October 7 attacks
The October 7 attacks were a series of coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups on October 7, 2023, during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The attacks, which were the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, initiated the ongoing Gaza war. The attacks began with a barrage of at least 4,300 rockets launched into Israel[30][31][32] and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into Israel.[33][34] 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.[35][30][31] 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.[35][30][31] In total, 1,195 people were killed by the attacks:[23][g] 736 Israeli civilians (including 38 children),[40][41] 79 foreign nationals, and 379 members of the security forces.[42][h][43] While attending the Nova music festival, 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded.[44][45] At least 14 Israeli civilians were killed by the IDF's use of the Hannibal Directive.[46][47] About 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.[32][48][49][50] Dozens of cases of rape and sexual assault reportedly occurred, but Hamas officials denied the involvement of their fighters.[51] The governments of 44 countries denounced the attack and described it as terrorism, while some Arab and Muslim-majority countries blamed Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories as the root cause of the attack.[52][53][54] Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence, and recent escalations.[55][56][57] The day was labelled the bloodiest in Israel's history and "the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust" by many figures and media outlets in the West, including then-US president Joe Biden.[58][59] Some have made allegations that the attack was an act of genocide or a genocidal massacre against Israelis.[60][61][62] NameHamas and other Palestinian armed groups codenamed the attacks Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,[i][1] while in Israel they are referred to as Black Saturday[j][63] or the Simchat Torah Massacre.[k][64] Internationally and commonly in Israel,[65] the attacks are called the October 7 attacks.[66][67][68] Background Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, since the Six-Day War in 1967.[l][71][72] The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), is a Palestinian nationalist[73] Islamist movement. They formed in 1987, and are the largest Islamist movement in the Palestinian territories.[74] They maintain an uncompromising stance on the "complete liberation of Palestine", often using political violence to achieve their goals.[74] Recent statements suggest a shift in focus toward ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and establishing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. Hamas has been responsible for numerous suicide bombings[75][76] and rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians.[77] Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, and the UK have designated Hamas a "terrorist organisation". In 2010 it attempted to derail the peace talks between Israel and the PA. In 2017, it adopted a new charter, removing antisemitic language and shifting focus from Jews to Zionists.[78] Scholars differ on Hamas's objectives, with some saying it sought a Palestinian state within 1967 borders[79] while others believe Hamas still sought the destruction of Israel.[80][m] WarningsBefore the attack, Saudi Arabia warned Israel of an "explosion" as a result of the continued occupation,[81] and Egypt had warned of a catastrophe.[82] Events leading to the attackThroughout 2023, increased settler attacks displaced hundreds of Palestinians.[83] In April, clashes occurred around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a contested holy site in Jerusalem. In May, clashes occurred between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.[83] Tensions between Israel and Hamas rose in September 2023, and The Washington Post wrote that the two were "on the brink of war".[84] On September 13, five Palestinians were killed at the border.[n] Israel said it found explosives hidden in a shipment and halted all exports from Gaza;[84] Hamas denied Israel's claims.[86] Reuters quoted Palestinians who said that the several-day ban affected thousands of families.[86] 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.[84] Hamas also allowed Palestinians to resume protests at the Gaza–Israel barrier.[84] On September 29, Qatar, the UN, and Egypt mediated an agreement between Israeli and Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip to reopen closed crossing points and deescalate tensions;[87] the total number of Gazans with work permits in Israel stood at 17,000.[88] Egypt said it warned Israel days before the attack that "an explosion of the situation [was] coming, and very soon, and it would be big."[89] Israel denied receiving such a warning,[90] although Michael McCaul, Chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said that warnings were given three days before the attack.[91] Operational planningFor two years, Hamas used hardwired phone lines within Gaza's tunnel network, nicknamed the "Gaza metro", to covertly communicate, evade Israeli intelligence, and plan Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.[92][93] In the months preceding the attack, Hamas 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.[94] On September 12, Hamas posted a video of its fighters training to blast through the border.[95] After the attack, the IDF said that Hamas had extensively studied the military bases and communities near the border.[96][97] The Wall Street Journal has accused Iran of being behind the attack.[98] U.S. officials[99] and Iran have denied this.[100] The IDF has reportedly seized 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 (32 km) 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.[101] 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.[102] The National Resistance Center of Ukraine alleged that the Russian Wagner Group trained Hamas militants ahead of the attack, specifically on attack methods and using drones to drop explosives. The National Resistance Center, citing intelligence from Belarusian partisans, said that Wagner mercenaries provided Hamas with drones during exercises in Africa.[103][better source needed] Israeli intelligence failureAccording to The New York Times, Israeli officials had obtained detailed attack plans more than a year before the attack. The document described operational plans and targets, including the size and location of Israeli forces, and raised questions in Israel about how Hamas learned these details. The document provided a plan that included a large-scale rocket assault before 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, "Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision." According to The Times, the document was widely circulated among Israeli military and intelligence leadership, who largely dismissed the plan as beyond Hamas's capabilities, though it was unclear whether the political leadership was informed. In July 2023, a member of the Israeli signals intelligence unit alerted her superiors that Hamas was conducting preparations for the assault, saying, "I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary". An Israeli colonel ignored her concerns.[104] The official investigation by Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, found that the agency failed to provide the warning that could have prevented the massacre. The head of Shin Bet convened a situation assessment in the early hours of October 7 to discuss the intelligence received from Gaza, however in the end only a low-level warning was issued and a small team specialising in thwarting limited attacks was sent to the south. According to the report the counterintelligence service of Hamas had been highly effective in preventing the gathering of intelligence in Gaza.[105] According to the findings of the investigation, Shin Bet warned the Prime Minister that Hamas was not deterred and objected to the prevailing divide-and-rule policy of the Israeli government.[105] According to Haaretz, Shin Bet and IDF military commanders discussed a possible threat to the Nova music festival near kibbutz Re'im just hours before the attack, but the festival's organizers were not warned.[106][107] As revealed by a BBC investigation, surveillance reports suggested that Hamas was planning a significant operation against Israel, but senior IDF officers repeatedly ignored the warnings.[108] A Haaretz investigation found that incompetence in the IDF's higher ranks, including refusal to acknowledge Hamas's preparations for the attacks, was a major cause of the October attacks. The IDF had reduced funding and manpower dedicated to observing Hamas, focusing primarily on rocket sites and ignoring Hamas training and troop movements as well as the activities of the Hamas military leadership. Simulated exercises of Hamas attacks found the Gaza division's response lacking. Cultural conformity was fostered among officers and dissent discouraged. Officers often silenced subordinates to maintain their positions, contributing to a toxic atmosphere where questioning higher-ups' decisions about Hamas was met with apprehension, resulting in most junior officers giving up.[109] AttacksAt around 6:30 a.m. Israel Summer Time (UTC+3) on Saturday, October 7, 2023, Hamas announced the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.[110] Al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif gave a speech mentioning Israel's 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli incursions in West Bank cities, violence at Al-Aqsa mosque, Israeli settler violence with the army's support, the confiscation of property and demolition of homes, arbitrarily detaining Palestinians for years until "they wither from cancer and disease", Israel's neglect for international law, American-Western support, and international silence. He then described the operation, that they had drawn the line, and that it was to end "the last occupation on Earth".[111][110] Shortly thereafter, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh made a similar announcement in a televised address.[112] Participating and supporting organizationsIn addition to Hamas, several Palestinian militant groups voiced support for the operation and participated in it to some extent. The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Maoist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), confirmed their participation in the operation through their military spokesman Abu Khaled,[113] saying it had lost three fighters in combat with the IDF.[4] The PFLP (a Palestinian Marxist–Leninist / secular nationalist political party)[3] and the Lions' Den group (a nonpartisan militant group based in the West Bank) voiced support for the operation and declared maximum alertness and general mobilization among their troops. Nine individuals employed by UNRWA were accused by Israel of participation, and after a months-long internal investigation, were fired for possible involvement.[114] Rocket fire Deif said more than 5,000 rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel in a span of 20 minutes at the start of the operation. Israeli sources reported the launch of 4,300 projectiles from Gaza,[30][31] killing twelve and injuring dozens, most of them from the Bedouin community.[34][116][49] Explosions were reported in areas surrounding Gaza and in the Sharon Plain, including Gedera, Herzliya, Beersheba, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon.[5][117] Air raid sirens were activated in Beersheba, Jerusalem, Rehovot, Rishon LeZion, and Palmachim Airbase.[118][119] Hamas issued a call to arms, with Deif calling on "Muslims everywhere to launch an attack".[49] In the evening Hamas launched another barrage of about 150 rockets towards Israel, with explosions reported in Yavne, Givatayim, Bat Yam, Beit Dagan, Tel Aviv, and Rishon LeZion.[116] Incursions into southern IsraelApproximate situation on October 7–8 Simultaneously, around 6,000 Palestinian militants and civilians infiltrated Israel from Gaza breaching the border in 119 places.[120][30][31] The infiltration was executed using trucks, pickup trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and powered paragliders.[121][110][122] The Sderot police station was reported to have come under Hamas control, with militants killing 30 Israelis, including policemen and civilians.[123] Early in the attack they deliberately destroyed the computer systems at the police station. This disabled communication and delayed the response to the attacks.[124][125][126] Images and videos appeared to show heavily armed and masked militants dressed in black fatigues riding pickup trucks[117][119] and opening fire in Sderot, killing dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers and setting homes on fire.[127] Other videos appeared to show Israelis taken prisoner, a burning Israeli tank,[128][49] and militants driving Israeli military vehicles.[117] Israeli first responders reportedly recovered documents from killed militants' bodies with instructions to attack civilians, including elementary schools and a youth center, to "kill as many people as possible", and to take hostages for use in future negotiations.[129][130][131] The UN's Pramila Patten and Commission of Inquiry concluded in their reports that the authenticity of these alleged instruction documents, claimed to have been retrieved from Hamas militants, could not be substantiated.[132][133] Some of the militants wore body cameras to record the acts, presumably for propaganda purposes.[134] The morning of the attack, an Israeli military spokesman said that the militants from Gaza had entered Israel through at least seven locations[121] and invaded four small rural Israeli communities, the border city of Sderot, and two military bases from both land and sea.[122] Israeli media reported that seven communities came under Hamas control, including Nahal Oz, Kfar Aza, Magen, Be'eri, and Sufa.[135] The Erez Crossing was reported to have come under Hamas control, enabling militants to enter Israel from Gaza.[116] Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said there were 21 active high-confrontation locations in southern Israel.[136] The New York Times reported that an Israeli intelligence document prepared weeks after the attack found that Hamas had breached the border fence in over 30 separate locations.[137] Starting at 6.30 a.m. the same day, 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.[138][139][140] Militants killed civilians at Nir Oz,[119][141] Be'eri, and Netiv HaAsara, where they took hostages[142][143] and set fire to homes,[144] as well as in kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip.[144] Around 50 civilians were killed in the Kfar Aza massacre, 108 in the Be'eri massacre, and 15 people in the Netiv HaAsara massacre.[145][146] Militants killed 16 or 17 Thai and Nepalese employees during the Kibbutz Alumim massacre.[147][148] Other militants carried out an amphibious landing in Zikim.[117][149] Palestinian sources claim that the local Israeli army base was stormed.[150] The IDF said it had killed two attackers on the beach and destroyed four vessels, including two rubber boats. Militants also attacked a military base outside Nahal Oz, leaving 66 soldiers dead[151] and taking seven hostage.[152][153] An IDF fire investigation found that the militants had "ignited substances... that contain toxic gasses which can cause suffocation within minutes, or even less" both at the base and in civilian locations.[153]
Table Footnotes:
Nova music festival As part of the Hamas-led attack, 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot near kibbutz Re'im. At least 40 hostages were also taken.[206][171][207] This mass killing had the largest number of casualties out of a number of massacres targeting Israeli civilians in communities adjacent to Gaza that were part of the October 7 attack, alongside those at the communities of Netiv HaAsara, Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, and Holit.[208] At 6:30 a.m., around sunrise, rockets were noticed in the sky. Around 7:00 a.m., a siren warned of an incoming rocket attack, prompting festival-goers to flee.[209] Subsequently, armed militants, dressed in military attire and using motorcycles, trucks and powered paragliders, surrounded the festival grounds and indiscriminately fired on people attempting to escape. Attendees seeking refuge nearby, in bomb shelters, bushes, and orchards, were killed while in hiding. Those who reached the road and parking lot were trapped in a traffic jam as militants fired at vehicles. The militants executed some wounded people at point-blank range as they crouched on the ground.[210][211] The details of the hostages' whereabouts and conditions are not publicly known.[171][207][212] The massacre at the festival has been described as the largest terror attack in Israel's history[213][214][211] and the worst Israeli civilian massacre ever.[215] Kfar AzaDuring the Hamas-led attack, around 250 Hamas militants attacked Kfar Aza,[216] a kibbutz about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from the border with the Gaza Strip, massacring residents and abducting several hostages. The kibbutz had more than 950 residents,[216] and it took the IDF two days to wrest back full control of it.[217][218] While the exact number of Israelis killed is unknown, as of October 15, 2023, 52 were listed as dead and another 20 or more were missing.[219][220] Be'eri.jpg) On the morning of the attack, around 70 Hamas militants[221][222] carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. At least 130 people were killed in the attack,[144] including women (such as peace activist Vivian Silver),[223] children, and infants,[224][better source needed] claiming the lives of 10% of the community's residents. Dozens of homes were also burned down.[225] Several newspapers called the massacre an act of terrorism; some compared the brutality of the atrocities to that of ISIS.[226] Hostages were taken, leading to a standoff with the IDF.[227][228][229] According to survivors, there were also deaths from friendly fire; an Israeli tank fired on a house known to contain around 40 Hamas fighters and 14 hostages, among them two children, killing all hostages in the house but one.[230] YakhiniA squad of Hamas militants that arrived in a van attacked the moshav of Yakhini.[231][232][233] There were seven casualties in the moshav,[231][234][235] including a border police officer.[236][237] An IDF major in the Maglan unit was also injured.[238] The community's security coordinator was on holiday in Thailand at the time and remotely directed the moshav's 18-person protection team's response.[231] Yamam and Sayeret Matkal IDF units eventually arrived and killed all the attackers.[231] Ein HaShlosha Approximately 90 militants infiltrated kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, killing four civilians, looting, shooting, and burning houses.[239][240] An 80-year-old Argentinian-Israeli woman died after her home was set on fire and she was unable to escape.[241] A standoff between the attackers and the residents' security team lasted six hours.[242] The leader of the security team, who was in his sixties, was killed in the firefight.[242] A 63-year-old grandmother was also among those killed in the attack.[243] A 39-year-old Israeli-Chilean woman was shot eight times.[244] Thirty survivors were discovered in the kibbutz three days after the attack,[245] 14 of whom were Thai nationals.[246] Psyduck music festivalPsyduck was a small trance music festival that took place in the open fields near kibbutz Nir Oz, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the border of Gaza. The event drew around 100 participants. Hamas militants attacked the festival, killing 17 Israelis. Some were fatally shot at the festival site, while others were killed as they attempted to escape to nearby kibbutzim. Most survivors hid under small bushes until Israel Defense Forces rescued them a few hours later.[144] Re'im military baseAt 10 a.m., less than five hours after the attacks began, fighting was reported at Re'im military base, headquarters of the Gaza Division.[173][247] It was later reported that Hamas took control of the base and took several Israeli soldiers captive[173] before the IDF regained control later in the day.[248][249] 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.[250] Nir AmNir 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.[251][252][253] OfakimIn the town of Ofakim, 47 were people killed in the October 7, attacks.[254] Ofakim was the furthest point reached by the initial intense attacks on October 7. A large proportion of the population of the town is working-class Jews of North African descent.[255] Ofakim was one of the first locations where a "hostages situation" was reported.[256] The militants targeted the parts of the town where the housing was older and did not have individual bomb shelters in every home, and locals reported that the invaders had shot people who were trying to get to communal shelters.[257] RahatA number of Qassam Brigades militants infiltrated the Bedouin city of Rahat, north-east of Ofakim and 30 kilometres from Gaza, representing the furthest extent of the incursions by Palestinian militant groups on October 7. Over a month after the initial attack, two militants were arrested by Israeli police.[258] Failed plansA Hamas group carried intelligence information and maps guiding it to the border of the West Bank, suggesting it had intentions of going all the way to the West Bank.[259] According to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat, two Hamas units had plans of reaching Shikma Prison in Ashkelon (13 km from the Gaza Strip) with the aim of freeing Palestinian inmates. One cell got lost and ended up in Sderot, at which point they were told to change their plans and operate in Sderot. A second cell which was operating in Zikim was commanded to go up to Ashkelon, but the cell was completely gunned down by Israeli security forces in Zikim.[260] Hostages taken Soon after the start of the Hamas operation, there were reports that many civilians and soldiers had been taken as captives back to the Gaza Strip. Later in the day Hamas announced it had captured enough Israeli soldiers to force a prisoner swap,[32] and Israel confirmed hostages had been taken.[261] In Be'eri, up to 50 people were taken hostage; after an 18-hour standoff between militants and IDF forces, they were freed.[262] Hostages were also reported taken in Ofakim, where policemen led by Chief Superintendent Jayar Davidov engaged Palestinian militants in a shootout on October 7; Davidov and three of his men were killed, and the IDF later rescued two Israeli hostages in the suburb of Urim.[262][263] There were reports of militants killing and stealing family pets.[264] Hamas took many hostages back to Gaza. On October 16, they said they were holding 250 hostages[265] and that it had done so to force Israel to release its Palestinian prisoners.[266] In addition to hostages with only Israeli citizenship, almost half of the hostages were foreign nationals or held multiple citizenships.[267] Some hostages were Negev Bedouins.[268] Some of the hostages, including three members of the Bibas family, were subsequently handed over to other militant groups. Palestinian Islamic Jihad ended up holding at least 30 of the hostages, but it is unclear whether they or Hamas originally kidnapped them. 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".[269] 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 Israel's hands.[269] He believes Hamas will try to force a ceasefire and protract the release for weeks or months, until an Israeli offensive is no longer seen as viable.[269] Casualties
The total number killed during the attack, based on social security data, is 1,175,[25] of whom 379 were from Israeli security forces and 796 were civilians (725 Israeli and 71 foreign).[25] 26.6% of those killed were female.[270] Initially up to 1,400 people were reported killed; on November 10, this was revised to 1,200,[272] before being revised further in December. The casualties included 36 children; the youngest person killed was 10 months old, and 25 were over age 80.[25][271] The attack was the deadliest day in Israel's history.[273] Some, including then-US President Joe Biden, have said it was also the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.[274] Others such as historian Enzo Traverso and Holocaust and Genocide scholar Raz Segal have warned against invoking the Holocaust in relation to October 7.[275][276] Segal condemned the "weaponizations of Holocaust memory" by Biden, Israeli politicians and others, saying it is done "not in order to stand with powerless people facing the prospect of genocidal violence, but to support and justify an extremely violent attack by a powerful state and, at the same time, distort this reality."[276]
On October 7, over 100 civilians were killed in the Be'eri massacre, including women and children, and over 270 people were killed at a music festival in Re'im.[138] As of October 10, over 100 people had been reported killed in the Kfar Aza massacre, with the total death toll unknown.[281] Nine people were fatally shot at a bus shelter in Sderot.[121] At least four people were reported killed in Kuseife.[116] At least 400 wounded were treated in Ashkelon,[282][119] while 280 others were reported in Beer Sheva, 60 of whom were in serious condition.[121] In the north, injuries from rocket attacks were reported in Tel Aviv.[283] At least 49 Israeli children and adolescents under the age of 19 were killed in the attack.[284] Former Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. striker Lior Asulin was among those killed in the Re'im music festival massacre.[285] The head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, Ofir Libstein, was killed in an exchange of fire with the militants.[286] The police commander of Rahat, Jayar Davidov, was also killed.[287] The IDF confirmed that 247 of its soldiers had been killed.[288] Among those 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;[289][16] and Lieutenant Colonel Eli Ginsberg, commander of the LOTAR Counter-terrorism Unit School.[290] 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 October 9.[291] 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.[292] Israel Hayom photographer Yaniv Zohar was killed in Nahal Oz.[293] The oldest person killed was Moshe Ridler, a 91 years old Holocaust survivor from kibbutz Holit.[294] The youngest victim was Naama Abu Rashed, a Bedouin-Israeli, a baby delivered in an emergency procedure after the mother, who was nine months pregnant, was shot and killed in the attack. The baby survived for 14 hours before dying on October 7.[295][294]  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 had 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.[296] The IDF also enlisted the aid of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority to help recover remains that were so badly burned as to be indistinguishable from the surrounding rubble; the remains of at least ten victims have been recovered this way.[297][298] Hamas took at least 247 Israelis hostage and transported them to Gaza.[28] On October 8, Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it was holding at least 30 captives.[299] At least four people were reportedly taken from Kfar Aza.[300] Videos from Gaza appeared to show captured people, with Gazan residents cheering trucks carrying dead bodies.[122] Four captives were later reported to have been killed in Be'eri,[301] while Hamas said that an IDF airstrike on Gaza on October 9 killed four captives.[302] 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.[303] Edan's body was identified ten days later as one of the casualties of the Kfar Aza massacre.[304] American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin was one of the kidnapped. On October 11, Hamas's Qassam Brigades released a video appearing to show the release of three hostages, a woman and two children, in an open area near a fence. Israel dismissed the video as "theatrics".[305] According to Ynet, there were also casualties from friendly fire on October 7 which the IDF believed "it would not be morally sound to investigate [...] due to the immense and complex quantity of them that took place in the kibbutzim and southern Israeli communities due to the challenging situations the soldiers were in at the time."[36] Identification of remains..jpg) According to Chen Kugel, head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, hundreds of bodies arrived at the institute in a state "beyond recognition".[306] 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.[306] With hundreds missing and bodies burned beyond recognition, Israeli authorities assembled recovery teams from across society. This included archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority, who identified and removed ancient remains in attempts to sift through ash and rubble for bone fragments other forensic teams overlooked.[307] 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 it determined was the outline of a body, later identified by DNA analysis as Meni Godard.[307] Revision of casualty numbersOn November 10, Israel revised its casualty count from 1,400 to 1,200 after realizing that some bodies that were badly burned[308] were those of Hamas fighters.[309][272] This included 859 civilians,[310] 283 soldiers,[311][312] 58 policemen, and 10 Shin Bet members.[18] At the end of May 2024, using social security data, this was further revised to 1,175: 725 Israeli civilians (including 36 children), 71 foreign nationals, and 379 security forces.[25] One person, peace activist Bilha Inon, was classed as missing[278] until August 6, 2024, when the IDF confirmed that she died at Netiv Ha'asara, with her husband.[313] Reported atrocitiesSexual violenceIsraeli women and girls were reportedly raped, assaulted, and mutilated by Hamas militants during the incursion, an allegation Hamas denies.[314][315][316] In the months following the attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported on December 21, there was "mounting evidence of sexual violence, based on survivor accounts, first responders and witnesses."[317] Critics of Hamas denounced what they said was gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.[318][319] The BBC reported that "Videos of naked and bloodied women filmed by Hamas on the day of the attack, and photographs of bodies taken at the sites afterwards, suggest that women were sexually targeted by their attackers."[319] Testimonies from those at the Shura Base where the victims bodies were brought, such as IDF Captain (Res.) Maayan, who is also a dentist, and Shari Mendes, a volunteer, claimed that there were signs of sexual abuse, including mutilations, broken limbs, and broken pelvises.[32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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