On October 7, 2023, during a Jewish holiday, hundreds of Hamas fighters and members of different equipped groups crossed the Gaza obstruction and attacked villages and festivals successful confederate Israel.
The day comes astatine a clip of captious caller negotiations astir the aboriginal of the region, successful the shadiness of the Trump bid plan. The caller talks, sponsored by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S., began yesterday successful Sharm el-Sheikh and purpose to enactment an extremity to a warfare that has outgo tens of thousands of lives.
The Timeline of Horror
The onslaught was coordinated — the assailants carried lists of residents marked for execution oregon kidnapping — and it was bloody: astatine slightest 1,195 radical were killed, 815 of them civilians, portion 251 civilians and members of the information forces were abducted and taken to Gaza.
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The British cross-party “Roberts report” estimated 1,182 killed and implicit 4,000 injured, noting that 73% of the victims were civilians — ranging from a 14-hour-old newborn to a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor.
The fearfulness unfolded connected aggregate fronts. Gunmen changeable astatine drivers connected roads, fired rockets into homes, utilized grenades and RPGs to destruct harmless rooms, and acceptable houses connected fire, burning live those who were hiding inside.
After the massacre, galore perpetrators recorded the crimes with assemblage cameras and mobile phones, broadcasting them connected societal media oregon sending them to victims’ relatives — an enactment described arsenic “digital terrorism.”
The Supernova Music Festival Massacre
The Supernova Music Festival, adjacent Kibbutz Re’im, was 1 of the archetypal onslaught sites. Thousands of young radical were dancing successful the godforsaken when, astir 06:40 a.m., rockets began to fall. Within minutes, equipped men connected motorcycles and pickup trucks surrounded the area, indiscriminately shooting astatine those moving for their lives.
The terrorists threw dozens of grenades into a shelter, causing horrific injuries, portion others dragged radical by their hairsbreadth and bushed them connected camera. According to Human Rights Watch, this was the azygous deadliest location: astatine slightest 364 radical were killed. The “Roberts report” puts the toll astatine implicit 370.
After being awoken by rocket sirens successful Tel Aviv, this was the archetypal happening I saw connected October 7th. I retrieve being confused due to the fact that I thought it was ISIS successful Iraq oregon Syria and didn’t recognize wherefore it looked similar Sderot, Israel. Several seconds later, I received footage of Hamas… pic.twitter.com/WI6OHym7J8
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 7, 2025Many recorded their last moments connected their phones oregon hid successful fields for hours arsenic gunmen hunted them down similar prey.
Videos amusement Hamas fighters adjacent firing astatine portable toilets successful lawsuit radical were hiding inside.
Among the astir emblematic images was the abduction of 26-year-old Noa Argamani, captured connected a motorcycle, and the assemblage of German-Israeli Shani Louk, seen bare successful the backmost of a motortruck — images that provoked worldwide outrage.
The assemblage of Shani Louk successful a pickup motortruck arsenic Hamas terrorists cheered.
Noa Argamani, meanwhile, was among the much fortunate: though kidnapped, she survived and was aboriginal freed.
Israelis astatine the Nova Festival tract 2 years later
Two years aft the October 7 attacks, the grief for Israel’s victims is inactive accompanied by the echoes of bombings astatine the Nova festival site.
Over the past 2 years, this spot has been transformed from a country of earthy unit into a memorial. On this acheronian anniversary, mean radical sojourn the tract to laic flowers oregon permission notes successful representation of loved ones — friends, household members, oregon strangers — who were mercilessly slaughtered by Hamas.
Some videos amusement severely injured radical being dragged retired of their cars — from the driver’s seat, rider seat, oregon backmost seats — thrown onto the asphalt and changeable from little than a metre away.
In others, Hamas terrorists look to usage moving vehicles with unarmed, unsuspecting passengers arsenic target practice. This took place, among different locations, astatine Shaar Ha Negev.
Massacres successful Kibbutzim: Kfar Aza, Be’eri, and Nir Oz
The gunmen did not halt astatine the festival grounds. In astatine slightest 19 kibbutzim and 5 moshavim, they went doorway to door, sidesplitting families.
- Kfar Aza: astatine slightest 56 civilians were killed and 18 abducted (including 7 children). Survivors described hiding for 28 hours successful harmless rooms, listening to the militants devour and destruct property.
Israeli rescuers aboriginal recovered the bodies of parents with 10-month-old twins live beside them successful a structure — the babies had spent the full time without milk. - Kibbutz Be’eri: astatine slightest 97 residents were killed and 30 abducted, including 10 children. Witnesses described fighters shooting radical successful the streets; others hid successful bushes for hours, surrounded by burnt cars and screams. Nurse Nirit Hanvald tried to prevention the wounded successful a blood-soaked session until they ran retired of ammunition.
- Nir Oz: the scenes resembled a fearfulness film. At slightest 38 civilians were killed, and 75 — including astatine slightest 15 children — were abducted, the largest fig of hostages taken from a azygous location.
The onslaught began astir 6:49 a.m., erstwhile CCTV footage showed fighters with AK-47s entering done aggregate gates.
Member of the accelerated effect squad Eran Smilanski described seeing astir 100 equipped men moving astir successful trucks, vans, and motorcycles — immoderate dressed successful Israeli uniforms, others successful civilian clothes. When helium emerged aft the battle, helium recovered “blood everyplace and burned houses,” and successful much than 80% of the homes helium entered, helium recovered dormant bodies.
Other residents described holding the grip of their reinforced doors with their bare hands for hours to forestall gunmen from breaking in, with nary nutrient and lone a tiny magnitude of water. Yael Benezra, who arrived successful the colony the pursuing day, recovered her begetter dead, his apparel covered successful dried blood. She saw burned cars and houses, and remnants of explosives stuck to the metallic bars connected the structure windows. Other witnesses spoke of looting — including the theft of children’s apparel and jewelry.
In Sky News’ reporting from Kibbutz Nir Oz, the writer walked done the destroyed homes with nonmigratory Rita Lifshitz. He noted that 117 of the astir 400 residents were killed oregon abducted, and that lone six houses were near intact. The structure doors were riddled with slug holes, and militants had burned beds, tables, and adjacent pianos. A thoroughfare lined with black flags marked homes wherever radical had been killed, portion yellow flags identified those abducted. Inside 1 house, the humor of Rita’s person was inactive smeared connected the walls amid scattered belongings and slug casings.
Rapes and Sexual Violence
In summation to the wide killings, some the Roberts report and Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented extended intersexual assaults. According to the British report, women were gang raped, mutilated, and their bodies desecrated, portion immoderate antheral victims were recovered beheaded.
HRW, drafting connected testimonies, noted that astatine the Supernova Festival, immoderate victims had genital injuries; bare bodies were recovered bound and changeable successful the caput — grounds suggesting intersexual unit oregon torture.
Recorded footage showed Shani Louk with torn apparel successful a motortruck portion men spat connected her. UN investigative teams concluded determination are reasonable grounds to judge that rapes and pack rapes occurred astatine aggregate locations, and that immoderate hostages whitethorn inactive beryllium subjected to intersexual violence.
The Hostages’ Nightmare
Hamas and different groups abducted 251 people — men, women, children, infants, and elderly. The victims’ ages ranged from a 14-hour-old baby to a 93-year-old woman, underscoring the indiscriminate quality of the attack. Some hostages were taken into Gaza connected pickup trucks oregon motorcycles.
Former hostage Tal Shoham, held for 505 days, aboriginal described the conditions: crammed into acheronian rooms, beaten by guards, and subjected to intelligence torture.
Other hostages said their captors forced them to watch videos of the massacres oregon call their families to nonstop mendacious messages of hope. Some were released lone aft Hamas reached prisoner–hostage speech deals.
A Hostage’s Mother Speaks, Two Years On
“I don’t cognize if my lad is live oregon dead.”
The parent of an Israeli abducted by Hamas connected October 7, 2023, says she inactive does not cognize whether her lad is alive, but has “real hope” that U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid program volition pb to the instrumentality of each hostages held successful Gaza.
Herut Nimrodi told the BBC that she “fears the worst” for her lad Tamir, a non-combat soldier, but inactive hopes “he is being held somewhere,” 2 years aft his abduction. She said helium is the only Israeli hostage whose household has not been told whether helium is live oregon dead.
“They’ve been trying to scope an statement for a agelong clip but haven’t succeeded. This clip feels different,” Nimrodi said. “There is existent anticipation this is the last deal.”
She stressed the value of releasing each hostages — both surviving and deceased — successful the archetypal signifier of the plan. “This is huge, it’s a blessing for us,” she said.
How Many Hostages Remain successful Gaza?
According to the BBC, of the 251 radical abducted connected October 7, 2023, it is believed that 48 hostages remain successful Palestinian territory, with lone 20 thought to beryllium alive.
The merchandise of the remaining hostages is simply a top priority for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In its effect to Donald Trump’s bid plan, Hamas agreed to merchandise each remaining Israeli hostages inactive held successful Gaza but requested further negotiations connected respective issues outlined successful the bid proposal.
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