Last Friday, just a few days after the Gaza Strip had reported its first cases of the coronavirus, militants fired a rocket at the Israeli city of Sderot. Khaled Abu Toameh comments:

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the March 27 rocket attack, . . . there is no way that it could have taken place without the knowledge or approval of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The [attack is an apparent attempt] to distract from the failure of Hamas and PIJ to provide their hospitals with medical equipment and medicines to curb the spread of the disease. In the past decade, the two groups have invested millions of dollars in amassing weapons and building tunnels to infiltrate Israel and kill or kidnap Jews.

There is another reason why the rocket was fired from Gaza toward Sderot: to remind Palestinians, Israelis, and the rest of the world that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has zero impact on the ideology and plans of extremist Muslim groups. [The attackers] wished to send the message that their desire to kill or harm Jews remains as strong and relevant as ever, even during a global health crisis, when tens of thousands of people are dying after being infected with a lethal virus.

The last rocket that was fired from Gaza toward Israel cost money that could have been used to purchase ventilators and protective gear for Palestinian patients and medical professionals. The leaders of Hamas and PIJ, however, believe that the jihad against Israel is worth more than the many lives threatened by a pandemic. . . . If and when the virus spreads in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians living there can point the finger of blame directly at PIJ and Hamas.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.