Hamas’s Bloody Arithmetic

<p>To much of the outside world, Hamas’s decision to murder hundreds of Israelis and trigger a war that has since killed many thousands of its own people looks like a historic miscalculation — one that could soon result in the destruction of Hamas itself.</p><p>Hamas’s leaders, however, say that it was the result of a deliberate calculation.</p><p>Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times, has been reporting on their decision, and what went into it.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-hubbard?smid=pc-thedaily">Ben Hubbard</a>, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html?smid=pc-thedaily">Behind Hamas’s bloody gambit</a> to create a “permanent” state of war.</li><li>It took American and Qatari diplomacy, and self-interested decisions by Hamas, to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/world/middleeast/us-hostages-release-israel-hamas-qatar-raanan.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> bring two hostages safely back</a> to Israel.</li><li>Here’s<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/11/14/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-news?smid=pc-thedaily"> the latest on the war</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>