From a Washington Post story by Liz Sly headlined “Bloody assault on Israel has sparked fears of a wider Mideast conflict”:

The stunning attack by Hamas inside Israeli territory has replaced hopes of an era of peace in the Middle East with the very real danger of a new regional war.

For now, the focus is on the immediate crisis in Gaza, the fate of the hostages and the future of Hamas. It could take weeks or more for Israel to fulfill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to “destroy” Hamas’s military capabilities and the effort will consume the bulk of Israel’s military capabilities for some time.