World
Israel marks 1,000 days since Oct. 7 Hamas massacre that killed over 1,200 people
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday marked 1,000 days since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw hundreds taken hostage into Gaza.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry said the attack began at 6:29 a.m. and described Israel’s response as one of “resilience,” citing the rebuilding of communities, reopening of schools and businesses, and recovery of agriculture and tourism.
“Israel answered hatred with resilience, destruction with rebuilding, and terror with life,” the ministry said, adding that despite ongoing challenges, “Israel rises.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday urged people to “never forget” the victims of the Oct. 7 attack.
“1000 days ago, Hamas monsters stormed out of Gaza & into Israel & massacred 1200 men, women & children-butchering them viciously, taking 251 people hostage,” Huckabee tweeted.
“We should never forget the victims & should keep asking ‘how did such a thing happen?’” the envoy added.
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday held a conference marking 1,000 days of fighting in the War of Redemption, launched in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
As part of the summit, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held an intelligence, operational and strategic assessment with the IDF General Staff Forum, which includes about 30 of the military’s most senior commanders.
The meeting opened with a moment of silence for the 964 soldiers killed since the morning of Oct. 7. As part of the ceremony, a recording was played of the late Col. Asaf Hamami declaring war some 30 minutes after the invasion got underway. “We are at war, everything is fine, war,” Hamami says in the audio clip, in what is believed to be the first such declaration made that day.
The memorial ceremony was followed by a panel discussion with field commanders discussing the 1,000 days of fighting.
Some 6,000 terrorists from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah, as well as unaffiliated Gazan “civilians,” infiltrated the Jewish state’s southern border on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people, wounding thousands and kidnapping 251.
Israeli ground forces entered Gaza on Oct. 27, following a weeks-long air campaign in response to the Oct. 7 attacks. Jerusalem’s stated goals for the war were to destroy Hamas as a military and governing force in Gaza, ensure that it cannot threaten Israel again and return all hostages.
The war quickly expanded beyond Gaza, with Jerusalem also fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, battling terrorist groups in Judea and Samaria, conducting military operations in Syria, confronting Houthi attacks from Yemen, carrying out strikes inside Iranian territory and responding to attacks from Iraq.
