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.

Hamas’s leaders, however, say that it was the result of a deliberate calculation.

Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times, has been reporting on their decision, and what went into it.

Guest: Ben Hubbard (https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-hubbard?smid=pc-thedaily), the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Behind Hamas’s bloody gambit (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html?smid=pc-thedaily) to create a “permanent” state of war.
• It took American and Qatari diplomacy, and self-interested decisions by Hamas, to bring two hostages safely back (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/world/middleeast/us-hostages-release-israel-hamas-qatar-raanan.html?smid=pc-thedaily) to Israel.
• Here’s the latest on the war (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/11/14/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-news?smid=pc-thedaily).

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily). Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.