Israel: Conflict Continues as Egypt Seeks Cease-Fire

Hamas appears to be relatively confident on the third day of hostilities with Israel. In the past several hours, the Izz al-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed it launched a long-range Fajr-5 rocket at Tel Aviv and another at Jerusalem. Israel Defense Forces confirmed that a rocket was fired at Tel Aviv, though it missed and landed in the sea. Explosions and sirens are currently being reported in Jerusalem.

In the meantime, an Egyptian delegation traveled to Gaza on Nov. 16 and has been trying to negotiate a cease-fire. It is likely that Israel is testing the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt to see how far it will go to control Hamas and preserve the peace treaty with Israel. The outcome of the conflict is largely up to Egypt at this point.