What happened on 7 October 2023?

The October 7 attack was an assault by Hamas-led fighters on communities, army posts and a music festival in southern Israel on Saturday, 7 October 2023. Israeli officials and many others describe it as a massacre. Fighters crossed from Gaza after a rocket barrage, using vehicles, motorcycles and motorized paragliders. Israeli official counts put the number killed at about 1,200, including civilians, soldiers and foreign nationals, and 251 people were taken hostage into Gaza. Israeli officials describe it as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It opened the war that Naza: The Real Story, a 2026 Israeli documentary, follows.

Where it happened

The attack took place in the communities and on the roads near the Gaza fence. The main sites named in Israeli accounts are the Nova music festival near Re'im, Kibbutz Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Nahal Oz, other kibbutzim, the town of Sderot, army posts and observation bases, and roads such as Route 232. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other armed groups took part. Israeli officials say more than a hundred people from Be'eri alone were killed. Survivors, first responders and soldiers have described what they saw, and the attackers also filmed some of the events.

Sexual violence

UN reporting on conflict-related sexual violence, after a mission to Israel, found reasonable grounds to believe that rape and gang rape occurred in several locations that day. The report notes limits on the forensic evidence, because of burned houses and the condition of the sites.

The hostages

People were taken from Nova, from homes in the kibbutzim, from army posts and from roads. They included children, older people, soldiers and foreign workers. Some were released in deals, some were recovered by IDF operations, and some were killed in captivity. The first military recovery was Private Ori Megidish on 30 October 2023. Later IDF operations included Golden Hand in February 2024, which recovered Fernando Marman and Louis Har, and Arnon in June 2024, which recovered Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.

The war that followed

Israel called the war Iron Swords. Its stated aims were to destroy Hamas as a military force and to recover hostages, and Israeli officials say it also allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza. The war caused civilian deaths in Gaza, which this site covers in other posts. Naza: The Real Story features IDF commanders and intelligence officers describing operations against Hamas military infrastructure, efforts to recover hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid during the war. It is filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, with English subtitles and unnamed directors.