The October 7 Hamas Attacks (first death anniversary): How Israel Stood Still

The October 7 Hamas Attacks: How Israel Stood Still

There were moments when the morning sun of that fateful day, October 7, 2023, would have never seemed to face such a lot as to be remembered by Israel until eternity; that day, which saw perhaps the most devastating attack by Hamas on the nation, leaving everyone who observed this attack in a stunned shell. A year later, the people of Israel will still remember that fateful night when Hamas made its deadliest attack, searing the nerves of an entire nation and the world.

The nation woke to an emotional scene on the anniversary with hundreds gathering at the scene of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where so many innocent lives were lost. Thousands attended a vigil in Tel Aviv to light candles honoring the victims as dawn broke. The tragedy still rings out all over the nation, where burnt-down homes, shattered windows, and debris in the affected kibbutzim remain a stark reminder of the horrors that befell.

The Story of How It All Began

It was on that infamous day when Hamas launched its biggest terrorist attack ever in Israeli soil. Breaking out through the security fence that separated Gaza from Israel, they unleashed such unprecedented carnage.

Over 1,189 were killed, including 815 civilians-most of them toddlers and children, while even animals lost their lives during the attack. Another 7,500 were wounded, and 251 were taken hostage by Hamas militants.

This was part of what Hamas called "Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge," which is a name that was a reference to the revered mosque in Jerusalem. During the same period, rockets and mortar shells were dropped into Israeli towns and military bases, leaving trails of destruction.

The short-term consequences of the attacks

For Israel, the morning of October 7 was surreal, when hundreds of Hamas fighters from the al-Qassam Brigades overran multiple points along the 59-km barrier separating Gaza from Israel. Explosive-carrying drones crippled Israeli watchtowers and other pieces of vital military equipment, leaving everyone in a state of confusion.

The militants, ranging from motorbikes to pickup trucks and even motorboats and paragliders, came across the borders of Israeli territory with terrifying speed. The carnage that followed was brutal, especially in kibbutzim-the Israeli settlements-where terrorists butchered families, going house-to-house.

Especially hard-hit was the Be'eri kibbutz, where militants went on a killing spree for seven hours, attacking nearly every home. The Supernova music festival, near the Re'im kibbutz, turned into the site of the largest massacre of civilians, which constitutes more than half of all civilian casualties.

A Global Outcry

The images of the horror quickly went on to flood the social media sites as Hamas militants crazily rampaged through the streets of Israeli cities and towns. Videos came up showing lootings in some areas and terrorized faces of Israeli civilians. Shockingly, Hamas fighters released propaganda pictures and videos glorifying their attacks, and an unprecedented hostage crisis in the history of Israel shook the country to its core.

As the country entered into mourning, Israel's government escalated things. By 9 am, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant opined that Hamas had committed "a grave mistake." Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated the suggestion that Hamas would pay an "unprecedented price." Security forces of Israel began operations to recover these infiltrated areas.

Only on October 10 did the country proclaim that control over all areas Hamas had entered was back in hand. Yet emotional scarring cuts so very deeply for even now, homes and communities lack the life they once knew.

A Year Later: The Pain Persists

Fast forward to October 7, 2024, and the first anniversary brings more sorrow but defiance too: families of the missing gathered at the scene of the Nova rave site where President Isaac Herzog observed a minute of silence at 6:29 a.m., the exact time attack had begun with rockets having been fired.

Among the most fatal attacks of mass violence was the massacre at the Nova music festival, in which more than 370 revelers were killed or taken by Hamas. For the families who wore T-shirts displaying faces of missing persons-it was an agonizing tribute to a tragic day.

The hum of helicopters and the steady thud of artillery fire echoing from Gaza, just a couple of kilometers away, remind everyone with unpleasant clarity that the war is far from over. Since the attack, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, and 2 million Palestinians have been driven out of their homes.

Protesters thronged the streets of Jerusalem, demanding a ceasefire and safe return for the 97 hostages still detained, among whom 34 Israeli military believes are dead.

The World Watches

Attacks across the globe on October 7 can never be forgotten. No indication that life is any closer to normal in the Gaza Strip, as Israel's military operations against Hamas target the Jabaliya refugee camp under intense fire.

The scars of the October 7 attacks in Israel are physical, but also emotional and psychological ones, in every household affected by the assault. For families like that of Shir Siegel, whose father remains captive, the year "has been an eternity, Shir said: "A year has passed, but it feels like just one long, excruciating day."

Certainly, the attacks of October 7, 2023, marked a moment in modern Israeli history and a very violent day when the nation's perception of security was shattered. Many seek ways to heal from that day as Israel remembers that terrible day; the message was quite clear: the pain is real, the scars are deep, but the spirit of survival remains intact.

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