Two Years After Oct. 7, a Trail of What-Ifs

Decisions made early on set the path for a devastating war.

A road is clogged with a vast mass of people stretching to the horizon. On one side is the sea on the other is devastation from the war in Gaza. October 6, 2025, 7:00 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Middle East Crisis

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Let’s imagine for a moment a counterhistorical regarding the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. What if Israel had responded with a fierce but limited war in Gaza, prioritized the release of Israeli hostages, and continued pursuing a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia that had been on the table since well before the Hamas attack? How would Israel have fared, and how many Palestinian lives would have been spared? What wo

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