The Hamas terrorist organization is holding a string of events in Gaza to commemorate Operation Cast Lead, the counter-terror operation held December 2008 to January 2009. The terror group, which recently restated its genocidal threats against Israel, is celebrating its "victory" during the fighting, which ended in an uneasy cease fire.
The operation, which Hamas calls the "War of Clay Stone," ended in a brokered cease fire monitored by Egypt, which recently has called to list Hamas as a terrorist group given several attacks and attempted attacks by Hamas-backed insurgents on Egyptian police headquarters and churches on Christmas.
A military exercise of Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military branch, was among the ongoing ceremonies and events. Video from the exercise shows a "test of courage" as terrorists "played chicken" with an oncoming military truck, ducking underneath it at the last moment:
At the conclusion of the test, an announcer can be heard declaring "these are the heroes, these are the heroes."
Reports from Egypt and the Palestinian Authority (PA) indicate that Hamas will attempt to extend its influence into Judea and Samaria in 2014, becoming more of a security threat to Israel. Hamas also announced its intentions for reconciliation with rival Fatah, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's faction, this year. it remains to be seen what will come of that declaration, however, given that past statements announcing reconciliation have fallen flat.
In an ominous sign, Hamas has apparently been gathering long-range rockets as of late, and Gaza terrorists two weeks ago test fired a new long-range M-175 missile capable of striking north of Tel Aviv.