It was still dark outside in the Gaza Strip in the early morning of October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group’s messengers were knocking on doors to wake up and alert the battalion commanders responsible for around 100 fighters under their command.  They then alerted the commanders of the smaller groups with the message to assemble at the assigned points along the 40-mile-long fence separating Gaza from Israel.

In Israel, it was the Saturday of Simchat Torah, a joyous holiday that turned into one of the darkest days in Israel’s history.

The above account was provided by the German newspaper Die Zeit and was derived from the interrogation of the captured and imprisoned Hamas Nukhba terrorists who murdered 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250 others into Gaza as hostages.

Incredibly, the Hamas leaders were able to keep their murderous operation secret until the last moment.  They refrained from using cell phones by assuming that the Israeli intelligence services might pick up their signals.  They passed on instructions by live messengers.

At dawn, the approximately 3,000 Hamas (Nukhba) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists assembled along the fence were told that this is no longer an exercise, but the day of action.  Hamas had been preparing for this day for at least ten years.

The vaunted Israeli intelligence services were well aware that something unusual was going on in Gaza but attributed it to Hamas mounting another exercise.  There was no follow-up on these observations.  Complacency — viewing Hamas as being deterred and incapable of executing a major operation — allowed for complete laxity.

As the sun was breaking out, weapons were distributed to the drug-induced (Captagon) Nukhba terrorists, which included assault rifles (Kalashnikovs), hand grenades, and rocket launchers.  Immediately thereafter, the Hamas and PIJ terrorists climbed in their Toyota pickup trucks and motorcycles.  Some were marching by foot, and others, trained by Iran and in Malaysia, mounted motorized paragliders to penetrate Israel by air, and others by sea with rubber dinghies.

The Hamas commanders’ orders to the Nukhba units were to storm Israeli military bases, occupy roads to cut off the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from reaching the attacked kibbutzim and towns.  Then Nukhba units were ordered to raid the kibbutzim and towns surrounding the Gaza Strip and kill everyone in sight.  Maps were distributed as well as satellite images with symbols attached.  Some of the terrorists were jotting down the locations of surveillance cameras to be destroyed.

In order to relieve the economic pressure on Gaza, the Israeli government allowed thousands of Gazans to get permits to work in Israel.  Hamas used these workers as spies to provide information and photos on the movements of IDF troops, locations of surveillance cameras, and security in the kibbutzim.

At 6:30 A.M., Hamas launched over 3,000 rockets from Gaza at the adjacent Israeli communities in what amounted to a diversionary attack, while its Nukhba terrorists went on to tear down the fence with bulldozers and trucks.  Once the fence was cut and the cameras and sensors on the Israeli observation towers were disabled, they attacked the border fortifications and watchtowers with drones that dropped grenades on the towers.

The Nukhba killers entered Israel in about 30 places.  Their orders, as reported by Die Zeit:

Attack Kibbutz sa’ad (home of my cousin Aaron) and gain control, inflict as many casualties as possible; also, secure Road 232. Kill anyone who poses danger or distract your operation. Take soldiers and civilians prisoners and transport them to Gaza.

The Hamas commanders encouraged rape and murder, giving the Nukhba units license to do as they pleased.  They killed parents in front of their kids and kids in front of their parents, burned homes with people inside, raped young and old women, and cut off limbs and heads of babies and adults.  One Nukhba killer called his parents in Gaza, boasting that he had killed himself ten Jews.  The parents heaped praise on their son.

The Israeli soldiers at the Nahal Oz base on the Gaza border were on a holiday (Shabbat and Simchat Torah) schedule.  Many had left the base to spend the holiday with their families.  On that dark Saturday, the remaining young soldiers in the base were still asleep when the Nukhba forces attacked them.  Some who were awake grabbed their weapons and engaged and killed some of the terrorist attackers, but soon they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of terrorists.

In a normal firefight, the terrorists are no match for the IDF combat soldiers.  However, this wasn’t a normal firefight; it was a surprise attack, and many of the defenders were female.  They were outnumbered and fell in battling the terrorists.  When IDF troops finally arrived in the afternoon, they finished off the terrorists and took many prisoners.

The female soldiers at Nahal Oz were called “the eyes of the army.”  They were the heroes on this deadly “Black Shabbat.”  They had repeatedly warned their superior officers in headquarters of Hamas’s unusual activities, including on October 7, but none of the officers paid attention.  The Hamas terrorists killed 15 of the female soldiers and took six of them hostage to Gaza.

The attack on the Nova festival was accidental.  The paragliders happened to hear music and directed the Nukhba fighters to the spot near Kibbutz Re’im.  At the Nova festival, they killed and raped hundreds of unarmed Israelis with impunity.  Israeli civilians risked their lives to save many until the IDF soldiers finally arrived.

Some of the dead terrorists carried maps along with provisions for several days.  Hamas apparently hoped to penetrate deeper into Israel, perhaps even to reach all the way to the West Bank.

October 7 is one of the most thoroughly documented terrorist attacks of all time.  Hamas terrorists, equipped with GoPro cameras, filmed their barbarity.  Hamas posted videos of the slaughter on Telegram.  In the Gaza Strip, people document the Hamas action with their mobile phones.  The entire Gaza Strip population cheers Hamas’s “accomplishments.”   On October 7, Hamas murdered more Israelis in one day than in the entire period since Hamas’s establishment in 1987.

For Israel to maintain it deterrence vis-à-vis its enemies, particularly Iran and Hezb’allah, it must destroy Hamas’s military and political infrastructure.

Image via Pexels.