An Egyptian delegation arrived in Gaza Feb. 10 for a meeting with Hamas' leadership. Heading the delegation was Gen. Ayman Badia, deputy head of Egyptian Intelligence, and among the participants was Ahmad Abu Halaq, who holds the Palestinian portfolio at the same branch. It was their first meeting with the Hamas leadership since a crisis erupted between the two parties after Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the funeral of Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iran last month against Cairo's wishes. Haniyeh has not yet returned to Gaza, and it is unknown when the Egyptians will let him reenter.

The meeting took place in the office of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, but Sinwar did not attend. According to reports from Gaza, the movement’s most senior political and military officials are worried about possible Israeli assassination attempts. In Israel that same day at an assessment by the Israel Defense Forces' Gaza Division, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said, “The haphazard behavior of the Hamas leadership brings us closer to taking lethal action against them.… No one will be immune.” Hamas leaders took his words to be a threat against their lives in response to ongoing rocket fire into Israel.

On Feb. 9, the Egyptian delegation had held a round of talks with the heads of the Israeli defense establishment, including Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman, Meir Ben Shabbat, head of the National Security Council, and Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon, commander of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories. According to an Al-Akhbar report, the Egyptian delegation handed Hamas a message from Netanyahu, warning that if it failed to immediately stop the firing of rockets and release of incendiary balloons from the enclave, Israel would strike a harsh blow against Gaza, an action that would receive the backing of the United States and Europe. It was also reported that the Hamas representatives responded to the Egyptians, “There will be no calm in exchange for nothing,” as long as Israel continues to take its time implementing the understandings. According to them, the economic situation and the failure to implement the understandings already reached in exchange for calm along the border will lead to even greater pressure in Gaza. Any “foolish” act by Israel, to use Hamas' term, including the assassination of senior leaders of the various Palestinian factions in Gaza, would set off “a major conflict.”

The threats by Netanyahu and Bennett did not fall on deaf ears. They were actually taken with the requisite seriousness by Hamas, as evidenced by Sinwar going into hiding rather than meeting with the Egyptian delegation. On the other hand, however, the movement's leaders remain willing to take some risks. Anyone in Israel who thinks that Hamas will heed the ominous Israeli message delivered via Egypt and take steps to restore order in Gaza is sadly mistaken.