Many Israeli commentators have called the October attack “Israel’s 9/11.” Is the analogy accurate?
It’s not perfect. Israel abuts Gaza, and has been effectively at war with Hamas for decades. It consequently had less justification for its poor preparation than the American government did during 9/11. In addition, hostages were taken by Hamas as bargaining chips; the passengers on the doomed planes during 9/11 were only incidental to the purposes of the terrorists. These are significant differences.
The similarities, however, are more compelling. In both cases, the terrorists successfully killed large numbers of unsuspecting civilians for the purpose of provoking an overreaction on the part of the victim state. In the case of 9/11, it worked, although not really to the ultimate advantage of the Islamic fundamentalists. Will it work in Gaza? The jury will be out for awhile.