October 7 attacks

The October 7 attacks were a series of coordinated armed incursions into southern Israel. These attacks came from the Gaza Strip, a territory controlled by Israel and Egypt. They were carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups in 2023. The events took place during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. This was the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

The attacks began a major war in Gaza that continues to have global impact.

The mechanism of the attack involved several different methods used at once. It began with a massive barrage of at least 4,300 rockets launched from Gaza into Israel. At the same time, militants used powered paragliders to fly over the border. They also used vehicles to transport fighters into Israeli communities.

These groups breached the Gaza–Israel barrier at 119 different locations. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report estimated that 6,000 Gazans crossed the border. This group included 3,800 elite Nukhba forces and 2,200 other militants or civilians. Additionally, about 1,000 Gazans participated by firing rockets from the Strip.

There were many different targets during the incursion. Militants attacked various military bases and 21 different civilian communities. Some of these communities included Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Alumim.

Another major site was the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re'im. The attacks on these locations were designed to be wide-reaching and sudden. This coordination allowed the militants to strike many places at the same time.

Hamas planned these operations over a long period of time. They used a secret tunnel network called the "Gaza metro" to communicate. This network used hardwired phone lines to avoid being detected by Israeli intelligence.

For two years, Hamas released videos showing militants training for such an event. These videos showed them practicing with paragliders and training to take hostages. A memo from August 2022, written by Yahya Sinwar, described a plan very similar to the actual attack. It suggested using bulldozers to break the fence and using fire to enter neighborhoods.

The human cost of the attacks was very high. In total, 1,195 people were killed during the event. This included at least 828 civilians and at least 367 members of the security forces. Among the civilians were 36 children and 71 foreign nationals.

At the Nova music festival alone, 364 civilians were killed. About 250 people, including both civilians and soldiers, were taken as hostages into the Gaza Strip.

Reports also indicated that dozens of cases of sexual assault occurred during the attacks.

There are many different perspectives on why this happened and how it is labeled. Hamas stated the attack was a response to the Israeli occupation and the blockade of Gaza. They also cited the expansion of Israeli settlements and rising settler violence.

The governments of 44 countries denounced the attack as terrorism. However, some Arab and Muslim-majority countries pointed to the occupation as the root cause. In Israel, the day is often called Black Saturday or the Simchat Torah Massacre.

Finally, the attacks revealed significant issues regarding intelligence and security. Israeli officials had obtained detailed attack plans more than a year before the event. These plans included using drones to disable surveillance cameras and automated guns.

Despite this, many leaders dismissed the warnings as being beyond Hamas's capabilities. One signals intelligence officer warned her superiors in July 2023 that the scenario was not imaginary. An official investigation by the Shin Bet found that the agency failed to provide the necessary warning. This failure led to a massive military response and a change in how Israel views its border security.