The Oct. 7th attack on Israel: Unprecedented… to put it lightly.

The October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian armed factions was one of the most unexpected if not unimaginable geopolitical events of the past couple decades. If one had asked me whether it was more likely in 2023 that humans would discover indisputable proof that Santa Claus is real or that Hamas and friends would launch a cross-border raid from Gaza that kills 1,200 Israelis, captures 150 more, and holds swathes of Israeli territory for days, I would have easily said the former. The most prescient observer would never have dreamt up something like this.