October 7 attacks
terrorist attack and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 carried out by the Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorist Group Hamas
On October 7, 2023, a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel were carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The attacks, which began the ongoing Gaza war, were the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In response, Israel launched a major military operation in Gaza.
The attacks began with a barrage of at least 4,300 rockets launched into Israel and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into Israel. Hamas militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, attacking military bases and massacring civilians in 21 communities, including Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Alumim. According to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report that revised the estimate on the number of attackers, 6,000 Gazans breached the border in 119 locations into Israel, including 3,800 from the elite Nukhba forces and 2,200 civilians and other militants. Additionally, the IDF report estimated 1,000 Gazans fired rockets from the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of participants on Hamas's side to 7,000.
In total, at least 1,195 people were killed by the attacks: at least 828 civilians (including 36 children
and 71 foreign nationals) and at least 367 members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed while they were attending the Nova music festival and many more wounded. 251 Israeli and non-Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
“October 7 attacks” enters the record as terrorist attack and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 carried out by the Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorist Group Hamas. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what October, attacks and terrorist can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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