Shock and retribution: Israel pounds Gaza after Hamas attack

<p>First came the shock, then the horror and now the escalation. Israel's government had been putting the squeeze on the West Bank when the unprecedented attack came from Gaza, stunning the world and targeting the innocent. Seven days later, Israel is dropping leaflets on the Gaza Strip: the prelude to a possible ground offensive.</p> <p>In the past, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/israel/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Israelis</a> have morbidly likened intervening in <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/gaza-strip/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Gaza</a> to "mowing the grass", operations that are a periodic necessity. This time, it's different.</p><p>After days of bargaining, PM Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Wednesday with the opposition on a national emergency government that brings former army chief of staff <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/benny-gantz/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Benny Gantz</a> into a war cabinet.</p><p>Social media has been bombarded with toxic missives since last Saturday. The EU Commissioner in charge of Digital Affairs made use of the new Digital Services Act to warn the social media platform formerly known as <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/twitter/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Twitter</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/facebook/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Facebook</a>'s parent group Meta and China's TikTok.</p><p>Whenever there's conflict in the Middle East, passions run high here in <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/france/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">France</a> – home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim population. Adding to the tensions is the fatal stabbing spree at a high school in the northern city of Arras. The <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20231013-one-dead-two-severely-wounded-in-knife-attack-at-french-school">knife attack by a former student </a>is akin to the one that felled a social studies teacher three years ago.</p><p><em>Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Louise Guiber