More than 3,000 people -- Israelis and Palestinians -- have been killed following a surprise attack on southern Israel by the militant Palestinian group Hamas. The military operation, named ‘Toofan Al-Aqsa’ by Hamas, has brought back into the spotlight the most critical element of sustainable peace in West Asia – Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories. Israel has declared war on Hamas and laid siege to Gaza. It has launched a bombing campaign over Gaza, and cut off supplies of all essentials, including water, electricity and food. In the days to come, Palestinian civilian casualties are likely to surpass the civilian casualties caused by Hamas’ attack. Why did Hamas launch this attack? What does this war mean for the recent geopolitical realignments in the region? And how did Mossad, considered by many to be the world’s most capable intelligence agency, fail to detect a full blown military invasion?