Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, in a large-scale surprise assault, which was the deadliest attack in Israeli history, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The attack involved firing thousands of rockets and militants infiltrating Israeli border towns using multiple tactics including trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders. Hamas cited several reasons for the attack:
- It characterized the attack as a response to decades of Israeli oppression, killing of Palestinians, and the prolonged blockade of the Gaza Strip.
- Israeli actions at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site in Jerusalem, were highlighted as a catalyst.
- Hamas sought the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.
- The broader context included the occupation of Palestinian territories and settler violence.
- Hamas also aimed to disrupt ongoing normalization efforts between Israel and Arab countries, which it saw as marginalizing the Palestinian cause.
The attack was highly coordinated and brutal, involving massacres, hostage- taking, and severe atrocities, marking it as both a strategic and ideological effort to revive the Palestinian cause and assert their resistance against Israeli policies and presence.
