The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said on Tuesday that the Israeli army is preparing for the possibility of a new escalation on the Gaza Strip front, after the resumption of the “return marches” along the Gaza border, and a return to what it described as “riots” by burning rubber tires, throwing stones, and throwing explosives. Which has so far prompted Israel to close the Beit Hanoun “Erez” checkpoint to workers.

According to the Hebrew newspaper, Israel fears that Hamas will later allow rockets to be launched from the Gaza Strip towards nearby settlements.

Sources in the Israeli army estimate that Hamas allows these events on the border, but does not initiate them, and the size of those participating in them is estimated at 100 to 200 young people, indicating that the numbers are not as large as at the beginning of the “return marches,” which stopped about 3 years ago.

Despite these estimates, the Israeli army still considers Hamas responsible for the current events, because it turns a blind eye to them.

According to the newspaper, the Israeli army is preparing to escalate its responses, beyond closing the Erez crossing or attacking empty Hamas positions on the border, and this may prompt a greater escalation.

The newspaper indicated that if these events continue and worsen, the Gaza Division of the Israeli army is prepared for more options, including a scenario related to the participation of the largest possible number of Palestinians in the marches, in addition to placing more engineering barriers and sensors to create a larger and relatively safe buffer zone on the border. For soldiers dealing with those disorders.