by Mick the Ram

Exactly one year ago today (7 October) Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, completely taking their enemy by surprise and leaving nearly 1,200 people dead and 251 abducted from their homes and a nearby music festival, before being forced across the border.

Of those hostages snatched in the terrifying raid, 97 still remain in captivity, with around a third of that number believed to be already dead.

Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, declared immediately that the country was at war and so began a devastating military offensive which has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza thus far.

Fighting has now escalated over into neighbouring Lebanon with troops engaging in violent clashes with Hezbollah fighters, and in the past few weeks a direct conflict between Israel and the powerful Iranians is becoming ever more likely.

Attack caught Israelis completely off-guard

Few believed it possible for the events of 7 October, 2023 to ever take place. Israel’s defences and security appeared to be so rigid that any such manoeuvre was more or less impossible.

Nevertheless, at 6:29am, Hamas – the Palestinian militant group which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 – succeeded in penetrating the heavily guarded border fence.

Hostages snatched

The organisation that are classified as terrorists by the Israelis, the US and the EU, fired thousands of rockets creating panic as their troops began torturing and killing without regard for age or sex.

They took their hostages to be used as a bargaining tool, as well as a shield during the expected retaliation.

Within two days Israel had begun a complete siege of Gaza and a warning was given to the population of the northern half of the strip – numbering over one million people – to evacuate their homes and head to the south.

Pause in fighting didn’t last long

After almost seven weeks of intense bombardment causing huge numbers of deaths, there was a seven-day truce at the end of November which allowed 105 Israeli, dual-national and foreign hostages – mainly women and children – to be released, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners who were being held in jails in Israel.

Desperate humanitarian aid was also allowed to reach the Gaza Strip, but any hope that some sort of compromise could be reached was quickly seen to be a non-starter as fierce fighting resumed.

Devastation of Gaza and its people

Widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure has seen the best part of 2 million people being displaced from their homes since the war began, with alarming food shortages and the spread of disease adding to the desperate situation.

Over 96,000 people are reported to have suffered injuries on top of the near 42,000 deaths. Israel have estimated that more than 17,000 of those killed were Hamas fighters.

Spiralling out of control

Despite genuine efforts to try and reach a diplomatic solution, a full year on and the war not only continues to rage on, it has now spread into Lebanon, with fears it could spiral out of control with deep divisions right across the Middle East and North Africa.