This event destroyed Israel‘s belief that it was unbeatable and had a strong military. It made all citizens feel less safe.
But it didn’t seem very special in the beginning.
When I saw the messages on my phone in the early morning, it said that rockets were coming from Gaza. We didn’t know how many rockets there were. I sent a message to my coworkers, some of whom were not at work because of the Jewish holidays, to tell them that I would go to the office.
Very quickly, I found it difficult to understand the effect of my words as I spoke them.
The continuous firing of missiles made me rush in and out of the shelter at the office. It later became evident that this was just a distraction for a highly unique, complicated, and well-prepared set of attacks.
We witnessed alarming pictures of Hamas fighters using motorbikes to get through holes in Gaza’s fence, using paragliders to enter southern Israel, attacking heavily protected military bases, and filming themselves in the gardens of overwhelmed kibbutzim.
During a party, people called Israeli TV stations to share their experiences of being in a terrible situation at the Nova Music Festival. They were hiding from gunmen who were causing violence and death. Scared people recorded videos of groups of armed Palestinians in the city of Sderot.
This was the worst day ever in Israel’s 75-year history, with many people being killed in a cruel and planned way. Videos later appeared from some of the kibbutzim near Gaza, showing the brutal killing of whole families. In the end, around 1,400 people are believed to have died.
The timing of this attack was very important because it happened almost exactly 50 years after a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on a very important day for Jewish people called Yom Kippur. This previous attack caused a big war in the region.
The intense sadness and surprise for regular Israelis, which can still be seen today, was very clear when I visited Ashkelon on October 8th.
Israeli security forces were fighting against very armed men near us, and there were loud alarms going off. At the hospital, parents were searching and crying for their missing children. They were very sad and upset.
“A mother in great pain yelled, ‘Destroy Gaza. ‘”
At the beginning of the war, people wanted to get back at their enemies and really wanted Israel to show its strength again. However, surveys show that people are now worried that intense bombing and a large-scale invasion could harm hostages taken by Hamas, which makes the situation more complicated.
Around 240 individuals, including Israelis and people from other countries, as well as both military personnel and civilians of varying ages, are believed to be held captive. Protests and requests to bring them back are becoming more pressing.
After going through the terrible experience of the Hamas attacks in Nir Oz, Hadas Kalderon’s life has completely changed. She is now desperately trying to bring her two children, Erez (who recently turned 12) and Sahar (who is 16), as well as her ex-husband Ofer, back home. Her mom, Carmela Dan, and her niece, Noya, who were taken away, have been discovered dead.
Hadas recently told the BBC that she is too busy fighting for her children and their father who is still alive, so she doesn’t have time to grieve for her mother and niece. She wants Israel to stop fighting until the hostages are safe.
Israel has said no to stopping the fighting until all the hostages are freed, and they are still bombing Gaza from above.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, said that over 10,000 people have died in the Palestinian area since Israel began bombing it last month.
The ministry said that over 4,000 children were among the people who died.
The surprise on 7 October was made worse by the fact that Israel, which has the strongest military in the Middle East and excellent intelligence agencies, did not realize the attacks were going to happen. A lot of ideas they believed for a long time, along with political leaders, were actually very wrong.
Israel left Gaza in 2005 and Hamas took over in 2007. Israel has been trying to prevent Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who are both considered terrorist groups, from being a threat.
Many defense experts often describe Israel’s approach in Gaza as “mowing the lawn. ” The idea was that Israeli forces could reduce the abilities of the armed groups occasionally, which would result in people getting hurt or killed.
There have been many big fights in the years 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021.
But, in two recent incidents of violence in August of last year and May of this year, where the Islamic Jihad group was targeted, Israel’s military falsely believed that Hamas did not participate. The common belief was that it did not want the situation to get worse.
Israel wanted to keep things calm, so they let around 18,000 people from Gaza have permits to work and also let Qatar help by giving aid and paying the salaries of Hamas workers.
That evaluation turned out to be very wrong and it was dangerous. It is now evident that Hamas was secretly waiting and acquiring more powerful weapons, like rockets that can reach farther distances, and drones. They also worked on making their underground tunnels better.
The belief that Israeli technology had successfully minimized the danger posed by Hamas, especially with the expensive barrier constructed around Gaza, equipped with cameras, sensors, and a strong concrete foundation to protect against tunnels, was proven incorrect. Last month, it is said that thousands of fighters managed to get through the fence in around 30 different spots.
Because the war is still happening, it is too early to provide a complete list of the errors that caused the events on October 7th.
Israel is very sad right now. Some of the dead people were badly burned or hurt, and we still don’t know who they are. More soldiers are also dying in the fighting in Gaza.
But it is probable that there will be an investigation after the war. After a very chaotic year in Israeli politics, people might want to know more about the job of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel needs to effectively achieve its new war goals in Gaza, which are to dismantle Hamas and release the hostages. They also need to handle the increasing dangers presented by Iran and its allies in the area.
One month later, the news about the violent events in southern Israel continues without stopping.