During the morning of Oct. 7, the Hamas military group launched a series of surprise rocket strikes and ground attacks that impacted major cities across Israel. Several Israeli media outlets reported that this large-scale attack on Israel killed at least 900 people.
Hamas began firing thousands of rockets on Saturday morning, striking as far as Tel Aviv. Rocket strikes have hit the outskirts of Jerusalem, which has rarely seen any direct hits due to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Following the initial rocket attacks, Hamas militants landed in Israel from land, air and sea. Infiltrators captured civilians and soldier hostages by infiltrating 22 Israeli towns and army bases.
In a recorded message, the leader of Hamas, Muhammad Deif, said, “Today, the people are regaining their revolution. The enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”
People still dispute the cause of the attack. Hamas officials cite the long-growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians, including the longstanding arguments over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, considered sacred to the Muslim and Jewish communities. This site has remained at the forefront of the emotional heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last week, during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, many ultra-Orthodox Jewish people and Israeli activists visited the compound. This event prompted condemnation from Hamas and accusations that these visits violated the status quo agreement.
The Hamas’ attacks also relate to current U.S. talks of normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. There are reports that these talks will lead to possible concessions to Palestinians in the negotiations that involve the Palestinians-occupied West Bank but do not include Gaza.
“We have already said that normalization will not achieve security, stability, or calm,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AP.
Following the Hamas airstrike, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to exact an “unprecedented price” from the terror group.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not an operation, not a round [of fighting,] at war,” Netanyahu said in a filmed statement for The Times of Israel. “This morning initiated a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens.”
Article written by Shelby Roth of Richard Montgomery High School