One year ago today, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, massacring thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals and taking hundreds more hostage, launching Israel into an unprecedented year of threats, attacks, assassinations, protests, and war.
Some 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 massacre. Over 250 people were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip, with 101 of them still being detained in captivity.
To honor the memory of the fallen and those taken hostage, the Jerusalem Post has created a timeline of the harrowing events of October 7 in hopes of memorializing and eternalizing the sacrifice of those Israelis murdered by terrorists in their homes, as well as the bravery of hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip, 12 months on.
October 7 massacre: Waking up to nightmares
6:29-6:50 a.m.: First sirens sound in the Gaza border communities of Nahal Oz, Ofakim, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Kissufim, and Be’eri, as well as the city of Sderot.
Only a few moments later, sirens sound across southern Israel and the Shfela region, as well as in Tel Aviv and nearby cities in central Israel. At this point, most of the nation was hiding in shelters.
Amid the heavy rocket fire, IDF field observers at the Nahal Oz outpost identify two gunmen running towards the fence. They also see terrorists detonating parts of the border fence. At 6:45 a.m., system disruptions at the outposts lead to some 70 terrorists raiding the base, with more joining the murderous raid later in the morning.
In Kfar Aza, Ynet photographer Roi Idan takes the first footage of Hamas paragliders entering Israel. Minutes later, his wife, Smadar, is killed before he himself is murdered while holding his three-year-old daughter, Abigail.
Some 3,500 revelers attended the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im the night before. When the first interceptions and blasts were heard, they were told to lie on the ground and protect their heads with their hands despite no sirens being triggered in the area. At 6:32 a.m., party organizers announced the event had ended and called on everyone to leave. Most left towards the car park.
6:50: Hundreds of terrorist invaders begin entering Israeli towns, from terrorists on jeeps seen driving through Sderot to infiltrations of Be’eri, Kissufim, Ofakim, and Nahal Oz. By 7:20 a.m., an emergency standby squad of the kibbutz near the Erez crossing identifies some 20 terrorists making their way towards the kibbutz.
A traffic jam ensues at the exit from the Re’im festival area as only one route, Route 232, leads out of the car park. Terrorists who infiltrated the Gaza Strip and saw the movements of cars in the area opened fire at the vehicles shortly before seven, barring the exit. Hostages were taken on the scene.
7:00: Party-goers escape from their cars to the nearby fields as the terrorists are pursuing them. Many hide in the fields, wounded. More hostages were taken into Gaza. Many who already left the party area did not know of the terrorist invasion. Upon hearing the sirens, they sought refuge in mobile bomb shelters along Route 232. When the terrorists saw them, they hurled grenades at them. Nahal combat soldier Aner Shapira, who hid in one of the shelters, managed to fend off seven of the grenades before he was killed. His close friend Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was with him, was taken hostage along with Eliya Cohen and Or Levy.
7:50: Footage surfaces of armed terrorists driving white pick-up trucks in the southern city of Sderot, spreading quickly on social media and news outlets and sowing panic among Israelis.
7:53: IDF issues the first official response, stating Hamas carried out a combined operation involving rocket fire and terrorist infiltrations.
IDF, Hamas issue first statements as Israel uncovers signs of massacres
8:00-9:00: Security forces begin arriving at the scenes of the massacres across southern Israel.
8:04: IDF announces “state of alert for war,” as Hamas’s Mohammed Deif says Hamas has begun operation “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
8:14: First sirens sound in Jerusalem.
8:20: IDF begins striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Minutes later, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approves the emergency call-up of additional reserve units.
9:00: Ronen Engel is killed by terrorists while attempting to defend his family. His body is taken to the Gaza Strip. At 9:26 a.m., Ronen’s wife, Karina, is taken captive, while their two daughters, Mika and Yuval, are taken captive.
9:06: An Israeli woman is killed by rocket debris in Tel Aviv, marking the first death on October 7 that did not occur in the South.
9:30: Terrorists begin a mass massacre and mass murder of whoever is on site of the Nova festival. 364 civilians, Israelis, and foreign nationals were horrifically murdered as videos of fleeing party-goers flooded social media. During this time, terrorists who had infiltrated Kfar Aza began massacring and kidnapping residents.
IDF launches Operation Swords of Iron
10:25: IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari becomes the first authority figure to address the Israeli public. Hagari announces the IDF has launched “Operation Swords of Iron” and says some 2,200 rockets were fired into Israel along with terrorists carrying out raids into Israeli territory. He adds that the IDF will enlist tens of thousands to reserve duty.
At the same time, terrorists kidnap Carmel Gat from her home in Be’eri. Her mother, Kinneret, is later killed. Terrorists take Carmel’s brother Alon, his wife Yarden, and their 3-year-old daughter Geffen into a vehicle. The three manage to escape. An hour later, terrorists capture Yarden again while Alon and his daughter manage to hide from view.
10:33: Further sirens sound in Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion and Holon. Soon, hundreds began gathering at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv to donate blood.
10:36: Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council announces that its head, Ofir Libstein, was murdered while fighting to defend the kibbutz. Libstein was the first confirmed death on October 7.
10:55: Abigail Idan is taken captive along with the family by whom she had taken refuge, Hagar Brodutch and her three children. All five would be released from Gaza captivity in the November hostage release deal.
11:29.: International reactions begin to flow in as then-foreign minister of the UK, James Cleverly, condemns Hamas’s attack, adding the UK will support Israel’s right to defend itself.
11:43: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Israeli citizens from the Kirya in Tel Aviv and says Israel is at war. Minutes later, Hagari says operational forces are being sent to the South.
International reactions come in as Hamas occupies Israel’s South
12:07 p.m.: France condemns Hamas’s attack and voices its solidarity with Israel.
12:15: Terrorists take control of areas and homes in kibbutz Be’eri and begin to de-facto occupy much of Israel’s south and Gaza border area. In these hours, Nira Sharabi saved seven other kibbutz residents that terrorists were attempting to take captive. Nira’s husband, Yossi Sharabi, and her brother-in-law Eli are kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
1:00: Israeli troops arrive at Kissufim, after hours of Hamas occupation.
2:00: Israel’s security cabinet convenes for the first time in the day, seven-and-a-half hours after the invasion begins. In Be’eri, some 40 terrorists embedded themselves in homes, transferring the 15 hostages they had taken in the kibbutz to houses under their control.
2:17: The first group of IDF soldiers reach the site of the Nova party.
2:30: Officers from the Border Police’s YAMAM counter-terrorism unit rescue police officers who were in a police station that was surrounded and subsequently torched by Hamas terrorists.
3:30: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.
IDF begins striking in Gaza as gunfights continue in the South
3:41: The military says an IDF aircraft strikes a Hamas terrorist cell near the Erez crossing.
4:55: The Israeli Navy kills dozens of terrorists attempting to enter Israel via the sea.
4:00: An exchange of fire begins between the security forces and the terrorists in Sderot, as Israel begins evacuations of residents from Kfar Aza and other towns along the Gaza border.
4:31-4:37: A tank that had arrived on the scene fires two anti-tank missiles onto the house occupied by Hamas. At 4:50 p.m., the terrorists’ on-field commander surrenders. The firefight continued despite the commander’s call to surrender.
5:02: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemns Hamas’s attack
5:46: ZAKA and IDF soldiers begin evacuating the bodies on the site of the Nova festival massacre.
6:00: Hundreds are reported missing to Israeli authorities.
6:15: US President Joe Biden issues a statement condemning the attack.
6:30: Preparations begin for the demolition of the police building, which is believed to have been boobytrapped by Hamas terrorists.
7:11: IDF says ground troops and aerial forces operated in several areas of the south, killing nine terrorists in the area of kibbutz Nirim and an additional four in the Erez crossing and Nir Oz areas.
7:57: Israeli special forces begin regaining control of the occupied home in Sderot. Out of the 15 hostages detained in Cohen’s home, only two survived.
9.10: IDF strikes two Hamas buildings in the Gaza Strip, which were used for terror purposes by Hamas officials.
11:30: A tank fires at the Sderot building, and a helicopter fires at it a missile to thwart the terrorists still in the building. By 2:00 a.m., final approval was given for the demolition of the building, which would not be carried out until the morning hours.
Yael Halfon contributed to this report.
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