ISRAEL AND HAMAS, GLOBAL ESCALATION OR ANOTHER TERRITORIAL REDEFINITION? LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF ISRAELI DEFENSE BETWEEN THE THIRST FOR VENGEANCE AND STRATEGIC CALCULATIONS Anyone who claims that the Simchat Torah attack of 2023 was entirely unexpected is either not well-versed in Israeli politics or knowingly deceiving. It was clear to Jews worldwide that the southern flank was Israel's soft underbelly. The area with the Negev Desert is the least densely populated and, for quite some time, the least patrolled. For years, citizens of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Sderot have become the targets of armed groups. Waking up on alternate days with the whistle of rockets overhead, hoping the Iron Dome does its job well, is certainly not pleasant. But the rockets were not only reaching there; they even hit Arad, Holon, Tel Aviv, and Palmachim, a strategic area for the Israeli Air Force. Some rockets even reached Jerusalem and Nazareth (where many Palestinians live) and in the far north, Haifa and A...