Surprising comment from experts: Why did Hamas attack Israel now?

Tension is high in the region following the attack by Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, against Israel yesterday morning, dubbed the “Aqsa Flood.”

As thousands of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, armed groups entered settlements in the region.

The Israeli army also launched an attack on the Gaza Strip with dozens of fighter jets.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 256 people were killed and 1,788 injured in Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The Israeli press announced that 300 Israelis had been killed in the attacks so far and that the number of wounded nationwide had risen to 1,864.

However, experts began to make notable analyzes on why Hamas carried out the attack during this period… Louise Callaghan, a reporter for the Sunday Times, one of England’s respected newspapers, asked: “What is Hamas? She wrote an article titled “And why are they attacking now?”

Callaghan: “Why did Hamas attack now? The attack came after months of tensions with Israel along the Gaza borders, where groups of mostly young Palestinians have organized protests. However, these demonstrations ended a few days ago with a ceasefire mediated by Qatar. It is not yet clear what impact the internal chaos in Israel’s government, rocked by months of disputes over the country’s highest court, has had on its preparations. “However, it is clear that the attack had been planned for a long time.”

Callaghan claimed that Hamas had built up an arsenal of rockets over the years following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and announced that they had Iranian-made combat systems. The analysis also stated that Hamas increased its stockpile and the effectiveness of its weapons over time.

“CAN DEFEAT ISRAELI SYSTEMS”

The analysis said: “According to the Israeli military, approximately 4,500 rounds were fired at Israel during the 2014 Gaza war and approximately 4,300 rounds were fired during 11 days of fighting in May 2021. These figures were unprecedented at the time, and in 2021 Long-range weapons were also used like never before. But the Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that some 2,200 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since the conflict began. “This figure makes it much more likely that Israel will be able to defeat even its highly capable air defense systems,” he noted.

The death toll is rising following the attacks.

The news said: “The majority of Hamas stockpiles are still believed to be short- and medium-range systems. Including the basic Qassam series, which could hit targets up to 10 miles away, and the Soviet-era Grads, which could fly over 25 miles. They also have a smaller number of long-range systems such as the M-75 and Fajr, which have a range of approximately 50 miles. Systems like the M-302, which Hamas says has a maximum range of more than 100 miles and can strike densely populated areas of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from Gaza, are rarer. Hamas also claimed to have tested a 250-kilometer-range rocket called the Ayyash 250, which could effectively hit any part of Israel.

As a result of Israel’s retaliation, many buildings in Gaza were destroyed.

The Sunday Times analysis noted that Gazans panicked after this incident. “Many civilians in Gaza fear the beginning of a wave of retaliation,” Callaghan said. “A woman whose name I can’t say called me and told me they were very scared,” she said. It was stated that more than 2 million people live in Gaza.

REUTERS: MESSAGE TO SAUDI ARABIA

A source who spoke to the British news agency Reuters drew attention to the timing of the attack.

The anonymous source said: “This was a message to Israel and Saudi Arabia, which leans towards the United States, which supports its normalization with Israel. As long as the Palestinians are removed from the equation, there will be no security in the entire region. What happened exceeded expectations. “Today is the turning point in this conflict,” she said.

Laura Blumenfeld, a Middle East expert at the Department of Advanced International Relations Studies at Johns Hopkins University, said: “Hamas saw that Israel and Saudi Arabia were close to reaching a peace agreement and saw that they were not at the table. “That’s when they decided to poison the food,” she said.

Tensions are high in the region following the Hamas attack.

THE GUARDIAN: ISRAEL’S GROUND OPERATION IS NEAR

The British newspaper The Guardian also published a comprehensive analysis… The analysis signed by Bethan McKernan says: “It is still unclear what Hamas will achieve in the long term. It also poses a problem for Israel’s far-right government. Extremists in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet may want this incident to turn into a war. There is a possibility that Israel will carry out a ground operation. “This would be the first time since 2014,” she said.

The analysis commented: “The only thing that seems certain is that the residents of Gaza, already battered by four wars in 16 years, will pay the highest price.”