Fires in Israel and the Gaza strip - 7 October 2023.  Image is about 48 kilometers wide.  Image from Wikipedia.

This article is selected text from the Wikipedia article “2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.”  I have highlighted portions of the text that I have found interesting.  This article focuses specifically on the events of October 7, 2023.

Also see this companion article that focuses on the entire Israel-Hamas conflict.

Following is the text from the Wikipedia article:

 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the 7 October operation into Israel by Hamas.  For the war, see 2023 Israel–Hamas war.  For other attacks by Hamas in 2023, see List of military engagements during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

The 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel was a series of coordinated incursions, led by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of neighboring Israeli territory, commenced on 7 October 2023, a Sabbath day and date of several Jewish holidays.  Hamas meticulously planned for a massacre of Israeli civilians with the goal of provoking Israel to invade Gaza.  The attacks initiated the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, almost exactly 50 years after the Yom Kippur War began on 6 October 1973.  Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups named the attacks Operation Al-Aqsa Flood while they are referred to in Israel as Black Saturday or the Simchat Torah Massacre and internationally as the 7 October attack.

The attacks began in the early morning with a rocket barrage of at least 3,000 rockets launched against Israel and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into its territory.  Hamas fighters breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, targeting civilians for killing in neighboring Israeli communities and attacking Israeli military bases.  In a single day, 859 Israeli civilians and at least 345 Israeli soldiers and policemen were killed in nearby towns, kibbutzim, military bases and at a music festival near Re’im.  Around 200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, of which the number of kidnapped children is about 30.

At least 44 nations (mostly Western) denounced the attack as terrorism, while Arab and Muslim countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran and Iraq blamed the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as the root cause of the attack.  The day is considered the bloodiest in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust.

BACKGROUND

Main article: Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, since the Six-Day War in 1967.  According to some scholars, Hamas’s objective is the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, while others state that Hamas had repeatedly called for the destruction of the state of Israel.  The 1988 founding charter mandated the killing of Jews, Hamas replaced it with a new charter in 2017 that removed antisemitic language and said Hamas’s struggle was with Zionists not Jews.  Prior to the attack, Saudi Arabia warned Israel of an “explosion” as a result of the continued occupation, Egypt had warned of a catastrophe unless there was political progress, and similar warnings were given by Palestinian Authority officials.  Less than two months before the attacks, King Abdullah II of Jordan lamented that Palestinians have “no civil rights; no freedom of mobility.”

Events leading to the attack

See also: Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023

Over the course of 2023, before the attack, 247 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces, while 39 Israelis were killed by Palestinians.  Increases in settler attacks had displaced hundreds of Palestinians, and there were clashes around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a contested holy site in Jerusalem.

[NOTE:  This is the first time that I’ve heard of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in such a manner, I’m rather surprised by that.  However I’m not very surprised by that happening after the October 7 attacks (link,  and link).]

Tensions between Israel and Hamas rose in September 2023, and the Washington Post described the two “on the brink of war.”  On 13 September, five Palestinians were killed at the border.  Israel stated that it found explosives hidden in a shipment and halted all exports from Gaza; Hamas denied this.  Reuters quoted Palestinians who said that the several day ban impacted thousands of families.  In response to the ban, Hamas put its forces on high alert, and conducted military exercises with other groups, including openly practicing storming Israeli settlements.  Hamas also allowed Palestinians to resume protests at the Israel-Gaza barrier.  On 29 September, Qatar, the UN, and Egypt mediated an agreement between Israel and Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip to reopen closed crossing points and deescalate tensions; the total number of Gazans with work permits in Israel stood at 17,000.

Egypt said it warned Israel days before the attack, “an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big.”  Israel denied receiving such a warning, though Michael McCaul, Chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said warnings were made three days before the attack.

Hamas Preparations

Bedouin clans built early smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border in 1981.  In 2001, Hamas began a vast underground network initially for smuggling, later serving multiple functions.  The tunnels aimed to shift battles underground.  In 2014, Hamas employed 900 for tunnel construction, each taking three months and costing an average of $100,000.  Funding came from commercial schemes via Gaza’s mosques, with contributions from Iran and North Korea.

Gaza’s tunnel network, known euphemistically as the “Gaza metro,” serves Hamas for storage, movement, and command.  Hamas used hardwired phone lines within the tunnels for covert communication over two years, evading Israeli intelligence.  This allowed a successful surprise attack on Israel, with specific plans disclosed shortly before the operation, catching intelligence agencies off guard.

In the months preceding the attack, Hamas had publicly released videos of its militants preparing to attack Israel.  A video released in December 2022 showed Hamas training to take hostages, while another video showed Hamas practicing paragliding.  On 12 September, Hamas posted a video of its fighters training to blast through the border.  The IDF would later state, after the attack, that Hamas had extensively studied the military bases and settlements near the border.

The Wall Street Journal has accused Iran of being behind the attack, while this has been denied by US officials, as well as Iran.

Advanced Israeli knowledge

According to the New York Times, Israeli officials had obtained detailed attack plans more than a year prior to the actual attack.  The document described operational plans and targets, including the size and location of Israeli forces, and raised questions in Israel as to how Hamas was able to learn these details.  The document provided a plan that included a large scale rocket assault prior to an invasion, drones to knock out the surveillance cameras and automated guns that Israel has stationed along the border, and gunmen invading Israel, including with paragliders.  The Times reported that “Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision.”  According to the Times, the document was well circulated among Israeli military and intelligence leadership, who largely dismissed the plan as being beyond Hamas’ capabilities, though it was unclear if the political leadership was informed.  In July of 2023, a member of the Israeli signals intelligence unit alerted her superiors that Hamas was conducting preparations for the assault, saying that “I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary.”  An Israeli colonel ignored her concerns.

TIMELINE

For a more comprehensive list, see List of engagements during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

Rocket barrages and drone strikes

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2023.

At around 6:30 a.m. Israel Summer Time (UTC+3) on Saturday 7 October 2023, Hamas announced the start of the operation, stating that it had fired over 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes.  Israeli sources reported that at least 3,000 projectiles had been launched from Gaza.  At least five people were killed by the rocket attacks.  Explosions were reported in areas surrounding the Strip and in cities in the Sharon Plain including Gedera, Herzliyya, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon.  Air raid sirens were also activated in Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, Rehovot, Rishon Lezion, and Palmachim Airbase.  Hamas issued a call to arms, with senior military commander Mohammad Deif calling on “Muslims everywhere to launch an attack.”

Palestinian militants also opened fire on Israeli boats off the Gaza Strip, while clashes broke out between Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces in the eastern section of the Gaza perimeter fence.  In the evening Hamas launched another barrage of about 150 rockets towards Israel, with explosions being reported in Yavne, Givatayim, Bat Yam, Beit Dagan, Tel Aviv, and Rishon Lezion.

INCURSIONS INTO SOUTHERN ISRAEL

Further information: List of engagements during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

Simultaneously, around 2,900 Palestinian militants infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, pickup trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats and powered paragliders.  Images and videos appeared to show heavily armed and masked militants dressed in black fatigues riding pickup trucks and opening fire in Sderot, killing dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers and setting homes on fire.  Other videos appeared to show Israelis taken prisoner and a burning Israeli tank, as well as militants driving Israeli military vehicles.  Israeli first responders reportedly recovered documents from the bodies of killed militants, with instructions to attack civilian populations, including elementary schools and a youth center, to “kill as many people as possible,” and to take hostages for use in future negotiations.  Some of the militants wore body cameras to record the acts, presumably for propaganda purposes.  According to reports, during the attack terrorists used Captagon – a stimulant produced in Syria and used throughout the Middle East.

Initial reports

The morning of the attack, an Israeli military spokesman stated that the militants from Gaza had entered Israel through at least seven locations and invaded four small rural Israeli communities, the border city of Sderot, and two military bases from both land and sea.  Israeli media reported that seven communities came under Hamas control, including Nahal Oz, Kfar Aza, Magen, Be’eri, and Sufa.  The Erez Crossing was reported to have come under Hamas control, enabling the militants to enter Israel from Gaza.  Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that there were 21 active high-confrontation locations in southern Israel.

At 10:00 am, less than five hours after the attacks began, fighting was reported at Re’im military base, headquarters of the Gaza Division.  It was later reported that Hamas took control of the base and had taken several Israeli soldiers captive before the IDF regained control later in the day.  The base was reportedly the location of IDF drone and surveillance operations.  Hamas reportedly posted video of dead Israeli soldiers it had killed at the base.  The police station of Sderot was reported to have come under Hamas control, with militants killing 30 Israelis, including policemen and civilians.

Further attacks on 7 October

Further Information: The Re’im music festival massacre

Starting at 6.30 a.m. on the same morning, a massacre unfolded at an outdoor music festival near Re’im, resulting in at least 360 dead, and many others missing.  Witnesses recounted militants on motorcycles opening fire on fleeing participants, who were already dispersing due to rocket fire that had wounded some attendees; some were also taken hostage.  Militants killed civilians at Nir Oz, Be’eri, and Netiv HaAsara, where they took hostages and set fire to homes, as well as in kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip.  200 civilians were killed in the Kfar Aza massacre, 108 in the Be’eri massacre, and 15 people in the Netiv HaAsara massacre.  Sixteen or seventeen foreign Thai and Nepalese employees were killed by militants during the Kibbutz Alumim massacre.

Nir Am was attacked but no residents were harmed.  Inbal Rabin-Lieberman, the 25-year-old security coordinator, alongside her uncle Ami, led a guard detail that killed multiple militants attempting to infiltrate a nearby chicken farm.  They successfully deterred the rest of the invading militants from entering the community.

Other Hamas militants carried out an amphibious landing in Zikim.  Palestinian sources claim that the local Israeli army base was stormed.  The IDF said it had killed two attackers on the beach and destroyed four vessels, including two rubber boats.  A military base outside Nahal Oz was also taken by the militants, leaving at least two Israeli soldiers dead and at least six others captured.

The moshav of Yakhini was attacked by a squad of Hamas militants that arrived in a van.  There were seven casualties in the moshav, including a border police officer.  An IDF major in the Maglan unit was also injured.  The community leader’s was on holiday in Thailand at the time, and directed the response by the moshav’s eighteen person protection team remotely.  YAMAM and Sayeret Matkal IDF units eventually arrived and killed all of the attackers.

Hostages taken

Main article: 2023 Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis

In Be’eri, up to 50 people were taken hostage; after an 18-hour stand-off between militants and IDF forces, they were freed.  Hostages were also reported to have been taken in Ofakim, where policemen led by Chief Superintendent Jayar Davidov engaged Palestinian militants in a shootout; Davidov and three of his men were killed, and two Israeli hostages were later rescued by the IDF in the suburb of Urim.  There were reports of militants killing or kidnapping family pets.

Hamas took many hostages back to Gaza.  On 16 October, it said it held 250 hostages.  Hamas said it took “prisoners” to force Israel to release its Palestinian prisoners.

According to Ariel Merari, “[the raiders] were ordered to kidnap as many [people] as possible… [and] they intentionally kidnapped a populace that is sensitive from the aspect of Israeli public opinion.”  Merari doubts that Hamas will agree to releasing all of the hostages in “one go” regardless of how many of its prisoners are released, since the hostages are its only guarantee against complete destruction at the hands of Israel.  He instead believes that it will try to force a ceasefire and protract the release for weeks and even months, until an Israeli offensive is no longer seen as viable.

Participating and supporting organizations

In addition to Hamas, several Palestinian militant groups voiced their support for the operation.  The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the secular-socialist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) confirmed their participation in the operation through their military spokesman Abu Khaled, saying it had lost three fighters in combat with the IDF.  The PFLP, another Palestinian socialist militant group, and the Lions’ Den group voiced their support for the operation and declared maximum alertness and general mobilization amongst their troops, and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades (armed wing of the PFLP) published videos of it storming Israeli watchtowers.

Israeli counter-incursion

After the initial breach of the Gaza perimeter by Palestinian militants, it took hours for the Israeli military to respond by sending troops to counter-attack.  The first helicopters sent to support the military were launched from the north of Israel, and arrived at the Gaza Strip an hour after fighting began.  However, they immediately encountered difficulty in determining which outposts and settlements were occupied, and distinguishing between Palestinian militants and the soldiers and civilians on the ground.  The helicopter crews initially poured down fire at a tremendous rate, and in 4 hours, about 300 targets were attacked.  Later on the crews began to slow down the attacks and carefully select targets.  According to Haaretz’s journalist Josh Breiner, a police source said that a police investigation indicated an IDF helicopter which had fired on Hamas militants “apparently also hit some festival participants” in Re’im music festival massacre.  The Israeli police denied the Haaretz report.

Subsequent investigation has determined that militants had been instructed not to run so that the air force would think they were Israelis.  This deception worked for some time, but pilots began to realize the problem and ignore their restrictions.  By around 9:00 a.m., amid the chaos and confusion, some helicopters started laying down fire without prior authorization.

The attack appeared to have been a complete surprise to the Israelis.  Prime Minister Netanyahu convened an emergency gathering of security authorities, and the IDF launched Operation Swords of Iron in the Gaza Strip.  In a televised broadcast, Netanyahu said, “We are at war.”  He threatened to “turn all the places where Hamas is organized and hiding into cities of ruins,” called Gaza “the city of evil,” and urged its residents to leave.  Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant conducted security assessments at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.  Overnight, Israel’s Security Cabinet voted to act to bring about the “destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”  The Israel Electric Corporation, which supplies 80% of the Gaza Strip’s electricity, cut off power to the area.  This reduced Gaza’s power supply from 120 MW to 20 MW, provided by power plants paid for by the Palestinian Authority.

The IDF declared a “state of readiness for war,” mobilized tens of thousands of army reservists, and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of Gaza.  The Yamam counterterrorism unit was deployed, along with four new divisions, augmenting 31 existing battalions.  Reservists were reported deployed in Gaza, in the West Bank, and along borders with Lebanon and Syria.

Residents near Gaza were asked to stay inside, while civilians in southern and central Israel were “required to stay next to shelters.”  The southern region of Israel was closed to civilian movement, and roads were closed around Gaza and Tel Aviv.  While Ben Gurion Airport and Ramon Airport remained operational, multiple airlines cancelled flights to and from Israel.  Israel Railways suspended service in parts of the country and replaced some routes with temporary bus routes, while cruise ships removed the ports of Ashdod and Haifa from their itineraries.

Casualties

Further information: Casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

The attack is considered the bloodiest day in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews since The Holocaust.

Around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed, which included 859 civilians, at least 278 soldiers, 57 policemen and 10 Shin Bet members.  The attack left over 3,400 wounded, and 247 soldiers and civilians taken hostage.  On 19 October 2023, Israeli officials reported an additional 100 to 200 missing.  Israeli casualties include about 70 Arab Israelis, predominantly from Negev Bedouin communities.  On 7 October, over 100 civilians were killed in the Be’eri massacre, including women and children; and over 270 attendees were killed at a music festival in Re’im.  As of 10 October, over 100 people had been reported killed in the Kfar Aza massacre, with the total death toll unknown.  Nine people were fatally shot at a bus shelter in Sderot.  At least four people were reported killed in Kuseife.  At least 400 wounded were treated in Ashkelon,  while 280 others were reported in Beer Sheva, 60 of which were in a serious condition.  In the north, injuries from rocket attacks were reported in Tel Aviv.

Former Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. striker Lior Asulin was among those killed in the Re’im music festival massacre.  The head of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, Ofir Libstein, was killed in an exchange of fire with the militants.  The police commander of Rahat, Jayar Davidov, was also killed.  The IDF confirmed that 247 of its soldiers had been killed.  Among their confirmed dead were Colonel Yonatan Steinberg, the commander of the Nahal Brigade, who was killed near Kerem Shalom; Colonel Roi Levy, commander of the Multidimensional “Ghost” unit, who was killed near kibbutz Re’im;  and Lieutenant Colonel Eli Ginsberg, commander of the LOTAR Counter-terrorism Unit School.  The Druze deputy commander of the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Alim Abdallah, was killed in action along with two other soldiers while responding to an infiltration from southern Lebanon on 9 October.  Israeli peace activist Hayim Katsman was killed in Holit.  Peace activist Vivian Silver, originally thought to be taken hostage, was later confirmed to have been killed during the attack on Be’eri.

The great number and geographical spread of the victims made locating all of their remains difficult.  Several weeks after the massacre, once conventional search techniques have been exhausted, the IDF approached the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for help in tracking the flight paths of vultures, which resulted in the discovery of at least five more bodies.  The IDF also enlisted the aid of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority, to help recover remains that were so badly burned, they were indistinguishable from the surrounding rubble; the remains of at least ten victims have been recovered this way.

At least 247 Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas and transported to the Gaza Strip.  On 8 October, Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they were holding at least 30 captives.  At least four people were reportedly taken from Kfar Aza.  Videos from Gaza appeared to show captured people, with Gazan residents cheering trucks carrying dead bodies.  Four captives were later reported to have been killed in Be’eri, while Hamas stated that an IDF airstrike on Gaza on 9 October killed four captives.  Yedioth Ahronoth photographer Roy Edan was reported missing and likely captured alongside his child in Kfar Aza.  His wife was killed and two of their children were able to hide in a closet until rescued.  Edan’s body was identified ten days later as one of the casualties of the Kfar Aza massacre.  Video journalist Yaniv Zohar was killed in Nahal Oz.  On 11 October, Hamas’s Qassam Brigades released a video appearing to show the release of three hostages, namely an adult woman and two children, in an open area near a fence.  Israel dismissed the video as “theatrics.”

Identification of remains

According to Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, hundreds of bodies arrived at the institute at a state that was “beyond recognition.”  Pathologists were required to process, among others, bone fragments recovered from fires; a blood-soaked baby mattress; victims who were tied, then executed; and two victims who were tied, then incinerated alive.

With hundreds missing and bodies burnt beyond recognition, Israeli authorities assembled recovery teams from across society.  This included archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority.  The team used their specialized skills in excavating and identifying fragmentary ancient remains to sift through ash and rubble for bone fragments overlooked by other forensic teams.

The sheer number of casualties overwhelmed authorities.  Bodies were brought chaotically to the Shura IDF base and Abu Kabir forensic institute.  The different military, police, and civilian teams caused confusion.  Archeologists systematically searched rooms, dividing them into grids and carefully extracting bone shards.  At one house, the archeology team found a bloodstain under ash that they determined was the outline of a body, later identified through DNA analysis as Meni Godard.

On 10 November, Israel revised down its casualty count from 1,400 to 1,200 after concluding that many of the identified bodies were those of Hamas fighters.

REACTIONS

Main article: 2023 Israel–Hamas war § Reactions

Israeli response

Main article: 2023 Israel–Hamas war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant conducted security assessments at Israel Defense Forces (IDF) headquarters in Tel Aviv.  Gallant later approved the mobilization of tens of thousands of army reservists and declared a state of emergency for areas within 80 kilometers (50 mi) of the Gaza border.  He also said that Hamas “made a grave mistake” in launching its attack and pledged that “Israel will win.”  The IDF declared a “state of readiness for war.”  It also said that the reservists were to be deployed not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and along the borders with Lebanon and Syria.  Residents in areas around the Gaza Strip were asked to stay inside, while civilians in southern and central Israel were “required to stay next to shelters.”  Roads around the Gaza Strip were closed by the IDF.  The streets of Tel Aviv were also locked down.

Following the assault, Israel declared a heightened state of preparedness for potential conflict.  The IDF declared a state of readiness for war, and Netanyahu convened an emergency gathering of security authorities.  The IDF additionally reported their initiation of targeted actions in the Gaza Strip under what it called Operation Swords of Iron (or Iron Swords).  Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai announced that a “state of war” existed, following what he called “a massive attack from the Gaza Strip.”  He also announced the closure of the entire southern region of Israel to “civilian movement” as well as the deployment of the Yamam counterterrorism unit to the area.  The IDF’s chief spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said four divisions were deployed to the area, augmenting 31 preexisting battalions.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the country was facing “a very difficult moment,” and offered strength and encouragement to the IDF, other security forces, rescue services, and residents who were under attack.  In a televised broadcast, Netanyahu stated: “We are at war.”  He also said that the IDF would reinforce its border deployments to deter others from ‘making the mistake of joining this war.’  In a later address, he threatened to “turn Gaza into a deserted island,” and urged its residents to “leave now.”

On 7 October, Israel’s Security Cabinet voted to undertake a series of actions to bring about the “destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.  The Israel Electric Corporation, which supplies up to 80% of the Gaza Strip’s electricity, cut off power to the area.  As a result, Gaza’s power supply was reduced from 120 MW to only 20 MW, forcing it to rely on power plants paid for by the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas response

Khaled Mashal lauded the “ingenious” Hamas attack, referring to it as legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation.  He said “We know very well the consequences of our operation on Oct. 7,” emphasizing that Palestinian lives must be sacrificed in the quest for liberation.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of Hamas, said the action was necessary to “change the entire equation and not just have a clash… We succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm..”  Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser, said that he “[hopes] that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders, and that the Arab world will stand with [Hamas].”

Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, stated on an interview, “we must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth.  Because we have the determination…to fight.”  He emphasized the organization’s willingness to “pay a price,” concluding with a call for the elimination of Israel, stating, “we must remove that country because it constitutes a security, military and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nations.”  These comments came after an incident where Hamad abruptly left a BBC interview when asked about Hamas’s killing of civilians in Israel on 7 October.

Palestinian Authority response

On the eve of the Hamas attack at the emergency meeting in Ramallah, The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the terror of settlers and occupation troops.  According to Palestinian government agency WAFA, the President Abbas also ordered the government and relevant authorities to immediately send all available resources to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under an Israeli aggression.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has yet to condemn the October 7 massacre.

Palestinian public opinion

In a survey conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) on 14 November 2023, Palestinians showed overwhelming support of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.  “Palestinians living in the West Bank overwhelmingly answered that they supported the attack to either an extreme or ‘somewhat’ extent (83.1%).”  AWRAD is a research, consulting and development firm based in Ramallah, Palestine.

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians exhibited less consensus yet still the overall majority 63.6% “extremely” or to a “somewhat” extent supported the attack.  14.4% answered they neither opposed or supported the attack.  In the strip 20.9% of Palestinians living in Gaza opposed the attack to some degree.

International

See also: International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

At least 44 nations, mostly Western, denounced Hamas and explicitly condemned its conduct as terrorism, including a joint statement by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany.  In contrast, Arab and Muslim countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran and Iraq have blamed Israel for the attack.  The UAE, Bahrain, and China have all amended their initial declarations to expressly denounce the killing and abduction of Israeli civilians.

Over 680 legal experts and 128 human rights experts from Israel and around the world have signed an appeal for the immediate release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas, and for the end of the “vicious and inhumane capture, violence, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of women and girls, children and infants.”  According to the appeal, “the abductees are defined according to international law as victims of enforced disappearance… [which makes these acts] blatant violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

REPORTS OF ATROCITIES

See also: Bearing Witness (2023 film)

Torture and mutilation

Israeli forces in Kfar Aza and Be’eri reported that they found bodies of victims mutilated.  One IDF commander told a reporter from i24 News that 40 babies had been killed, out of what one estimate described as at least 100 civilian victims.

According to Yossi Landau, regional head of the ZAKA volunteer emergency response organization, tactics displayed were severe compared to past Hamas actions, with bodies showing signs of torture and extreme violence.  At one kibbutz, first responders stated that of 280 bodies recovered, around 80% showed evidence of torture.  Groups of children were reportedly found tied up and burned alive.  At the music festival, there was said to be mass killing but less time for torture compared to the kibbutz.  Approximately 70% of bodies were reported to have been shot in the back.  Graeme Wood reported that the video footage retrieved from body cameras worn by the attackers showed several victims who “in the beginning of the footage… are alive, [and] by the end they’re dead.  Sometimes, in fact frequently, after their death their bodies are still being desecrated.”  Other videos show attackers shooting at children, executing men in civilian clothing, throwing grenades into civilian shelters, and decapitations.

First response personnel recovering the bodies reported being extremely distressed by the sight of atrocities they witnessed.  The remains of Hamas militants were also handled and collected respectfully, despite the psychological difficulty for the responders in doing so given their actions.

Israeli security agencies released videos that the Times of Israel described as “apparent interrogations” of Hamas attackers, in which the subjects said they were ordered to kill, behead, cut off limbs and rape.  A former chief rabbi of the Israeli army, part of the team identifying bodies, said that there were many instances of rape and torture, and an Israeli reserve warrant officer said that forensic exams had discovered multiple cases of rape, though neither provided forensic evidence to support the claims.  CNN has interviewed several Israelis who witnessed the aftermath of the attack, who reported visible signs of rape and excessive violence on the bodies of women and girls from several sites.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described some of the evidence: “a young boy and girl, 6 and 8 years old, and their parents around the breakfast table.  The father’s eye gouged out in front of his kids.  The mother’s breast cut off, the girl’s foot amputated, the boy’s fingers cut off before they were executed”; and “a baby, an infant, riddled with bullets.  Soldiers beheaded.  Young people burned alive.  I could go on, but it’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way.”

 
Decapitations

In the aftermath of the initial Hamas assault, witnesses from the IDF and the first responder organization ZAKA reported seeing bodies of beheaded infants at the site of the Kfar Aza massacre.  During Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel, he stated that he was shown photos of the massacre by Hamas of Israeli civilians and soldiers, and that specifically he saw beheaded IDF soldiers.  US President Biden separately said that he had seen photographic evidence of terrorists beheading children, The White House subsequently clarified that Biden was alluding to news reports on beheadings, which have not contained or referred to photographic evidence.  NBC News stated that the claim was likely erroneous, and based on the conflation of two separate statements made by IDF soldiers.  As of 12 October, CNN extensively reviewed online media content to verify Hamas-related atrocities but found no evidence to support claims of decapitated children.

A ZAKA volunteer reported on 14 October seeing bodies of children with severe injuries and burns.  Some of the deceased children appeared to have been decapitated, although the exact circumstances were not clear.  Chen Kugel, director of the Israeli National Center of Forensic Medicine, said: “we also have bodies coming in without heads, but we can’t definitely say it was from beheadings.  Heads can also be blown off due to explosive devices, missiles, and the like.”  On 24 October, Israeli authorities screened bodycam footage of Hamas atrocities for journalists, including “an attempt to decapitate someone who appeared to be still alive using a garden hoe,” as well as a still image of a decapitated IDF soldier.

Sexual violence

Main article: Sexual violence in the 7 October attack on Israel

Rape and sexual violence against Israeli women were reported during the Re’im music festival massacre.  Reports in El País, Vice, PBS, The Economist, India Today, the Hindustan Times, Tablet, Ynet, and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency were sourced to named and anonymous eye-witnesses present in Israel.

A paper by Physicians For Human Rights Israel provided a detailed list of alleged sexual and gender based crimes, concluding that these atrocities were widespread.  A Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children established following the attack and the Association of Rape Crises Centers in Israel collected testimonies and evidence of rape and sexual violence.

An 8 October report by The Times of Israel referenced videos it said “have raised concerns of sexual assault against women.”  However, as of 11 October, Yuval Shany wrote it was too soon to know whether there had been a pattern of sexual assault, as there had not yet been time to formally take testimonies from victims and witnesses.  These reports of sexual violence were repeated by Israeli officials, US President Biden,  UK security minister Tom Tugendhat, and several journalists or media outlets (e.g. Henrique Cymerman, Jake Tapper, Peter Hartcher, and ABC News).

On 11 October, Jewish-American news media organization The Forward said, “Biden, Netanyahu, celebrities and columnists have rushed to condemn rape.  But the IDF does not yet have any evidence it happened.”  As of 13 October, FactCheck.org concluded “there are no publicly confirmed examples of sexual assault.”  An Arab-Israeli council member in the city of Lod told The New York Times that local Arab youth had seen “images of slaughter, kidnap and rape,” which weakened their initial support for Hamas.

On 14 October, Israel’s military forensic teams attested that there were indications of torture and multiple rapes among the deceased.  The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of hostages taken by Hamas, told the International Committee of the Red Cross that some of the hostages had been victims of rape.

On 24 October, Israeli authorities screened footage of atrocities committed during Hamas’s incursion to a small group of foreign journalists.  In one clip a partially burnt female corpse was seen, with her dress pulled up to around her waist and underwear missing.  An Israeli official said that authorities had evidence of rape.  An NBC News report on 27 October stated “there are signs of rape” in some of the videos.

Immolation

On 20 October, the remains of victims from the Hamas attack and the analysis of the bodies by a team of Israeli and international forensic experts were shown to the media at Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine.  These included charred hands with marks indicating the victims’ hands were bound behind their backs with metal wire before being burned alive.  A large charred mass that when observed by CT scan show the remains of a parent and child who were bound together before being burned alive.  Many of the victims had soot in their trachea, indicating that they were executed through immolation.

DENIAL OF ATROCITIES

Main article: Denial of atrocities during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel

Hamas denied it killed any civilians, including children in the attack.  Hamas official announcement referring to the event, rejected the “falsehood of the fabricated allegations” promoted by some Western media outlets, which unprofessionally adopt the “Zionist narrative full of lies and slander against our Palestinian people and their resistance, the latest of which was the claim of killing children, beheading them, and targeting civilians.”  When asked about the Re’im music festival massacre, where 260 civilians were murdered, Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk replied that it was a “coincidence,” and that the attackers may have thought these were soldiers “resting.”

SEIZED SUPPLIES AND DOCUMENTS

The IDF has reported seizing over 10,000 weapons following the attack.  The arsenal included RPGs, mines, sniper rifles, drones, thermobaric rockets, and other advanced weapons.  According to Israeli sources, documents and maps seized from Hamas militants indicated that Hamas intended a coordinated month-long operation to invade and occupy Israeli towns, cities, and kibbutzim, including attacking Ashkelon by sea and reaching Kiryat Gat, 20 miles into Israel.  The scale of weapons, supplies and plans indicated, according to Israel, that Hamas intended to inflict mass casualties on Israeli civilians and military forces over an extended period.  Western and Middle Eastern security officials gathered evidence suggesting that Hamas intended to invade as far as the West Bank, had the initial attack been more successful.