Israel on Sunday marks the half a year since the October 7 massacre carried out by the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas.

“We mark six months since the cruel terror attack and the horrific massacre. Half a year since this crime against our sisters and brothers, against our state, this crime against humanity. Six months of a bloody and difficult war,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in statement marking the somber anniversary.

President Herzog remembered the plight of nearly hundred Israeli hostages, including women and children, enduring Hamas captivity for six months. “Half a year our sisters and brothers have been held by a cruel enemy, our hearts falter, day after day, minute after minute—with them, there. Half a year we, the entire people, accompany, support, embrace the families of the hostages. We never forget them or their loved ones.”

Hamas unleashes horror on October 7

On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas unleashed a multi-pronged attack on civilian communities and military posts in southern Israel. The Hamas-led assault began early morning with the launch of over 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, a tactic planned to cover the massive cross-border incursion.

Thousands of Palestinian terrorists entered Israeli kibbutz and communities, committing horrific atrocities, including rape and murder of innocent men, women and children. Terrorists killed close to 1200 people and took 243 hostages. In many cases, terrorists broadcasted their heinous crimes to the world by posting their camera footage on social media and other online platform.

The Israeli organisation, Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI), in latest February published a detailed report based on first-hand accounts. The 39-page document states that Hamas terrorists often raped the victims before the eyes of their loved ones, before murdering them.

“Many rape incidents occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrating terrorists. In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present,” the ARCCI report found. “Some Hamas members pursued victims who escaped the massacre, dragging them by their hair with screams. The majority of victims were subsequently killed during or after the sexual assault,” the report said, revealing horrendous atrocities.

For months, forensic exports struggled to identify the charred bodies of the victims. “Identification of remains has been particularly difficult since bodies were mutilated after death and homes were burned to the ground,” the Times of Israel noted on November 23.



Israel responds with operation ‘Swords of Iron’

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with the ‘Swords of Iron’ operation to bring back the Israeli hostages and wipe out Hamas from Gaza. Within days, the military mobilized close to 360,000 reservists and launched a full-scale ground offensive on October 27.

The Israeli military on Sunday published a 6 months operational update on its website, revealing the number of terrorists eliminated, destroyed terrorist targets as well as the details of humanitarian activities conducted in Gaza.

The IDF also published the names and details of 604 soldiers fallen since October 7.

The military disclosed that more than 12,000 terrorists, including hundreds of high-ranking operatives, have been eliminated since the anti-terror operation began six months ago.

According to the IDF, some “4,600 interrogations have been conducted by Unit 504 since the beginning of the war,” including of those who took part in the October 7 Massacre.

Estimated “32,000 targets have been struck from the air” at part the operation. The armed forces, seized or destroyed some 3,250 launchers and rockets, and dismantled around “4,250 terrorist infrastructure” sites, such as tunnels, weapons stockpiles and Hamas command centers, the IDF figures show.

Iranian threat looms on the horizon

As Israel tightens the noose around Hamas’s last stronghold of Rafah despite Biden administration’s mounting pressure, Iran is threating the country with a ‘direct’ attack. The chief of the Iranian armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, on Saturday threated to carry out an assault on Israel with an intent to inflict “maximum damage.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi also issued similar threats after alleged Israeli air and drone strikes killed several top Iranian and Hezbollah terrorists, including Mohammad-Reza Zahedi, a senior Iranian Islamic Guard (IRGC) commander.

Iran is planning a multi-pronged assault on Israel that could “include a swarm of Shahed loitering drones and cruise missiles,” the CBS News reported Saturday, citing U.S. intelligence assessment. “The attack is likely to come between now and the end of Ramadan next week,” the broadcaster added.

With Iran-backed Hamas losing grip over Gaza, pro-Iranian terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, have ramped up terrorist activities against Israel.

The main threat to Israel comes from Iran’s proxy Hezbollah terror militia, which has amassed a massive military buildup on Israel’s border with Lebanon. “According to the latest public estimates, Hezbollah has around 150,000 rockets and missiles, most with a range of a few dozen kilometers,” the Israel newspaper Haaretz reported October 23.

Despite repeated warning from Jerusalem, Lebanon refuses to dismantle Hezbollah terror buildup along Israel’s northern border, thereby dragging the neighbouring Arab country closer to a war with Israel.



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