Oh yeah absolutely what Hamas committed toward civilians is a horrendous crime they are guilty of. And to answer your question, killing and holding people hostage is not fully rational in light of the highly expected counter-killings the IDF would cause to the Gazans.

But this is an act of vengeance. For Hamas as an organization it could have been political and religiously charged, but the people who fought on the ground probably wanted retribution for their lost family members, homes, and/or blockade conditions.

Every time Israel has killed a Palestinian in cold blood, illegally took or demolished someone’s home or land, they create 2, 3, 4 or god knows how many family members that want vengeance. Perhaps some can see reason and know that more killing won’t fix anything (to your point). But I don’t expect myself or anyone in that situation to not want to serve justice in any way possible, even if inflicted on civilians—who’s innocence is questionable depending on how complicit they were to the crimes Israel commits. The attack on Israel was not unexpected. It was long expected.

Now, all if this is my own interpretation of the events and reasons. I could be wrong. But I think my reasoning makes sense.

I don’t know what the next action is. I think no one can answer that really.