How should Israel have responded to the 10/7 terrorist attack?

[Vosem]

I think the way that they actually did it is fine, and it's hard for me to criticize it without knowing what options were on the table. I do kind of question the focus on saving hostages over destroying Hamas -- I think accepting the late-November ceasefire was a very questionable decision -- but I think Israeli domestic politics probably mandated it.

I also wonder if Israel might not have saved many soldiers' lives by actually cutting off aid to Gaza and besieging it -- even Hamas members like to eat and drink water, "practically every day" in the words of Chernomyrdin -- but that might not have been tolerated by its allies. Still, it should have done more to raise awareness that the war is essentially continuing because of the aid being sent, pressured its allies to do more to criminalize sending aid to Gaza and vilify the organizations calling for more aid, and ensured that aid within Gaza could be distributed only by the IDF and its agents, and never by Hamas.