Two years ago, during the Jewish holiday of Simchat, Torah Hamas carried out a series of terrorist attacks on the Gazan envelope of southern Israel. These attacks initiated the war that is now ongoing in Israel and Palestine. A war that has been widened to fronts all over the region, from Syria to Yemen.
The attacks began with Hamas launching over 4,300 rockets into Israel. According to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report, 6,000 Gazans breached the border in 119 locations into Israel. A total of 1,195 people were murdered during the attacks, including 736 Israeli civilians (including 38 children), 79 foreign nationals, and 379 members of the Israeli security forces.
Along with the thousands that were murdered, dozens of cases of rape and sexual assault were reported, but Hamas officials denied the accusations. While many tried to hide in bomb shelters, homes, bushes and more, most were killed or kidnapped while in hiding. This attack had the largest number of casualties of massacres targeting Israeli civilians in places adjacent to the Gaza Strip, which occurred as part of the October 7 attack.
The governments of 44 countries said the attack should be described as terrorism, while some Arab and Muslim-majority countries blamed Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as the main cause of the attack.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, when it captured the territory from its Arab neighbors in the Six-Day War in 1967, before Palestine was created in 1988. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, handing it back to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas then seized the territory shortly after.
Hamas kidnapped 251 people during the attacks in Israel. Of the 251 that were kidnapped, 75 have been murdered while in captivity and 48 Israeli hostages taken from the attack still remain in the Hamas captivity, though only 20 are thought to be alive. Hamas has traded the rest of the hostages in multiple short-lived cease-fire agreements. Hostages that are now home, and families of Israeli hostages still being held in Hamas captivity, urge US politicians to maintain the momentum in finalising a ceasefire deal.
The attacks now permanently affect Jewish holiday observations. The traditional joy of holidays like Simchat Torah is intertwined with the trauma of October 7. Around the world, people are remembering the events on October 7 in many different ways. During the holiday of Shmini Atzeret, many Jews recite the special Yizkor remembrance prayers for the October 7 victims. Columbia University is hosting a memorial to the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre with 1,200 seats with images of the victims of the attack. According to BBC News at the site of the Nova festival attack, people remember the attack with memorials garnished with flowers, tributes and candles.
“On 7 October 2023 our peaceful and happy life turned into hell, grief and unimaginable loss that accompanies me every moment,” former Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi said.
While it has now been two years since the attack, the war is still ongoing today; however, a ceasefire is underway to end the war between Palestine and Israel.
