[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Eroding Israel's long-term security by goading them into a disproportionate response that will weaken their regional and international support. Maybe the foot soldiers weren't thinking in those terms, but I imagine that was Hamas' broader goal.

This article goes into the motives a bit, it's from November but worth a read to understand the thinking of Hamas a bit better.

But the frustration was building. Hamas leaders in Gaza were flooded with images of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, Jews openly praying at a contested site customarily reserved for Muslims, and the Israeli police storming the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a touchstone for Palestinian claims to the holy city. The prospect of Israel’s normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, long a deep-pocketed patron of the Palestinian cause, appeared closer than ever.

While building the capabilities for the assault took years, the decision to launch it on Oct. 7 was a secret closely guarded by a small number of Hamas leaders in Gaza who did not even inform those taking part until the last minute to prevent interception by regional intelligence services, according to Hamas and regional officials.

A key objective was to take as many Israeli soldiers captive as possible for use in a prisoner swap, according to two Arab officials whose governments talk to Hamas.

One regional security official said Hamas had expected that, once the attack began, Palestinians elsewhere would rise up against Israel, other Arab populations would explode against their governments and the group’s regional allies, including Hezbollah, would join the fight.

But at least four intelligence services — two Arab and two European — have assessed that Hezbollah had no advance knowledge of the attack, according to officials with access to intelligence reports.

Hamas’s own political leaders outside Gaza were also surprised by the assault, according to several Arab and Western officials who track their movements.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/w...-gaza-war.html