The Hamas-led attack on Southern Israel on 7 October 2023 was one of the largest terror attacks in history, resulting in 1,182 fatalities and over 4,000 wounded. A total of 251 hostages were taken - 210 were alive and 41 were dead bodies.6 It was the largest single massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust, and the deadliest per capita terrorist attack, with just over 1 in every 10,000 Israelis killed, and the third overall deadliest terrorist attack in the world to date.
A total of 863 civilians were killed on 7 October, accounting for 73% of the dead. 8 The remaining 27% of fatalities were those serving in active duty – either in the military or as first responders.9 Women and children account for 27% of those killed during the attacks and 49% of hostages taken alive – 316 and 102 respectively. The youngest victim of 7 October was just 14 hours old – her mother had been shot whilst driving to the hospital to give birth and a bullet hit the baby girl’s leg whilst in utero. The oldest victim was a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, who was killed at Kibbutz Holit.
The victims were killed through shootings, asphyxiation, burning, grenade explosions, RGP and missile attacks. Many victims were subjected to mutilation, sexual violence, and other forms of deliberate brutality before or after death. Forensic teams faced immense challenges in identifying remains due to the extent of desecration to bodies, with some victims identified months later through fragments like teeth.
Hamas orchestrated and led the attack, with 3,800 of its elite Nukhba forces and members of Izz al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades invading Southern Israel. They were supported by 2,200 individuals from other armed groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and civilians from Gaza. A further 1,000 individuals stayed in Gaza to operate rocket launchers and provide tactical support.
The perpetrators documented their actions on the day, through GoPro body cameras and mobile phones. They live-streamed and recorded their actions, uploading them to social media sites like Telegram.
The Hamas-led attack began with an unprecedented barrage of rockets, aimed at southern Israel and the larger metropolises across the country. This was followed by 119 breaches in the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel over the course of the attack, and simultaneous incursions by air and sea.
Hamas-led forces attacked 32 civilian communities - Kibbutzim and Moshavim - in Israel's Gaza Envelope, killing 416 in a matter of hours. Of the 251 total hostages taken during the attack, 183 were from these villages.
Once the border had been penetrated, the attacking forces breached community defences and caused widespread destruction. Kibbutzim such as Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz were the worst affected. Be’eri and Kfar Aza experienced the highest death tolls, with 99 and 62 civilians killed respectively.13 Nir Oz saw the most kidnappings, with 75 people taken hostage, alongside 7 abducted bodies.
The communities were attacked by Hamas, other armed groups, and Gazan civilians. They destroyed homes, committed atrocities, systematically looted, and set fire to properties. Fierce battles ensued at some locations, with some areas only reclaimed by Israeli forces on the evening of 7 October and others remained contested for days. By 11 October, 89% of the communities in the Gaza Envelope had been evacuated, displacing tens of thousands of people.
Hamas-led forces also launched coordinated attacks on three cities in the western Negev: Sderot, Ofakim, and Netivot, which resulted in 88 fatalities.
The Nova Music Festival, held near Kibbutz Re’im, became the deadliest site of the attacks, with over 370 people killed, most of them young attendees under 30 years old. The death toll made the attack on the festival “the deadliest concert attack in history.”14
At the festival site those who stayed were gunned down in their hiding places under the stage, behind the bar, in mobile toilets and waste containers. About 50 to 60% did not die at the festival site itself but were killed as they fled the attack. Many were ambushed in their cars with automatic weapons fire and RPGs or were killed by grenades thrown into roadside rocket shelters where they had sought safety along the highway. Others were shot in fields, wooded areas, or stretches of desert as they fled the party site on foot.
Hamas operatives strategically seized key junctions along Route 232, the main highway in the Gaza Envelope. The highway killings took place at more than 30 separate locations, primarily at 3 major road junctions and in roadside rocket shelters along Route 232.
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