Two years ago, on October 7, during the closing of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas militants launched a surprise and deadly assault on Israel, marking the bloodiest day in the nation’s history.
The attack began when armed militants from Palestine breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets, and grenades.
Over a thousand people were killed, and 251 hostages were abducted into Gaza, of whom 48 remain in captivity — including 25 that the Israeli military has declared dead.
The October 7 massacre coincided with Simchat Torah, a festive day immediately following Sukkot on the Hebrew calendar, and caught the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) completely off guard.
Israel’s political and military leadership had reporte