What factors caused Israel's delayed response to Hamas's assault from Gaza?

Some people are questioning where the Israeli Defence Forces were during the recent attacks by Hamas militants near Gaza. It took the military two days to clear out the militants from Israeli territory, and some communities had to rely on their own civilian protection forces for support. The reason for this failure will take time to emerge, but it appears that surprise, scale, and speed overwhelmed the patchy and unprepared defences. Hamas used deception and good operational security to plan and execute the attack. They launched thousands of rockets and targeted Israel's monitoring equipment, creating breaches in the security fence. They also used swarming tactics with motorised hang-gliders and motorbikes to overwhelm Israel's defences. The chaos within Israel's command and control centres likely played a role in this. Hamas targeted both civilian communities and military outposts, causing shock when images of Israeli tanks in Hamas hands were posted. Hostages were taken into Gaza before the border holes were closed. The focus of Israeli security forces had been on the West Bank, potentially leaving gaps in their defences. The divisions in Israeli society over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies may have also distracted the security establishment. It seems that Israel may have underestimated their opponents and experienced a failure of imagination in preparing for such an ambitious attack. The long-term inquiries will likely address these concerns, but for now, the priority is to determine the next course of action.