Tensions had recently risen in the Gaza Strip, but the conventional wisdom was that neither Hamas, the Islamist group which governs there, nor Israel wanted an escalation.
Instead, Hamas had been planning a sophisticated, coordinated operation. Early this morning, as an intense barrage of rockets was launched with some reaching as far away as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Palestinian fighters entered southern Israel by sea, land and air.
They have held Israeli towns and army posts under siege for hours, killed many people and taken away an unknown number of Israeli civilians and soldiers to hold as hostages in Gaza.
The awful drama has played out live on social and mainstream media.
Thousands of Israelis who had been out for an overnight rave in fields close to Gaza rapidly found themselves under fire. Footage showed partygoers running for their lives.
Many Israelis have expressed shock that the Israeli security forces did not come more quickly to help them. Meanwhile, footage shared on Hamas channels showed that soldiers in Israeli army posts and in a tank had been captured or killed.
There were initial pictures of celebrations in Gaza where snatched Israeli military vehicles were driven through the streets.
Palestinian hospitals have already been overwhelmed by casualties from the Israeli air strikes which have caused wide destruction.
The Gaza Strip – a tiny coastal enclave which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians – was taken over by Hamas in 2007, a year after it won parliamentary elections. Israel and Egypt then tightened their blockade of the territory.
It remains impoverished with unemployment at around 50%.
After the serious conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2021, indirect talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the UN helped secure thousands of permits for Gazans to work in Israel and relax other restrictions in return for relative quiet.
Last month, when hundreds of Palestinians began to join protests by the perimeter fence in the strip in a reminder of the mass demonstrations which began five years ago, it was assumed that this was with the nod from Hamas and was meant to squeeze more concessions from Israel and aid money from Qatar.
The small rallies now seem like a red herring. Some speculate whether they were in fact a chance to survey the fence ahead of the infiltration.
With this latest operation, Hamas seems keen to burnish its credentials once again as a militant organization. Its charter remains committed to the destruction of Israel.
