OCTOBER 7:
FROM RESPONSE TO REVENGE TO GENOCIDE
On October 7, as the sun rose, members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad broke out of Gaza, crossed into Israel, and launched attacks on several Israeli military installations and kibbutzim situated on what they consider former Palestinian lands. Armed with handheld weapons and small arms, they also encountered and attacked a music festival.
The militants aimed to kidnap Israeli citizens and capture soldiers, intending to return to Gaza and use them as leverage in negotiations to end the siege on Gaza, halt settler incursions into Muslim holy sites, and cease Israeli military actions in the West Bank. The attackers anticipated heavy losses, expecting up to 80% of their forces to fall against Israel's superior military. However, to their surprise, Israeli forces were unprepared and overwhelmed, with fewer than 20% of the attackers injured, killed, or captured.
The multi-hour operation resulted in the kidnapping (civilians) and capture (soldiers) of an estimated 240 people, though the exact mix of civilians and soldiers remains unclear. Approximately 1,200 people were killed during the operation, but the proportion of deaths caused by Israeli fire versus Palestinian actions is still unknown. The Israeli army reportedly activated its Hannibal Directive within 45 minutes of the attack's start—a controversial policy aimed at preventing kidnappings by any means necessary, even if it results in the deaths of hostages.
This attack marked a significant shift in the ongoing conflict. Typically, the Israeli military initiates actions within Palestinian territories, limiting casualties to Palestinians and shielding Israeli citizens from the direct impact of the violence. For the first time, a coordinated attack by a Palestinian organization took place within Israel.
OCTOBER 7 FROM THE PALESTINIAN PERSPECTIVE
Finally! We're Fighting Back!
At 6:30 AM local time on October 7, 2023, Hamas, a political organization with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades, launched a well-planned attack on several Israeli military bases and agricultural kibbutzim. The operation, driven by years of systemic oppression and recent incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites, resulted in the kidnapping of civilians and soldiers and the destruction of various targets.
The Israeli military was caught off guard, leading to significant casualties. News of the attack spread quickly, and many Palestinians celebrated in the streets, seeing this as a long-awaited act of resistance after decades of living under what they consider apartheid and illegal occupation that has decimated their communities, culture, and livelihoods.
OCTOBER 7 FROM THE ISRAELI PERSPECTIVE
We're Victims of Unprovoked Terrorism
At 6:30 AM local time on October 7, 2023, Hamas militants, viewed by Israelis as terrorists, launched a brutal and unprovoked attack on Israel, kidnapping civilians and soldiers in what was seen as a cowardly act of aggression. The attack was widely regarded as a catastrophic failure of Israeli intelligence, leading to a declaration of war on Hamas and its supporters, with a vow to carry out a decisive military response.
To many Israelis, October 7 represents an act of genocide against them, comparable to the horrors of the Holocaust. They believe they are victims of this conflict, targeted simply because of their identity as Jews. They sincerely believe themselves to be peace-loving people living in a democracy.
WHAT HAPPENED?
As of October 7, 2023, reports indicate that 1,139 Israelis were killed, along with 61 foreign nationals. The percentage of Israelis killed by Israeli forces during the operation is still undetermined. However, Haaretz has reported at least 400 were killed by Israeli forces, evidenced by the heavy weapons used in their killings. The deployment of the Hannibal Directive led to tanks shelling homes filled with people and the burning of hundreds to death by using missiles and tank shells on homes and civilians fleeing in their cars from the Nova Music Festival. It's unknown how many of those shot to death were killed by Palestinian militias or the Israeli army.
Ultimately, Hamas and associated groups took 240 hostages. Despite initial attempts by Hamas to negotiate a release of civilian hostages by October 10, the Israeli government refused. A temporary ceasefire in November resulted in the release of 116 hostages held by Hamas, along with the release of over 300 Palestinians from Israeli jails. Israel continues to arrest Palestinians, with 9,700 currently detained, including children, most held without charge. A high percentage are not criminals or "terrorists." They're simply Palestinians who disagree with the occupation or posted the wrong thing on social media.
By the time of this writing, Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women and children. Dozens of Palestinian men, women and children have been raped and tortured by the Israelis in their prisons and concentration camps. By August 2024, the Israeli government debated the "right to rape" as an official policy.
Israel's revenge campaign of ethnic cleansing, which is illegal under international law, has decimated the Gaza Strip, making homeless over 2 million people while destroying all churches, most of the mosques, the water and waste treatment facilities, all of the universities, all of the hospitals and clinics, most of the schools and most government and NGO offices. Currently, the Strip is enduring a man-made famine due to Israel's obstruction of aid shipments. Its citizens cheer and participate in the starvation, posting their efforts on social media. Aid organizations estimate it will take at least 80 years to rebuild Gaza. Most of the people will be physically and/or psychologically scared for life.
WHY WOULD PALESTINIANS ATTACK?
While often portrayed as an unprovoked attack, October 7 was anticipated by those familiar with the region's history and politics. Over the previous two years, tensions escalated due to increased attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, home demolitions in East Jerusalem, and incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers. Coupled with the 17-year siege on Gaza, the attack was not a matter of if but when. The surprise lay in Hamas's execution and the Israeli military's inept response.
Israel was caught off guard and struggled to respond effectively. Once mobilized, it launched airstrikes on Gaza, issued a 48-hour evacuation order, and reasserted its right to defend itself against what it deemed an unwarranted terrorist attack.
FACTS ON THE GROUND
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under a relentless siege, with Israel controlling all aspects of life, including food, water, electricity, and movement. Every few years, Israel conducts military operations in Gaza, which it refers to as "mowing the lawn." These operations often result in significant civilian casualties, as Gaza remains sealed off with no escape for its residents.
Israel imposed the siege after Hamas won a free and fair election in 2006, which Israel and its ally, the United States, opposed. Palestinians in Gaza live under what is often described as "the world's largest open-air prison," with over 2.3 million people, more than half under the age of 18, living in one of the most densely populated areas on the planet.
HASBARA ON HYPERDRIVE
In lockstep with its military operations, Israel's propaganda machine, known as hasbara, immediately intensified. Despite the gruesome scenes of October 7, the machine quickly began spreading false atrocity stories, such as the claim of 40 beheaded babies—when, in fact, only one baby died that day. Similarly, reports of mass rapes and burning children in ovens have been thoroughly debunked, though burning a child alive in ovens is referenced in the 1948 Tantura massacre. In that instance, Israelis burned the child.
ENTHUSIASM FOR GENOCIDE
By spring 2024, Israeli public opinion showed overwhelming support for severe measures against Gaza, with polls indicating up to 94% in favor of starvation tactics and over 60% supporting the annihilation and forced deportation of Gaza's population. Israeli leaders openly called for genocide, and plans for new Jewish-only developments in Gaza circulated.
The Israeli army destroyed entry points into Gaza, and settlers blocked and destroyed aid shipments. As Israel increasingly becomes a pariah state, the percentage of Israel's Jewish citizens supporting the slaughter is beginning to show a downward trend but continues to be an overwhelming majority.
Concurrently, calls by Israeli leaders and many citizens continue to increase, promoting a repeat of the genocide in Gaza, have been directed toward the West Bank, beginning with the Jenin refugee camp. Hundreds in the West Bank have been killed. Dozens of homes and towns have been completely razed and destroyed. The peace movement in Israel has almost completely disappeared.
KILLING THE MESSENGER
Alongside its military campaign, Israel intensified its crackdown on media. In spring 2024, Israel banned Al Jazeera from its territory, targeted journalists, and prevented outside reporters and human rights monitors from entering Gaza. The Committee to Protect Journalists and local media organizations have reported that since October 7, 2023, as of August 24, 2024:
Despite Israel prohibiting foreign journalists from entering Gaza unless they are embedded with Israeli troops and submit to Israeli censors, one hundred and seventy journalists and media workers have been killed, a majority targeted and assassinated.
Thirty-two journalists have been reported injured.
Two journalists are reported missing.
Fifty-two journalists have been reported arrested.
Several media outlets, including Al Jazeera, have been banned from reporting in Israel.
Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members by the Israeli state continue to be recorded.
UNEQUAL SIDES
Israel is one of the world's most powerful military states, with nuclear capabilities and a history of territorial expansion since 1948. In contrast, Hamas is a resistance organization with a militia of volunteers armed only with portable weapons, lacking tanks, planes, or a standing army. While Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization, international law and Hamas view itself as a resistance movement.
Historically, the occupation has resulted in disproportionately higher Palestinian casualties compared to Israeli losses. International Law grants both Israel and Palestine the right to self-defense. As an occupied people, the Palestinians have a right to armed resistance against the state of Israel. However, Israel does not have the right to defend its occupation or attack the civilians it occupies. Using military weapons against an occupied people is a violation of International Law. Occupying nations are only permitted to use law and order style police actions against perpetrators of attacks like October 7, in which those responsible are arrested, tried and punished. Bombing an occupied person or population under any circumstance is a war crime.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE OCTOBER 7?
In response to October 7, Israel's campaign against Gaza evolved into what many now call genocide. South Africa led an action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel likely engaged in genocide, supported by reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and B'Tselem. By the summer of 2024, eight additional countries joined the South African case.
Israel's actions expanded to include torture, rape, forced starvation, and the bombing of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. The conflict also extended into the West Bank, with nearly 10,000 Palestinians detained, many without charges, and widespread reports of torture and abuse.
In July 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Palestinian leaders involved in the conflict, though Israel assassinated Hamas' chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran. Yahya Sinwar has since become Hamas's leader.
ONE WAR IS NOT ENOUGH
As of August 2024, Israel has conducted thousands of attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and other neighboring countries, escalating regional tensions. Analysts believe these actions aim to draw the United States into Israel's conflict, though the U.S. has no formal defense treaty with Israel.
THE PALESTINIAN MINDSET
Palestinians, a Semitic people, seek the end of Zionism, which is viewed and exhibits itself in practice, a Jewish-supremacist ideology. They demand an end to the occupation and equal rights and justice for all in the region, regardless of race, religion, origin or sex.
Palestine and its people are first mentioned by name in Egypt during the reign of Ramses III (1184-1153 BCE) in the Papyrus Harris (c. 1152 BCE), also known as The Great Harris Papyrus. Their history stretches back over 7,000 years. Historically, they were referred to as Palashtu, Pilistu, Peleset, Philistia, Palaistine, Palestine, Canaan, Canaanite, and Syria-Palaestina; the Hebrew name of Palestine, Philistia in English, appears more than 250 times in the Bible.
Hamas came into being on December 14, 1987, as a response to the First Intifada. It is a political party with a militia of volunteers armed with portable weapons. It does not have nuclear weapons, tanks, ships, airplanes, helicopters, a standing army, or other military advantages. Hamas sees itself like Ireland's Shin Fein, Algeria's ALNF, and the American colonists fighting against England—all of whom were called terrorists by the states they opposed.
The cheers on October 7 were not driven by hatred but by a sense of long-overdue resistance against nearly a century of oppression.
THE ISRAELI MINDSET
A large portion of the Israeli population cannot understand why the world stands firmly against it. Israelis view themselves as lovingly moral and peaceful people who are besieged and battered victims, misunderstood and maligned, surrounded by enemies who hate them because of their religion.
Israelis fundamentally believe October 7 had nothing to do with 76 years of Israeli policies, including collective punishment, racism, colonialism, land theft, unequal legal systems, and the unequal distribution of resources and opportunity. To them, October 7 had nothing to do with arbitrary arrests, incursions and defilement of Muslim and Christian holy sites, summary executions or even the denial of the most basic human rights to non-Jewish people. Israelis reject arguments of land theft, deny or ignore the daily humiliation of Palestinians, and enthusiastically support the checkpoints, starvation diets, the destruction and the reallocation of Palestinian property to Jewish people.
Israeli leaders, propagandists and apologists regularly push the fantasy that Palestinians are not real people and systematically seek to erase their 7000-year history, their culture and their lives. For Israelis, October 7 occurred solely due to antisemitism, and they, Israelis, are innocent victims who are fighting for their lives against a people trying to eliminate them. Theirs is a battle of survival. Everything that happens to the Palestinians isn't their fault. Hamas is forcing them to kill Palestinians. Hamas (previously Iran, or Fatah, or Arafat, or Hezbollah, or the PLO) is to blame for everything.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Israel's continued occupation and the expulsion of Palestinians is unprecedented since the beginning of the 20th century. Since WWI, all genocidal regimes have collapsed quickly once their crime became known, as seen with the Ottoman Empire, National Socialism in Germany, and the Khmer Rouge. Similarly, apartheid states like South Africa eventually reformed or imploded.
By August 2024, over 600,000 Israelis had fled the country, and over 40,000 businesses had closed. The economy was in freefall, and Israel had become increasingly isolated on the global stage. Israel faces a choice: continue on its current path of self-destruction or reform and become a responsible member of the international community. Currently, Israel and its society choose apartheid, ethnic cleansing and the right to rape. Historically, these positions have not led to a sustainable state or a viable society.
What about its enabler? The United States is at a tipping point, and the government will figure this out. We've dropped other troublesome countries in the past, and the US does not have a defense treaty with Israel or any legal obligation to support it. Despite Israel's efforts, lobbying will only postpone the inevitable.
Without the United States, Israel cannot continue its policies, bombing, starvation, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. The money dries up. The weapons disappear. The diplomatic shield drops. It either changes its ways or retires to the dust bin of history.
One final, hopeful thought relating to the hundreds of college protests against the occupation and genocide worldwide. Name one instance when college students protesting en mass have been on the wrong side of history. Just one.
Exactly.
