On October 7 throughout history, several significant events have occurred:
- In 2001, the War in Afghanistan began when American and British troops launched air strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden. This marked the start of Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the global War on Terror.
- On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants launched large-scale coordinated attacks on Israel, including rocket barrages and incursions into Israeli territory, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, sparking an ongoing conflict. It was described as the bloodiest day in Israeli history.
- In 1996, Fox News, the 24-hour news channel, was launched.
- In 1959, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 took the first pictures of the far side of the Moon, helping astronomers map it.
- The Auschwitz-Birkenau Sonderkommando revolt took place in 1944, a prisoner rebellion in a Nazi concentration camp crematorium which was suppressed with heavy casualties.
- The airline KLM, the oldest still operating under its original name, was formed on October 7, 1919.
- Historically notable birthdays on October 7 include Russian President Vladimir Putin (1952), American singer Toni Braxton (1967), and South African archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu (1931).
Other events include the 1765 Stamp Act Congress assembly in New York, the launch of Ford's first moving assembly line in 1913, and the 1992 signing of the initial NAFTA framework.
These events highlight October 7 as a date marked by major military conflicts, scientific achievements, and significant historical milestones.
