The recent assassination of one of the top Hamas militants Mazen Fuqaha has fueled speculation as to whether Hamas will respond to Israel. Apparently, the answer is "not now,"since the group recently moved to secure its position in the region by making a significant change to its administrative cadre while distancing itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and accepting collaborative efforts with Egypt to fight the presence of Daesh in Sinai.While Israel has not commented on the assassination, Hamas has blamed the country and its allies for the act which is expected to provoke further conflict in relations between Hamas and Israel. After the group took over power of the Gaza Strip following the 2007 election, Hamas has made statements about seeking revenge on Israel while accusing the latter of shutting down the Erez border in a claim which Israel denies. Sources from the region reported that it was possible to enter Gaza from Israel but that Hamas officials did not allow anyone to exit the Gaza Strip.Moreover, sources also indicated that Hamas believes Mazen Fuqaha's assassin entered the Gaza Strip as an aid volunteer working for an international organization, leading Hamas to search everyone including U.N. personnel and civilian cars. Another unconfirmed source quoted by Haaretz said, "The gunmen who assassinated senior Hamas militant Mazen Fuqaha in Gaza City on Friday arrived by sea." The Israeli paper also added, "Unconfirmed reports said that the assassins carefully collected all evidence of the killing, including bullet cartridges, that could indicate their identities before immediately fleeing the scene."Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum on Sunday said, "In light of the humanitarian situation, only the residents of Gaza with humanitarian cases will be allowed to return to Gaza via the Beit Hanoun checkpoint." Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, was quoted by Al-Jazeera as saying, "Hamas will not announce how it plans to respond to the assassination but the blood of our people will not be lost in vain, especially in a crime this big." Fuqaha, 38, was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years for allegedly planning a suicide bombing in Israel. However, he was released by Israel along with dozens of other prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.Despite the significance of Fuqaha's assassination, Hamas may not respond to Israel immediately for several reasons. First of all, Hamas may not be sure that Israel was behind the assassination since the group suffers from the presence of Salafi militants on the tiny strip as well as internal disputes. The assassination might be the job of other groups who want to add fuel to the fire against Israel and churn up the current, relatively calm atmosphere in Gaza. Although the doubts require further investigation, Fuqaha's family said Israelis had warned them several times to stop their son's actions and that he would be assassinated otherwise.The main reason that Hamas has not responded immediately is the timing of the killing, since the group has been mending relations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's al-Fatah and Egypt. After negotiations in Moscow in January, both parties declared they had reached an agreement and that a new National Council would be formed that would include Palestinians who had been exiled. The council is expected to be on the voting ticket in the upcoming June elections. Since 2006, al-Fatah and Hamas have been engaged in fighting after Hamas won the elections in Gaza; decreasing the likelihood of a unified Palestine.Also, after declaring itself an entirely independent organization with no affiliations with any mother organization such as the Muslim Brotherhood,Hamas stated its intentions to mend ties with Cairo as the two both suffer from the presence of radical movements. Egyptian and Israeli media outlets reported last year that a purge of Salafis in Gaza was carried out by Hamas in coordination with Egyptian intelligence. Hamas also seeks to develop trade in Gaza, which has been encircled and embargoed by Egypt and Israel. Thousands of illegal tunnels have been closed by Egypt amid claims that militants had used them. Still, the Egyptian media has reported that Egyptian officials recently facilitated the transportation of construction and raw materials to Gaza. Hamas is apparently attempting to find a new way to survive in the region by detaching itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and improving ties with Egypt in return for Egypt directing its attention to the needs of Gazans. Therefore, it is unlikely that Hamas will conduct a military operation against Israel any time soon.