GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An open military confrontation between Hamas and Israel finally erupted in Gaza July 8, following a gradual escalation that began after the kidnapping and killing of three students near Hebron in June and a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem in July. Israel’s killing of six members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, in Rafah on July 6 pushed the door open to full-blown warfare, as the Qassam Brigades responded by firing dozens of mortar rounds and Qassam and Grad rockets at southern Israel the evening of July 7 in a manner not seen since the November 2012 war. The Israeli army launched Operation Protective Edge at dawn on July 8.

Al-Monitor conducted a field survey of the sites targeted by the Israeli air force in Gaza and learned from Ashraf al-Qadwa, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, that the strikes to date had led to the deaths of 68 Palestinians, among them 19 children and 10 women, and the wounding of 450 others. These casualties resulted from the targeting of homes in the cities of Rafah, Khan Yunis and Beit Lahiya.

Hamas was quick to respond to the Israeli attack and also issued a number of statements. Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, issued a release early on on July 8, hours after the war began, saying that preparations for an Israeli attack had been completed after the government called up reserve forces, and its home front was readied. As part of a media campaign, the Qassam Brigades also published a number of communiqués, prominent among them a video showing the local manufacturing of rockets as well as producing images of gunmen carrying rockets, amid raging flames, and a caption that reads in Arabic and Hebrew, “All Israeli cities are close to Gaza.”

Al-Monitor met with a Hamas field commander in Gaza mere hours before the large-scale confrontation erupted. Of this particular weapon, he said, “This rocket is an indication of the high level of professionalism acquired by the Qassam Brigades in their confrontation with the Israeli army. They now possess more devastating and accurate rocket capabilities, including volleys of up to 36 rockets that can be simultaneously launched.” He added, “It is no secret that Hamas took advantage of the periods of calm to expedite its preparations for the ongoing round, when it dug offensive tunnels, manufactured unmanned aircraft and extended the range of its rockets.”