The attack happened on the Sabbath, which everybody knows. But this year, the 8th Day (Shemini Atzaret), which is an annual Sabbath that is the culmination of a biblical festival called Sukkot (or Feast of Tabernacles), happened to be the same day. This is significant because the book of Zechariah prophesies a future time when all the nations will gather in Jerusalem for Sukkot. Many, many Christians and Jews make a pilgrimage each year to Jerusalem for this festival in anticipation of the time when this will happen. This is one reason why there were so many foreigners in Israel the week before last. It's also a blessing that Israel is a normal country that allows such travel.

https://www.wsj.com/world/midd....le-east/israel-hamas