The close of 2023 brings with it an escalation with the Hamas - Israel War which began on October. Intially 1400 Israelis were killed in the surprise strike within Israel. To date over 11,000 have been killed in Gaza. Gaza is divided in half. Israel argues that Hamas headquaters under hospitals, schools, and mosques. Hamas counters that this is only a pretext for continued assaults.

Israeli PM claims that the mission is to destroy Hamas. Hamas argues it is not interested in protecting the lives of Palestinians, it wishes to eliminate the entire situation where Israel is in control of Gaza security as  blockades.

It appears that this is a deadly game of musical chairs. In my opinion it is unlikely that Hamas could of attacked Israel unilaterally. This appears to reflect on Iran and Russia as task masters.

Putin is bogged down in Ukraine and the distraction favors him in the short run.