Thus one very simplistic reading is ‘The attack on Egyptian soliders were by Al Qaeda type group who wants to put Hamas in Gaza - into a real trouble.’ 

Mr Hamad said the deadly attack on Sunday could only have been carried out by groups keen to harm Hamas.

“Who benefits from an action like that? Not Hamas. Rafah is closed. Kerem Shalom [a Gaza crossing with Israel] is closed. No one here has an interest in harming the relations between the Palestinian and Egypt.”

Hamas officials such as Mr Hamad may bristle at the suggestion, but the group’s concerns regarding the Sinai appear to create at least some overlap with the position taken by Israel. Indeed, both Hamas and Israel are making similar appeals to Egypt, asking Cairo to step up its security efforts in the peninsula: “The Egyptians should open their eyes and put more forces and troops into the Sinai, to protect the people and eradicate the radical groups,” said Mr Hamad.

The rare confluence of interests has not gone unnoticed in Israel.

“Paradoxically, one of Israel’s most stable partners [regarding the Sinai situation] is Hamas,” said Yoram Schweitzer, a senior research fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

“There is major concern that is shared by Israel, Egypt and Hamas – they all want to counter the Salafist agenda.”