Our collective spirits were down on Friday after Hamas followed through on its threat to fire rockets. This was interpreted by many as a provocation. It undermined the Israel Defense Forces' claim that the rocket launchers had been deterred. Perhaps the public sentiment truly attests to the new constellation that has emerged, and Israel may find itself in a protracted war of attrition. But this is far from certain, despite the troubled state of affairs. The post-Protective Edge border with Gaza is like a patient who had undergone a complicated surgery. The doctors got rid of atrophied organs and his overall health has improved, but the pain is too much to bear. He feels down, all but convinced that this was a futile endeavor, that the operation had failed. He is tempted to think that the operation was unsuccessful because of his debilitating situation, but the slow recuperation does not mean that his health is failing. The same applies to the situation on the ground after a month of hostilities. It will take time to make sure calm sets in. The excruciating pain has had us, the patient, all but ignore the achievements. Perhaps Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz erred when he called on the residents of the Gaza-area communities to return home. But he was right on the macro level: Hamas has been dealt a crushing blow, and has so far failed to extract any tangible gains in the Cairo talks. Having run out of options, it resorted to rocket fire. There is a well known explanation for all this: Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal wants Qatar, not Egypt, to mediate; but Hamas' Gaza-based leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and the head of the organization's military wing, Mohammed Deif, have had to face a restive Gazan population that wants an explanation for the mass destruction and the lack of accomplishments. That is why the two leaders have tried to reach a cease-fire, all but imposing it on Mashaal. Having said all that, Israel is not problem-free either. You cannot blame the Gaza-area residents who, after Hamas started firing rockets, said they would not heed Gantz's call to go back home. Their fear of the tunnel threat, warranted as it may be, is misguided. They should look at the bigger picture: Yes, the tunnel threat was not fully understood until recently, nor was it fully appreciated. Now, after the IDF destroyed most of the tunnels, there are only one or two left, despite the added anxiety. Even though Israelis' security has increased on a personal level, the residents near Gaza cannot sleep at night because there might be another tunnel out there. Does Hamas want to see hostilities renewed? If things escalate again, the pain inflicted will be much greater than before. The organization must not underestimate Israel like it did several weeks ago, when it assessed that Israel would not launch a ground offensive. If the IDF has to do what it seeks to avoid -- taking over the Gaza Strip by splitting it into three parts -- it will do so, knowing full well what the price would be. It has won the right to do so by exercising restraint in the previous round. Israel must set the ground rules now: The tiniest barrage of rockets shall be met with a massive airstrike. Cross-border fire should be met with targeted assassinations by the dozens. Israel must raise the stakes and make it clear that disrupting the calm would come at a heavy cost; it must not back down from its demand that no talks are to be held so long as Nahal Oz does not enjoy total tranquility.