October 7 attacks

Significance

The October 7 attacks were a coordinated series of armed incursions launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, carried out by Hamas and allied Palestinian militant groups during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. Involving a Hamas force of approximately 6,000 fighters, the attacks resulted in 1,195 Israeli casualties and 1,609 Hamas casualties. They constituted the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, marking a fundamental rupture in the security posture Israel had maintained around Gaza. The attacks directly triggered the ongoing Gaza War, prompting Israel to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza. As the initiating event of that conflict, the October 7 attacks set its strategic terms and defined the war's opening conditions.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (20)