While Hamas is making significant efforts to prevent a full-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, they couldn’t resist an opportunity to threaten Israel. They plan to hold Israel “responsible” if the virus begins to spread. The Hamas threat implies rocket fire on Israeli cities if Hamas officials begin losing control of the situation.
For now, Hamas appears to have the situation under control but it could change quickly due to Gaza’s poor living conditions and insufficient health-care system. Cautioned Dr. Col. (ret.) Reuven Erlich, director of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, “The density of the population, the difficult conditions, the refugee camps, the sanitation—it means there is a danger of the virus spreading. The Hamas regime could lose control.”