October 7, 2023

What happened

Early in the morning, on a Jewish holiday, Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel. At the same time its fighters blew holes in the fence around Gaza and crossed on motorbikes and pick-up trucks. They overran army posts and attacked more than 20 villages and towns — including the kibbutzimKibbutz✕A small Israeli village where land and work were traditionally shared. Several kibbutzim near Gaza, such as Be'eri, Kfar Aza and Nir Oz, were among the places hit hardest on 7 October 2023.All words explained → of Be'eri, Kfar Aza and Nir Oz — and the Nova music festival, where thousands of young people were dancing.

Most of the dead were civilians: Jewish and Arab Israelis, and foreign workers from Thailand, Nepal and elsewhere. The attackers killed them in their homes, on the roads and at the festival, where they killed about 370People killed at the Nova music festival✕about 370As of 2023–2025Israel Police counted 364; an Israeli army inquiry counted 378, including the area around the site. About 40 people were kidnapped from there.Source: Jerusalem Post — IDF probe into the Nova music festival massacre (3 Apr 2025) people — the deadliest of several massacres that day. Families hid for hours in their home shelters while attackers set houses on fire. In many places the army did not arrive for hours; the army's own inquiries later called the day a "complete failure". The hostagesHostage✕A person seized and held to force others to do something. On 7 October 2023, 251 people were taken from Israel to Gaza. Taking hostages is a war crime.All words explained → included babies, children, elderly people and soldiers.

A UN envoy found "reasonable grounds to believe" that rape and other sexual violence took place during the attack, and "clear and convincing information" that hostages suffered sexual violence in captivity; she said some specific reports could not be verified. Hamas denies the accusations.

Why did Hamas attack?

Hamas called it "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". Its leaders said the attack was a response to the occupation, the blockade of Gaza, the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli actions at the Al-Aqsa mosque. They also wanted hostages to exchange for prisoners. Weeks after the attack a senior Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, said the group would repeat 7 October "again and again". Many analysts think Hamas also wanted to stop Saudi Arabia from making peace with Israel. Israel, the United States, the European Union and many other governments condemned the attack as terrorism.

Israel's government declared war, with two goals: destroy Hamas, and bring the hostages home.

Two views

How each side sees 7 October

Many Israelis say

A massacre of innocent people — the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Families were murdered in their homes and young people at a festival; children were taken hostage. It shattered Israelis' sense of safety and convinced most of them that Hamas must be destroyed.

Many Palestinians say

For many Palestinians, 7 October did not come from nowhere: it followed 56 years of occupation, 16 years of blockade and repeated wars that killed thousands in Gaza. Some call it resistance; others reject the killing of civilians; many in Gaza blame Hamas for the catastrophe that followed.

These are widely held views, not the views of every Israeli or every Palestinian. Both societies argue about these questions among themselves.

Go deeper · optionalMore: the attackers, the victims, Israel's failure and Palestinian opinion▾

The attackers. According to Israeli army inquiries, about 5,000Attackers who crossed from Gaza into Israel✕about 5,000As of February 2025According to Israeli army inquiries. In three waves: first more than 1,000 Hamas commando fighters, then fighters from other groups and civilians. Israel says about 1,600 attackers were killed inside Israel. Hamas has given lower numbers.Source: AFP, via RNZ — Israel army acknowledges 'complete failure' on 7 October (27 Feb 2025) people crossed from Gaza that day: first Hamas commando units, then fighters from other groups such as Islamic JihadPalestinian Islamic Jihad✕A smaller armed Islamist group in Gaza and the West Bank, close to Iran. It took part in the 7 October attack and is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US, the EU and others.All words explained →, then civilians. Iran had armed and funded Hamas for years; it denied any role in planning the attack.

The victims. About two-thirds of the dead were civilians; the rest were soldiers, police officers and security guards. The youngest hostage was nine months old; the oldest was in his eighties. Some were already dead when they were taken.

Israel's failure. Israel had a detailed Hamas attack plan more than a year before 7 October, but its intelligence chiefs believed Hamas did not intend to carry it out. Warnings from soldiers watching the border, many of them young women, were ignored. As of late 2026, Israel had still not set up a full independent state inquiry into the political decisions behind it.

Palestinian opinion. In surveys by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in late 2023, most Palestinians said the decision to attack was "correct", while most also said they had not seen videos of the killings and did not believe civilians were targeted. Support fell over the following years, especially in Gaza.