One year of Hamas terror attack: What happened on October 7 and how Israel responded to deadly attacks

Oct 7 Attack Anniversary: October 7 marks the one-year anniversary of the brutal killings and abducting of hundreds of Israelis by Hamas militants. On this day, the world entered into a new era of the ever-going Israel-Palestine conflict. It’s been a year since the attacks; many retaliatory measures have been taken since then, new players have entered into the conflict- and the world fears a looming full-blown war.

On Oct 7, several Israelis were partying at the Nova Music Festival, when Palestinian-militant group Hamas launched attacks on the civilian crowd. A series of coordinated armed incursions were made from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel, marking the first such invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

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The attack also coincided with the Jewish religious holiday Simchat Torah. Hamas named this group of attacks Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, while in Israel they are referred to as Black Sabbath or Simchat Torah Massacre.

A barrage of at least 4,300 rockets was launched against Israel, along with vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into Israel. Hamas also 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.

As per IDF, some 6000 Hamas militants breached the border in 119 places and broke into Israel, including 3,800 from the “elite Nukhba forces.” In total, 1,140 people were killed- 695 Israeli civilians, 71 foreign nations and 373 members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded while attending the Nova music festival.

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About 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, alive or dead, including 30 children, with the stated goal of forcing Israel to exchange them for imprisoned Palestinians, including women and children. Dozens of cases of rape and sexual assault reportedly occurred, but Hamas officials denied the involvement of its militants.

Hamas justified its attack and claimed it 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.

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 US President Joe Biden. Some have called the attack a genocidal massacre against Israelis.

In response to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of war, signalling a significant military mobilisation. In retaliation, Israel launched massive airstrikes targeting Hamas military infrastructure, weapons depots, and leadership in Gaza.

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In Gaza, at least 41,870 people have been killed since the start of the Israel offensive, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

On Monday, Israelis marked the first anniversary of the devastating Hamas attack that triggered a war which has sparked protests worldwide and risks igniting a far wider conflict in the Middle East.

Ceremonies and protests in Jerusalem and Israel’s south were scheduled to begin around 06:29 am (local time), the hour when Hamas-led militants launched rockets into Israel at the start of the Oct 7 attack last year.

(With inputs from agencies)