Here's why Hamas chose October 7 to launch bloodiest attack on Israel

On the morning of October 7, the Palestinian group Hamas launched one of the biggest surprise attacks on Israel, in which it fired a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and the security barriers were breached by the gunmen. The attack was launched on Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

However, the date chosen for one of the bloodiest attacks, was just a day after the Yom Kippur War was launched, which started 50 years ago on October 6, with an aim to recapture the territory taken by Israel during a brief conflict in 1967.

What was the Yom Kippur war?

On October 6, 1973, which was the holiest day in Judaism – known as 'Yom Kippur', surprise attacks were launched by a coalition of Arab nations on Israeli-occupied territories, which started the Yom Kippur War.

Most of the fighting took place in the Golan Heights, Sinai and the other areas which were under Israel's control since the Six-Day War in 1967. The geopolitical tensions between the countries reached a tipping point when a global nuclear alert was issued by the then-US President Richard Nixon.

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After the war between nations intensified, oil deliveries were suspended by the Arab members of The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to all Western nations, which had extended their support to Israel. This led to a global energy crisis.

After two weeks of war which resulted in the death of 20,000 people, Israel achieved victory and gained more land under its occupation compared to what it had before the start of the war.

Why is Yom Kippur War being compared to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?

Exactly after 50 years, more than 5,000 rockets were rained down on Israel as Hamas announced the initiation of 'Operation Al-Aqsa Flood', as it appealed to the "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the war against Israel, which has been accused of "illegally occupying" Palestinian land.

The recent violence has been attributed by Hamas officials to the long-standing tensions between Israel and Palestinians, especially the fight over the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. It has been compared to the Yom Kippur War of 1973, as it is one of the deadliest attacks on Israel since then.

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The second similarity between the two wars is the criticism faced by Israel for being unprepared at both times when the attack was launched. The attacks by Hamas came as a surprise to Israel even though it has advanced intelligence and interception systems.

In the Yom Kippur war also, Israel was unprepared since many soldiers were on leave due to the Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, which is considered the holiest day in Judaism.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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