Notes

Days of rage. In October, after Israel began its military incursions into Gaza, Steven Cook explored the strategy and results of the Hamas assault that precipitated it. Hamas wanted to burnish its reputation at a time when it had been losing standing among Palestinians. And its ultimate goal remains the destruction of Israel. But a specific goal, Cook says, was to lure Israel into a drawn-out conflict that could turn global public opinion against it. For Israelis, the effect was to shatter a complacency so many of them had come to live with: They believed their country could continue thriving economically while diffusing any security threats—and while Palestinians continued living in a limbo state.