The mother of bad ideas was Oct 7. Hamas had to know that if they massacred enough Israeli men, women, children, and babies, rape women and girls, take hundreds of hostages, and fire 5000 rounds of rockets into Israel on Oct 7, that Israel would have to respond in a very aggressive manner. It is not guesswork!
Anything you say won’t change the fact on the ground. Hamas could have ended this on any given day. They have chosen not to!