Hello, and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist. I'm your host, Aurera Ogumbi.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Today we're focusing on one story.

Before the weekend, the militant group Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel.

It began on Saturday when thousands of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians

tiny coastal enclave, and into Israeli cities.

Then, smashing through border defenses with trucks came wave after wave of Hamas fighters.

In small Israeli towns, militants were filmed going door-to-door firing on civilians.

At a music festival, party goers fled as dozens of Hamas militiamen arrived at dawn in

jeeps and motorized paragliders.

Bursts of automatic fire caught through the crowds of ravers. More than 260 bodies have

so far been recovered at the site. Many have been captured.

Cheeling images show Israelis being dragged across the border into Gaza, before being

paraded through the streets.

Israeli special forces were scrambled. Reservists have been called up, and retaliatory

air strikes have flattened parts of Gaza.

But the country's defenses have been exposed, and Israelis taking cover in their bombshell

tears are in shock.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a state of war, promising retribution

for those killed.

And this morning, a head of a security council meeting in New York, Israeli ambassador

Gillard Erdan, described the events in uncompromising terms.

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