Introduction
On October 7, 2023, 06:30 (local time), Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented attack on southwestern Israel. Their operation was initiated with a simultaneous breach of the barrier surrounding the Gaza Strip, a densely populated area bordering southwest Israel, which is the locus of an ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Palestine (Figure 1). The barrier breach was followed by a massive air-, land-, and sea-borne invasion of 2000-3000 Palestinians, who stormed Israeli near-border military camps, and then took over rural and urban civilian centers. This assault, which took Israel by surprise, resulted in the killing of 1200 Israelis and an unknown number of Palestinians, and the kidnapping of 240 Israelis into Gaza. In response, Israel declared war on the Hamas, initiated heavy bombardment of Gaza, and invaded it from the ground.
    Clearly, if a warning had been issued, then the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) would have been able to blunt the attack. However, it appears that the whereabouts of Hamas militants during the hours preceding the attack were largely unknown. The barrier breach required thousands of troops to be mobilized toward positions assumed along the Gaza barrier (Figure 1). This inference is supported by footage showcasing Palestinians riding light vehicles during the early hours of October 7 (Swaine et al., 2023). That traffic volume must have been unusually large relative to regular Saturday pre-dawn traffic. The fact that despite heavy surveillance Hamas managed to surprise Israel, suggests their mobilization likely took place in the hours or minutes preceding the breach.