Military and Political Developments in Israel and Gaza

On Nov. 18, the fifth day of Operation Pillar of Defense, two Fajr rockets were fired at Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip around 10:30 a.m. and another rocket was fired at Tel Aviv at 6:43 p.m., marking the 14th time a long-range rocket has been fired at Israel's central residential and commercial hub. The Iron Dome system that was deployed to the Tel Aviv area on Nov. 17 has continued to stop incoming rockets, including the most recent ones. While the 10:30 a.m. attack took place at an atypical time of day compared to previous attacks, which had tended to be around sunset, it is consistent with the pace of Fajr launches that we have seen since the beginning of the crisis. This could mean that Hamas has a low stockpile of these rockets and is trying to make them last as long as possible. It could also mean that Hamas is gradually easing pressure on Israel while still demonstrating its longer-range capability in order to leave the door open for a possible cease-fire.