by the small amount of damage it managed to cause Israel and by Arab and international disinterest.

According to the officer, citizens of Gaza were pushing for the rocket launches to end for both financial reasons and given the widespread damage inflicted on the Strip. While the local leadership in Gaza — which hid within the civilian population — has favored a ceasefire, the movement’s leadership in Qatar, primarily Khaled Mashaal, would like to see it continue.

— Elhanan Miller