For weeks now, the Gaza conflict has repeatedly seemed as if a ceasefire was imminent, so far hopes have been dashed every time – Hamas mostly broke the fire breaks. When Jasser Abbed Rabbo, a high-ranking Fatah politician from the West Bank, announced on Tuesday afternoon that Hamas would announce a unilateral ceasefire of initially 24 hours, which could then be extended to 72 hours, it was a surprise. But disillusionment immediately followed: a spokesman for the organization in Gaza said it was a hoax that had nothing to do with Hamas’ position.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev also rejected the proposal. As long as Israel doesn’t hear anything directly from Hamas, the offer is not serious. In fact, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif spoke out for the first time since the start of the recent conflict. He made a ceasefire dependent on the end of the Israeli military offensive. The blockade of the enclave must also be lifted, Eif said in an audio message broadcast on Hamas’ TV channel.

Fighting continued like this on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but whether Israel wants to expand its ground offensive that it began 14 days ago is unclear, with an unnamed senior armed forces officer quoted in Israeli media as saying they have now achieved the goals they set.

“The political leadership must now make a decision as to whether we should continue to invade Gaza or withdraw”, he said. However, other voices from the army point out that Israel still needs at least several days to do this Tunnel system to permanently destroy Hamas.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared his compatriots for a longer war on Monday, which will only end when Hamas’ tunnel system is destroyed and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized. “We will not end this operation until the tunnels whose sole purpose is to kill our citizens and our children are eliminated”, Netanyahu said in a televised address.

Missile attack on border posts

Previously, despite a ceasefire, Hamas fighters had once again advanced through a tunnel into Israel and had a guard post for the kibbutz near the border Nahal Os rocket-fired. Five soldiers were killed. At the beginning of the offensive, Netanyahu had defined an end to rocket fire and a significant weakening of Hamas as goals.

While the shelling has decreased significantly in recent days, it is unclear which of Hamas’s limited military capabilities remain. Probably more than half of the missile arsenal has already been deployed or destroyed, and the morale of the fighters in Gaza also appears to be decreasing. However, the Islamists’ efforts to carry out a sensational attack or to kidnap an Israeli soldier through a tunnel have not decreased.

Three weeks after the start of the Israeli military operation, Israeli bombing raids during Tuesday night were said to be the worst since the offensive began, according to eyewitness reports. At least 43 Palestinians were killed. The military fired from the air, artillery and warships, it said in Gaza.

According to media reports, the army attacked 150 targets, including two command centers of the radical Islamic Hamas and four weapons depots located in mosques and port facilities. Hamas top politician Ismail Hanija’s house was also hit. The official and his family were not there at the time.

Only power plant hit

In the morning, the only power station in the sealed-off Mediterranean coastal strip was hit by grenades. A major fire broke out and the power plant failed completely. Palestinians blamed Israel for the attack. The Army said the incident was under review. An employee of the power plant in Gaza told the Maan news agency that an Israeli grenade hit a fuel tank, triggering the major fire. Images showed blazing flames and thick, black smoke. So far, the firefighters have not been able to put out the fire. An army spokeswoman in Tel Aviv said the report was being examined.

The power plant generates electricity for households, businesses, hospitals and sewage pumps in the Gaza Strip. Around ten percent of Gaza’s residents now have refuge in UN aid facilities UNRWA wanted. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 215,000 of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents have now fled their homes. The Israeli army called on residents of several places in the Gaza Strip to immediately evacuate their homes. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that UN agencies in Gaza were overwhelmed and could not provide for more desperate people.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants continued their attacks on southern Israel. In the morning, the defense system intercepted a missile over the city of Ashkelon In the Israeli Mediterranean metropolis of Tel Aviv, the alarm sirens cried for the first time in the middle of the night on Tuesday. Two rockets are close Rishon Lezion struck southeast of Tel Aviv, the army said.

On Tuesday, a high-ranking Palestinian delegation in Egypt was scheduled to discuss a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militants. Representatives of Hamas, the Authority and Islamic Jihad are said to have already agreed to have Gaza’s border with Egypt secured by Palestinian Authority troops. Now they would like to develop an alternative draft for a ceasefire. However, there are currently no Israeli envoys in Cairo.

Iran demands weapons for Palestinians

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 1,100 people and injured more than 6,500 since July 8. According to the Israeli military, 53 Israeli soldiers had died by Tuesday morning, around ten of them in battles on Tuesday night. Three civilians were killed in attacks by Palestinian militants.

Meanwhile, the USA reacted angrily to Israeli criticism of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki spoke of a deliberate disinformation campaign from Israel. “From our point of view, this is simply not the way partners and allies treat each other”, Psaki said on Monday. Kerry had sent Israel a draft ceasefire agreement, causing horror in the Israeli security cabinet: While many of Hamas’ demands were explicitly listed, they looked in vain for a reference to Israeli security interests.

Kerry also appeared to have outsourced Egypt’s traditional mediating role to the Emirate of Qatar and Turkey. Both countries are very friendly to Hamas. Not only the Israelis, but also the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Egyptian government were irritated by the American initiative. Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Muslims around the world to support Palestinians. At a time when Israel and the US wanted to disarm the radical Islamic Hamas, Iran is saying the opposite: “The Islamic world has a duty to arm the Palestinian nation by all means possible”, Khamenei said. Iran is one of Hamas’s most important supporters and repeatedly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.