I've intermittently paid attention to this thread for many months now, but am certainly not as knowledgeable as I'm sure many of you are.
My question, if even possible in a relatively short reply, is what was the immediate impetus, the catalyst if you will, for the attacks on October 7th?
From a simply logical standpoint, the parties involved with the attacks (Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, whoever else has a vested interest) had to be fully aware that while devastating of course, the attacks that took place on that day would be answered with far superior fire power and resources. What did those groups possibly believe there was to gain by carrying out the plans they did? Was it simply from their perspective, however right or wrong you may find them, opportunistic retaliation for perceived wrongs of the past, perhaps territorial gains, ?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around that specific moment in history and understand, if there are any, what specific things led to a decision that ultimately resulted in a lot of destruction, death, and so forth in your territory/for the people that generally believe Israel to be 'the bad guy'