By Jacob Rampino 
Photo Credit: Hatem Moussa, AP
Saturday (Oct. 7)
On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas gunmen infiltrated southern Israel. Coming from the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip, the militants are believed to have entered by breaching Israel’s Iron Wall perimeter, with others entering by way of the sea. The group took several positions within southern Israel.
As part of the infiltration, Hamas took several Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage. The number of hostages would later be confirmed as 130, with 30 held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the other 100 held by Hamas directly. Several hostages were taken back to Gaza to be held in tunnels which Israel has targeted in previous conflicts.
Simultaneously, Hamas began launching several thousand rockets towards Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was not able to counteract all of the rockets. It was initially estimated that 250 people were killed and 1,590 were wounded within Israel.
In response, Israel launched air strikes on Gaza. Israel targeted 17 Hamas military compounds and four operational headquarters, destroying three separate multi-story buildings. Israel also cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip, which accounts for 80% of Gaza’s energy supply. Three Palestinian journalists were shot and killed in Gaza. The initial response killed an estimated 232 people in Gaza, wounding 1,600.
Sunday (Oct. 8)
The following day, Israel officially declared war on Hamas. Israel has undertaken several military operations against Gaza in the past but has not officially declared war in decades. The declaration approved “significant military steps” to destroy Hamas’ “military and governing capabilities”.
Israeli air strikes continued, destroying both military and civil buildings. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that since Saturday, 413 people were killed, including 78 children, with 2,300 wounded.
Israel recovered 260 bodies from a music festival that had been attacked by Hamas gunmen Saturday morning. It is believed to be the worst civilian massacre in Israeli history. Of the 3,500 concert-goers, some are thought to have been taken hostage by Hamas. On Sunday, Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel. 700 Israelis, including children, were said to have been killed since Saturday. The number of casualties continued to rise throughout the week as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrestled back control of southern Israel, allowing Zaka to recover the bodies of those killed in the Hamas attack.
In the north, Hamas ally, Hezbollah, fired rockets and artillery from southern Lebanon at the disputed Shebaa Farms, which Israel has occupied since 1967. According to the Lebanese army, Israel returned fire, which left “several people wounded”.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that several Hamas and Hezbollah members indicated Iran had helped plan and gave the “go-ahead” for Saturday’s attacks. Iran denied the claim, though Secretary of State Antony Blinken was skeptical, stating that “there is certainly a long relationship” between Iran and the militant groups. Iran is the largest weapons supplier of Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are designated foreign terrorist organizations by the US Department of State.
In humanitarian matters, Doctors Without Borders said a nurse and an ambulance driver were killed in Israeli strikes on two hospitals in Gaza, which was reported by the BBC. In a post to X, Doctors Without Borders stated that “[healthcare] facilities cannot become targets. We ask all parties to respect health infrastructures, which must remain a sanctuary for people seeking treatment”. Israel’s i24News released a video purportedly showing Hamas attacking an ambulance, though this has not been independently verified.
The UN reported that over 123,000 Gazans were displaced, many taking shelter in schools run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). According to UNRWA, one school sheltering over 225 people took a direct hit but did not state where the fire came from.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the United States would be sending an aircraft carrier, missile cruiser, four missile destroyers, and several fighter jets to the region, with more aid on the way. On Saturday, President Biden stated that this “is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks”.
In Europe, Germany’s government began a debate on whether aid to Palestine should end following the attacks carried out by Hamas. The conservative opposition voiced concern over continued aid, with former chancellor candidate Armin Laschet stating “We will no longer finance terrorists”. The Left party and the Greens stated that the aid does not fund Hamas, German commissioner for humanitarian assistance Luise Amtsberg said that these “funds above all gave suffering people in the Palestinian territories access to food provisions and health care”.
Monday (Oct. 9)
On Monday, Hamas threatened to execute an Israeli civilian hostage any time Israel struck a new civilian house without warning. Israel’s military stated that it regained full control of southern Israel, where Hamas militants had previously taken hold outside of Gaza. The IDF also said it found the bodies of 1,500 Hamas militants.
Shortly after the Hamas announcement, Israel recovered the bodies of at least 100 civilians from Be’eri, a kibbutz that Hamas had seized. Several witnesses said children and the elderly were taken hostage. According to Reuters: “Video footage shows Hamas gunmen manhandling Be’eri residents and pulling them along. In another video, the same residents are seen again, lying dead further up the road.”
Israel fired into Southern Lebanon, killing at least three members of Hezbollah. This came as a response to a cross-border raid by the PIJ, which resulted in the death of Israeli deputy commander Lieutenant Colonel Alim Abdullah. Many residents in southern Lebanon fled their homes to avoid the shelling.
Within the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian journalists were killed by an airstrike late Monday. Jabalia refugee camp was also “flattened” following an Israeli airstrike, with Palestinians evacuating the injured from beneath the rubble.
According to Egypt’s intelligence minister, Egypt repeatedly warned Israel about the Hamas attacks, expressing concern over “something unusual, a terrible operation” that was being planned in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied such warnings were given.
Qatar confirmed that it was in talks with both Israel and Hamas to try and secure a prisoner swap. The swap would entail the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children held by Israeli prisons. The talks were coordinated with the United States and began Saturday. Israel denied that the talks were occurring. When Al Jazeera asked Hamas about the possibility of negotiating a ceasefire, they responded that they were open to “something of that sort”.
PM Netanyahu said that Israel’s war on Hamas has “only started”, and that anywhere Hamas is based will be turned into “rubble”. Earlier on Sunday, PM Netanyahu reportedly told President Biden that “we have to go in”, about Gaza. This was followed Monday by an order from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for a “complete siege” of Gaza. Approximately 300,000 Israeli military reservists were called upon in preparation for the possibility of a ground invasion. The Israeli government also said it would cut off all electricity, food, water, and fuel to Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated “I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in — no electricity, food, or fuel”. Guterres additionally said, “I recognize the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people. But nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and abduction of civilians”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed that there “is an urgent need to establish a humanitarian corridor for unimpeded, life-saving patient referrals and movement of humanitarian personnel and essential health supplies”. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the announced siege “represents a grave violation of international law”.
The US Department of Defense responded by stating that the US “unequivocally supports Israel’s right to defend itself” and was “surging” armaments to Israel, sending weapons mainly for aerial purposes. President Biden said that 11 Americans had been killed by Hamas fighters, with several still missing.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar would later state: “Israel is under threat. They do have a right to defend themselves, but they don’t have the right to breach international humanitarian law.” PM Varadkar added that operations which “clearly affect civilians disproportionately are wrong.”
The European Union announced an immediate freeze to $729 million in developmental aid for Palestinians. This announcement was later reversed, the commission indicating that aid was to remain under review.
At the end of Monday, 900 Israelis, including 73 Israeli soldiers and 680 Palestinians were reported dead.
Tuesday (Oct. 10)
On Tuesday, fighting at the Lebanese border intensified. Hezbollah is reported to have fired a missile at an Israeli tank, which Israel responded to by striking one of Hezbollah’s observation towers. Hamas was also said to have fired at Israel from Lebanon, and at the city of Ashkelon from Gaza, the latter of which struck an Israeli hospital and resulted in several severe injuries.
A new belligerent, Syria, launched rockets at Israel but did not hit any targets. Israel shelled the origins of the rockets but did not comment as to what group in particular was firing at Israel from Syria.
Foreign press was allowed into the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Aza on Tuesday, four days after it was first attacked by Hamas militants. The IDF was unable to give a count of total casualties, as there were still several homes suspected of being booby-trapped with explosives. Israeli Major General Itai Veruv described the scene: “Mothers, fathers, babies, young families killed in their beds, in the protection room, in the dining room, in their garden”, adding that some were decapitated.
PM Netanyahu formed a unity government with political rival and former defense minister Benny Gantz. The new war cabinet which the unity government established, composed of PM Netanyahu, Gantz, and current defense minister Gallant, vowed to wipe Hamas “off the face of the earth”.
Israel shifted tactics Tuesday, warning and then striking neighborhoods rather than individual buildings. Large numbers of Gazans were said to still be trapped under rubble, ambulances and rescue teams unable to reach them. Israel struck hundreds of targets in Rimal, home to “ministries of the Hamas-run government, universities, media organizations and the aid agency offices”. Two Hamas political officials were killed Monday night, their deaths confirmed Tuesday.
The military spokesman for Israel, Richard Hecht, claimed that “Gaza’s parliament and civilian ministries were legitimate targets in its offensive against Hamas”. The spokesman also said that there would not be the same “level of fidelity” in warnings before strikes, due to the air force being “stretched thin”.
The Gaza Strip’s last open border crossing, Egyptian run Rafah, was struck Tuesday. Prior to the crossing’s bombing, Egypt was working closely with the UN and other agencies to secure humanitarian aid for Gaza through Rafah. Egypt also tried to deter Palestinians from coming to Rafah to avoid a mass exodus into the Sinai peninsula, the crossing only open to those who had prior authorization to leave.
Military spokesman Hecht recommended Gazans leave for Egypt anyway, saying “Rafah crossing is still open. Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out”. Later that day, Israel struck the crossing with only a few minutes’ warning, rendering it impassable. All other crossings are controlled by Israel.
Several claims were made Tuesday by PM Netanyahu, alleging that Hamas “engaged in atrocities, including binding boys and girls and shooting them in the head, burning people alive, raping women and beheading soldiers”. Another widely spread claim came from a single source, i24News, which stated that 40 infants were killed by Hamas in various ways, including decapitation. Neither claim could be independently verified by the Associated Press or The Hill when reported Tuesday.
The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group arrived in the region, composed of the several attack and support craft promised by the US to Israel on Sunday. The US also made clear that a second aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, was available for Israel if needed.
At the end of Tuesday, the number of hostages estimated to be held by Hamas increased from 130 to 150, and the number of Israeli reservists from 300,000 to 360,000. The WHO declared Tuesday that their hospitals in Gaza were above capacity, and out of medical supplies. The number of displaced Gazans was estimated to be 263,934, with 175,486 taking shelter in UNRWA schools. Over 1,000 Israelis were reported to have been killed since Saturday, with 2,806 injured. At least 830 Palestinians were reported to have been killed since Saturday, with 4,250 injured.
Wednesday (Oct. 11)
On Wednesday, Hamas claimed that it released three of its hostages, a woman and two children. This has not been independently verified.
Israel increased its forces in the north with thousands of additional soldiers. Israel shelled several towns in southern Lebanon in response to two Hezbollah missiles being fired at an Israeli military post. Hezbollah said the missiles were a retaliation for Israeli strikes on Monday, and that several IDF soldiers were killed in the attack. Israel’s response damaged the Lebanese towns of Marwahin, Yarin, and Dharya, injuring three civilians.
In Gaza, the sole power plant left supplying energy to the strip ran out of fuel, leaving Gaza without electricity. UNRWA released that 11 of its staff had been killed in the Gaza Strip since Saturday, saying “[some] were killed in their homes with their families”. The International Federation of Red Cross/Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported five members killed, four of which were Palestine Red Crescent paramedics killed “when their ambulances were hit in two different incidents”.
According to the Times of Israel, President Joe Biden “confirms reports that Hamas terrorists beheaded Israeli children”. President Biden himself said, “It is important for Americans to see what is happening. I have been doing this for a long time. I never thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children”. A National Security official later clarified that neither President Biden nor any member of the administration had seen such photos and that Biden was referring to reports from Israeli officials and media.
At the end of Wednesday, over 1,200 Israelis were reported killed, including 155 soldiers. Over 1,050 Gazans were reported killed and over 5,100 were reported injured.
Thursday (Oct. 12)
On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister made clear that whether a “new front” was opened with Israel depended entirely on how Israel acted in Gaza. This new front would most likely be between Israel and Lebanon, Iran being a close ally and main supplier of Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
Military spokesman Hecht indicated that the IDF was preparing for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, if the war cabinet decided to order it. Israel’s artillery began to fire on Gaza every 30 seconds. The Israeli energy minister made clear that no electricity, water, or fuel will enter Gaza until the 150 hostages are released.
Israel also struck at Syria’s two major airports in Damascus and Aleppo, putting their runways out of commission. Israel’s ambassador to Germany said the strikes were meant to stop “weapons deliveries from Iran”.
The top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, spoke Thursday about the jurisdiction of the court, making it clear that the ICC had the authority to prosecute actions in both Israel and Gaza.
Several UN experts denounced attacks on civilians from both Hamas and Israel, stating such action “amounts to a war crime”. The experts provided several statements on specific crimes:
“We strongly condemn the horrific crimes committed by Hamas, the deliberate and widespread killing and hostage-taking of innocent civilians, including older persons and children. These actions constitute heinous violations of international law and international crimes, for which there must be urgent accountability…”
“We also strongly condemn Israel’s indiscriminate military attacks against the already exhausted Palestinian people of Gaza, comprising over 2.3 million people, nearly half of whom are children… They have lived under unlawful blockade for 16 years, and already gone through five major brutal wars, which remain unaccounted for.”
According to the UN, the number of displaced persons in Gaza grew to 423,000, with 650,000 running out of water due to the blockade. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that hospitals in the Gaza Strip could turn into “morgues” without electricity. The UN stated that the blockade “amounts to collective punishment”, which is considered a war crime.
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said they verified Israel’s use of artillery-fired white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Israel denied the use of white phosphorus. White phosphorus is often used to obscure troop movements on the ground in a smokescreen effect, but burns on contact. White phosphorus burns may cause organ failure and can be fatal. According to Human Rights Watch, the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas like Gaza “violates the international humanitarian law”.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel Thursday, assuring that America will “always be there” for Israel. Back in the US, officials have made an agreement with Qatar to block Iran from accessing a $6 billion humanitarian assistance account. Iran was allowed to draw from the account, which is funded by its oil sales, following a prisoner swap in September. Each transaction required US approval, which it has now committed to deny following the attacks by Hamas on Israel. On Thursday, 27 American citizens had died in Israel since Saturday, and 14 remained unaccounted for.
The Israeli government showed “graphic images of dead children and civilians” to Blinken and other NATO defense ministers. Blinken reacted to the images, saying “Images are worth a thousand words. These images may be worth a million.” PM Netanyahu’s office released “a picture of a dead infant in a pool of blood and the charred body of a child” on X, which was included in the NATO brief. None of the pictures included beheaded children. Those pictures were not released to the public, but when Reuters was given the opportunity to view them in Jerusalem, they could not independently verify the photographs. There have, however, been several other verified instances of civilian women and children being killed by Hamas since Saturday.
A pro-Palestinian rally on Thursday was broken up by police using teargas and a water cannon. France’s interior minister had banned pro-Palestinian protests, stating it was “likely to generate disturbances to public order”. France has Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations, leading many to fear that the conflict may spill over there. Over 20 individuals have been arrested in France since Saturday for anti-semitic acts.
Elsewhere in Europe, the UK has sent two Royal Navy ships as well as surveillance planes to support Israel. Germany also agreed to send two combat drones, Chancellor Olaf Sholz asked PM Netanyahu to contact Germany for any needs.
Among the 1,417 Gazans killed since Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 447 were children and 248 were women, with 6,268 wounded. 1,200 Israelis, both civilian and soldier, were reported killed, with approximately 3,000 wounded.
Friday (Oct. 13)
On Friday, Israel gave 24 hours’ notice for 1.1 million Gazans to flee the northern portion of the strip. This is approximately half of the Gazan population of 2.3 million. Hamas urged civilians to stay put, and many Palestinians feared they would not be let back into northern Gaza after the war’s end.
The UN warned that such an evacuation would be “calamitous”, and urged Israel to reverse the order. According to the ICRC: “The instructions issued by the Israeli authorities for the population of Gaza City to immediately leave their homes, coupled with the complete siege explicitly denying them food, water, and electricity, are not compatible with international humanitarian law”.
Hamas claimed that an Israeli airstrike hit a convoy of fleeing Gazans, mostly women and children, killing 70. According to Sky News: “It was not immediately clear who the target was, or whether insurgents were among the passengers.” The IDF has said they had “no indication” that the strike originated from them and said it was possible the strike came from a misfired militant rocket. Reuters could not independently verify the incident.
The IDF carried out “localized raids” in Gaza beginning Friday, stating in a post to Telegram that “the IDF conducted raids in the territory of the Gaza Strip in an effort to eliminate the threat of terrorists and weapons in the area and locate hostages. IDF soldiers searched and collected evidence that would assist in the effort to locate hostages.”
A Reuters journalist was killed, and six others injured, in a strike on southern Lebanon. It was not clear who fired the strike, but Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, along with a Hezbollah lawmaker, blamed Israel. Israel’s envoy to the UN said the claim would be investigated.
1,300 Israelis and 1,900 Palestinians were said to have been killed since last Saturday.
Saturday (Oct. 14)
The evacuation of northern Gaza continued Saturday, as Israel deployed the troops throughout the country in preparation for a possible invasion of Gaza. The IDF was planning to “operate significantly” in the north of the Gaza Strip, “with an emphasis on significant ground operations” in the coming days.
Hezbollah fired at five Israeli outposts located in the disputed Shebaa Farms region, using missiles and mortars. The number of casualties is unclear.
NBC reported Saturday that they had exclusively obtained documents which “appear to be orders for two highly trained Hamas units to surround and infiltrate villages and target places where civilians, including children, gather.” The documents apparently detailed a plan to “kill as many people as possible” and take hostages. The plans targeted several elementary schools, as well as a youth center in kibbutz Kfar Sa’ad.
Israeli military forensic teams examining around 1,300 bodies from Hamas’ attack have said that there are signs of various abuse, including rape and torture. According to a reserve warrant officer: “We’ve seen dismembered bodies with their arms and feet chopped off, people that were beheaded, a child that was beheaded”. Reuters stated that the forensic team “didn’t present any forensic evidence in the form of pictures or medical records.”
The WHO called on Israel to reverse Friday’s evacuation order of northern Gaza hospitals, saying the order was a “death sentence” for injured Palestinians being treated. The WHO pointed to “patients that need to stay connected to life support machines, newborn babies on incubators, women with pregnancy complications and others.” If patients were to relocate to the south, hospitals there have been filled “beyond their capacity”, just as in the north. The WHO also raised concerns “that hospital directors and workers have to choose between abandoning ill patients or putting their lives at risk by attempting to transport them.”
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, warned Saturday that “Palestinians are in grave danger of mass ethnic cleansing”. Albanese called for a ceasefire, stating that: “Any continued military operations by Israel have gone well beyond the limits of international law.”
Albanese additionally said that the “international community has the responsibility to prevent and protect populations from atrocity crimes. Accountability for international crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces and Hamas must also be immediately pursued”.
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry said Saturday that it had been “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides”, which may now be used for an investigation led by the ICC.
US President Joe Biden called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, and offered his full support for “urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”
In an online post to X, Biden said: “The U.S. is working with the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan — and with the UN — to surge support to ease the humanitarian consequences of Hamas’s attack, create conditions needed to resume the flow of assistance, and advocate for the upholding of the law of war”.
By the end of the week, approximately 1,300 Israelis and 2,200 Palestinians were reported to have been killed.