In the most recent conflict with Israel, Gaza's militant Hamas rulers showed a higher threshold for escalation than the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group. But more Israeli attacks against the coastal enclave could eventually force Hamas to come to PIJ's aid, possibly sparking a greater war in the Gaza Strip akin to that seen last year. On Aug. 6, Israel began a pre-emptive military campaign against the Palestinian militant group PIJ in the Gaza Strip, after Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) became convinced that PIJ fighters were plotting an imminent attack in retaliation for the IDF's capture of the group's high ranking leader in the West Bank earlier in the month. In the ensuing three-day conflict, PIJ claimed to fire around 1,100 rockets toward Israel, though a substantial number of them failed to reach Israeli airspace and most were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. The conflict ended...
