While the Iranian government has publicly attributed the incidents to gas leaks, garbage fires, and even weed burning, The New York Times cited three Iranian officials who privately described the events as likely acts of Israeli sabotage

According to a Palestinian source, Israel is insisting on maintaining control over 24–28 percent of Gaza's territory, which would restrict residents' freedom of movement – a sign, he said, that Israel has no intention of fully withdrawing after the cease-fire period with Hamas ends

The replacement of draft-law skeptic Yuli Edelstein with the clownish Boaz Bismuth marks the first time that the chairman of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has been elected by elderly rabbis and their representatives in the Knesset – solely in order to advance the draft evasion law