On 7 October 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian nationalist militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The attack coincided with the Jewish religious holiday Simchat Torah.
Ceremonies were held across Israel on Monday as the country marked the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks, with the war it launched in response raging in Gaza and escalating in Lebanon, while conflict threatened to spread across the Middle East.
In the hours leading up to the anniversary, Israel bombed targets in Beirut and Gaza, while Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, causing damage to buildings, police said. Israeli media reported 5 people were wounded in rocket attacks in Haifa and the city of Tiberias.
The Israeli military confirmed early Monday it had carried out strikes on al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza, claiming it had become the base for a Hamas “command and control complex”, without providing evidence.
The Hamas attacks that day killed 1,200 people and more than 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. The following Israeli offensive in Gaza laid waste to the densely populated coastal territory and killed almost 42,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. – Source
- Prior Knowledge
A senior US politician said Israel had received an official warning from Egypt of a possible attack from Gaza three days before Hamas launched its deadly cross-border assault on Saturday.
Michael McCaul, the chair of the US House foreign affairs committee, speaking after an intelligence briefing to senior members of Congress, said it was not clear at what level the warning was given.
“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” McCaul, a Republican, told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t want to get too much into classified [details], but a warning was given. I think the question was at what level.” – Source
A newly surfaced document has revealed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence systems had detailed knowledge of Hamas's plan to raid Israel and kidnap 250 people weeks before the October 7 massacre. – The Jerusalem Post link in SS.
Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out. – Source
- The Hannibal Directive
Reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in July, confirm what many Israelis have feared since the Hamas attacks on October 7 in southern Israel.
The Israeli military is coming under increasing pressure to reveal just how many of their own citizens were killed by Israeli soldiers, pilots and police in the confusion of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities.
Survivors and relatives have been asking not just "what went wrong", but whether the military invoked the controversial — and supposedly rescinded — "Hannibal Directive".
After October 7, there were some testimonies from Israeli civilians and military personnel that Israeli forces responding to the Hamas attack killed their own citizens.
The IDF has not confirmed or denied a version of the Hannibal directive was applied on October 7, only saying it is one of many things from that day under investigation.
In July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed commanders in the IDF gave the order to fire on troops who had been captured by Hamas at three separate locations, explicitly referencing the Hannibal Directive.
"Twenty-eight fighter helicopters shot over the course of the day all of the ammunition in their bellies, in renewed runs to rearm. We are talking about hundreds of 30-millimetre cannon mortars and Hellfire missiles," reporter Yoav Zeitoun said.
"The frequency of fire at the thousands of terrorists was enormous at the start, and only at a certain point did the pilots begin to slow their attacks and carefully choose the targets." – abc link in SS.
Leaked footage from Israeli Airforce proves it was the IDF that took out its own citizens with Apache Helicopters on October 7 at the Nova music festival. – Source
- Additional Footage
The Israeli army has released unseen footage of last year’s Oct 7 attacks.
The video showed Israeli soldiers and border police forces operating in kibbutz Re’im, near which 364 people were killed at a music festival, according to Israeli police.
Previously unseen footage also showed the aftermath of an attack on a police station in Sderot, which was taken over by Hamas militants. Israeli forces used gunfire and bulldozers to retake the station.- Source
The surveillance camera footage along the Gaza border from October 7 has not been deleted or missing, the IDF announced on Sunday evening after speculations about the security footage vanishing started floating around.
"All the materials from the operational systems of the IDF related to documented events, are preserved and accessible to the relevant parties," the IDF wrote on 𝕏 , formerly known as Twitter. "Like other operational materials, access to the materials is blocked to those who are not required to deal with them. Any other claim is baseless."
During a recent visit by senior IDF officers to various brigade headquarters, a troubling revelation came to light. It became apparent that surveillance camera footage along the Gaza border, dating back to the day the war with Hamas broke out, had mysteriously vanished. Furthermore, critical recordings from that Black Shabbat had been removed from the central database. These developments have raised suspicions and fueled a sense that everyone is primarily looking out for their own interests with an eye on what comes next. – The Jerusalem Post link in SS.
- Negotiations
According to Haim Rubinstein, who had until April 2024 been the spokesman of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum representing the families of the hostages, the group "found out that Hamas had offered on October 9 or 10 to release all the civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli government rejected the offer." – Source
- Anniversary Precautions
The FBI & Dept. of Homeland Security are warning of potential threats in the U.S. ahead of Oct. 7th. Monday marks one year since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel. Security in the U.S. has been stepped up ahead of expected demonstrations. NBC News' George Solis reports. – Source
Berlin is intensifying measures ahead of the pro-Palestinian protests today, planning to deploy rooftop snipers and specialized commando units. They have already started raiding activists’ homes. – Source
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