On the plus side at least we're still calling it a ceasefire. If we started noticing that it's more the opposite - who knows what could happen!

Qassam rockets fired by Gaza militants hit near Ashkelon and Netivot on Thursday, widening the scope of cross-border violence that has threatened to unravel a shaky Israel-Hamas truce.... Earlier Thursday, The Israel Defense Forces announced it would delay the replacement of its top Gaza commander due to recently the increased tensions on the border... Early Thursday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least five mortar shells and one Qassam rocket at the western Negev, Army Radio reported.

That's on top of the rocket fire that shook the shaky ceasefire on Wednesday. The IDF has already entered Gaza to chase down the rocket teams multiple times in the last two weeks. That's on top of having to blow up the tunnels that Hamas is digging under Israel to kidnap more Israeli soldiers.

It looks like Hamas has made a decision to at least temporarily heat up the border. Maybe things aren't going well with the Shalit negotiations - that certainly explains the newest kidnapping attempts. It also might explain the rocket fire: if Hamas thought that Israel was considering an invasion then they'd want to make the extent of their ceasefire-enabled stockpile as clear as possible (as if that wasn't well-known). They've even been quietly expanding their military infrastructure into the West Bank.

We're now in month 8 of Gaza brinkmanship - Hamas threatening to declare that the ceasefire is off because the IDF responds forcefully to Hamas's ceasefire violations. Now that it's election season, though, the Israeli Defense Minister might actually have to protect Israeli residents from daily rocket attack by Palestinian soldiers. And people say there's no benefit to an unstable parliamentary system.

References:
* Qassams strike near southern towns of Ashkelon and Netivot [Ha'aretz]
* Southern communities again under fire [YNet]
* IDF kills four Hamas gunmen in tactical shift in Gaza [Ha'aretz]
* Israel Foils Massive Impending Attack, Hamas Responds With Massive Missile Attack - It's A Cycle Of Violence! [MR]
* Hamas tunnel uncovered by PA near Hebron was arms training site [Ha'aretz]
* Hamas Pursues Dangerous Strategy with Ashkelon Attacks [Spiegel]

Previously:
* Terrorist Loving British Tool: Israel Running "Concentration Camp", Gaza Like Darfur
* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie
* World Bank: Failure Of Corrupt, Mismanaged, Civil War Hampered Palestinian Economy Is Israel's Fault