The timing is surely not a coincidence. Militant group Hamas – which rules Gaza and which is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK – launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel, with fighters breaching border fences and killing Israelis, reportedly holding civilians captive and firing thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip.
It is not too dramatic to say Saturday is the most significant military challenge to Israel in the half century since the 1973 Yom Kippur War (also known as the October War), when a coalition of Arab states jointly launched a surprise attack.
