It's probably not so much he wanted to "work with" Hamas so much as he saw it useful to have Gaza governed by a group other than the much more moderate Palestinian Authority. Sort of a "divide and conquer" strategy?
"But if so, he grossly underestimated the horrific cost that would be paid by ordinary Israelis."
That's probably not his only miscalculation. Perhaps an even greater miscalculation could be that causing a humanitarian crisis among the Gazan civilian population is only going to enable the more radical Palestinian elements into the future?
"And it wouldn't account for the military's inability to react in anything approaching a timely manner."
Apparently soldiers normally stationed at outposts along the Gaza border had recently been reassigned to the West Bank.
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