Israel experienced absolute nightmare in the early hours of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented, deadly attack, with Tel Aviv describing it as “its own September 11th.” The Hamas attack against Israel radically changed the geopolitical landscape of the region, triggering a war that continues to this day.
The attack began with a massive barrage of rockets launched from Gaza, followed by sirens sounding as far as Tel Aviv and Beersheba, with people running to shelters, while the list of first casualties from rockets had already begun to be compiled.
Timeline of the October 7 attack
That fateful Saturday, Israelis were celebrating the last day of the Sukkot holiday. Religious Jews had turned off their electronic devices, including mobile phones and televisions, according to their religious traditions.
At 06:30 in the morning, a torrential barrage of nearly 3,000 rockets against southern Israel began. The “Iron Dome” worked non-stop to intercept them, while civilians ran to shelters. Simultaneously, Hamas launched a coordinated attack by air, land and sea. Gunmen with hang-gliders managed to avoid Israeli radars and open a hole in the fence near the Kerem Shalom crossing. In total, more than 1,200 people were murdered and 250 kidnapped in Israel on October 7, 2023.
The tragedy at the Nova festival
For more than two hours, Hamas gunmen killed 260 young people attending the Nova music festival, while taking another 100 hostage. This site has now been transformed into a pilgrimage site for Israelis. The raiders also invaded kibbutzim, killing men, women and children, and seizing entire families as captives.
Family members and friends of the victims of the October 7, 2023 raid observed a minute of silence this morning, as AFP journalists witnessed at the site where the Nova festival was held.
Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” and Israeli response
Hamas’s military commander announced the start of operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” calling all Palestinians to battle. Five hours after the invasion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country in a state of war. Israel’s multi-front response had catastrophic consequences for Gaza. 90% of homes were destroyed, while 1.9 million Palestinians were left homeless. The war in Gaza has caused more than 66,000 deaths, half of whom are women and children.
Consequences two years later
In the last 6 months, 40 commanders and senior Hamas officials have been killed. Only one senior commander from the organization’s military council before October 7 remains alive. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unprecedented, with voices speaking of genocide.
The October 7, 2023 raid resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 47 remain held hostage in the Gaza Strip, of whom 25 have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
At least 67,160 people have been killed in large-scale Israeli military retaliation operations in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas government’s health ministry, which the UN considers reliable. The United Nations has declared a state of famine in parts of the Gaza Strip and independent researchers say Israel is committing genocide in the small Palestinian enclave. The Israeli government rejects both allegations.
Hopes for peace
Despite the ongoing crisis, there are positive signs for the peace process. The slogan “now or never” echoing from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv takes on special significance. The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an end to the war in Gaza began Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with US President Donald Trump assuring that the Palestinian Islamist movement is willing to make compromises.
The first round of talks between Hamas and the mediators – Egypt, Qatar, USA – was completed in a “positive atmosphere,” Al Qahera News, a television network considered close to Egyptian intelligence, reported early today, clarifying that negotiations are expected to continue today. The Israeli delegation arrived there yesterday.
Egyptian and Qatari representatives are “working with both parties to create a mechanism” that would allow the release of hostages in exchange for the release of prisoners, the same media had reported earlier. The talks are based on a 20-point plan proposed by President Trump. “I believe it’s going very well and I believe Hamas has accepted very significant things,” the 79-year-old Republican said yesterday. “We will secure a deal for Gaza, I’m quite confident” about that, he added.
“We expect difficult and complex negotiations,” given that Israel “continues the war of extermination,” a source close to the talks told AFP, estimating they will last “several days.” President Trump, who ordered his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to go to Egypt, demands progress “quickly.”
According to AFP sources informed about the talks, the Israeli delegation and Hamas are expected to participate in indirect negotiations in the same building, but in separate rooms, with mediators conveying messages from one side to the other. This comes less than a month after Israel’s attempt to assassinate Hamas negotiators with an unprecedented airstrike in Qatar’s capital. Leading the Palestinian Islamist movement’s team that went to Egypt is Khalil al-Hayya, who survived that attack — in which, however, his son was killed.
Memorial events
Israel is organizing events today for the anniversary of the deadliest attack the country has suffered in its history. In the morning, a gathering is planned near Kibbutz Be’eri, at the site where the Nova music festival took place, which became a “slaughter site” for 370 people that Saturday morning. Another significant moment of the day is expected when night falls in Tel Aviv, where an event is organized by the families of attack victims at “Hostages Square.” However, official ceremonies are not scheduled until October 16, after the Sukkot holidays are completed. By coincidence of the Jewish calendar, today is the first day of these holidays.
Greek Foreign Ministry on today’s anniversary: Call for ceasefire
In its announcement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes about the “black” anniversary:
“Two years have passed since the abhorrent terrorist attack against Israel that cost civilian lives and caused widespread and dangerous escalation throughout the region. Our thoughts continue to be with the families of the hostages and we call for their immediate release. At the same time, the increase in antisemitic incidents, such as the recent attack in Manchester, requires collective action.
Two years after the October 7 attacks, an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip. We call for immediate achievement of a ceasefire agreement and massive, unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid. President Donald Trump’s Plan is a tangible opportunity to end hostilities. And it could serve as the basis for immediately starting the peaceful political process that will lead to the two-state solution based on International Law and relevant United Nations resolutions, creating conditions for sustainable peace and prosperity throughout the Middle East.
We welcome the crucial mediating role of Egypt and Qatar aimed at achieving lasting and sustainable ceasefire. Greece, as a reliable interlocutor of the involved parties, is ready to contribute to diplomatic efforts for ending the war and peace in the Middle East.”
