As it goes, a further widening of the Israeli operation in Gaza was the subject of an Israeli security cabinet meeting. In an attempt to avoid this outcome, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called upon "those with influence over Hamas" to press for the release of the soldier.

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The complexion of the three-and-a-half week battle between Israel, Hamas, and other militant groups in Gaza, could be completely upended by the reported kidnapping of an Israeli soldier on Friday.

The details of the attack, in which 23-year-old Hadar Goldin was reportedly taken by Gaza forces, is still a matter of conjecture. Hamas confirmed and then unconfirmed that it had abducted Goldin, who is being described as "a British-born distant cousin of [Israeli] Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon." Israel says the abduction took place well after the 72-hour ceasefire began, something which Hamas also denies. The White House said this (via Times of Israel):

Earlier, White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the abduction a “barbaric violation” of the ceasefire agreement, and said it merited international condemnation.

The attack was said to have happened when fighters from Gaza emerged from an underground tunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers in a suicide bombing, and kidnapped Goldin. As we noted earlier, this brought a swift end to the 72-hour U.S. and U.N.-brokered ceasefire. Israel has resumed shelling and several Palestinians have been reported dead.

Undermining the Ceasefire and the Negotiating Partners

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry came under fire in Israel for offering a draft of a long-term ceasefire deal that was put together with the help of Hamas' allies Qatar and Turkey. The Israelis viewed the plan as too tilted toward Hamas.

Thursday's enactment of a temporary ceasefire signaled, perhaps, a small bit of hope that a long-term truce might be reached. But with the (very) quick collapse of the ceasefire and the kidnap of an Israeli soldier, the will for a long-term ceasefire seems destined to dry up, especially within Israeli quarters where polls already showed strong support for the operation.

The ostensible violation of the ceasefire by Hamas also deeply undermines its champions in Qatar and Turkey and reveals that there may be some fracturing within Hamas itself, whose leader Khaled Meshal operates out of Doha.

Breakdown of ceasefire is a big blow to Qatar + Turkey; puts into doubt their influence with Hamas. Potentially a big blow to Meshaal too. — Michael Hanna (@mwhanna1) August 1, 2014

A long-term ceasefire has remained elusive in large part because Hamas has sought to declare some kind of victory for its actions, which has brought unspeakable misery upon Gaza from Israel, and because Israel doesn't wish to budge by offering concessions that might "reward" Hamas' tactics.