1,000 Terrorists Participated in Saturday’s Attack on Israel: IDF Update

The bodies of civilians killed in the Hamas terrorist attacks are seen in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Oct. 7, 2023. Baz Ratner/AFP via Getty Images

An Israel Defense Force (IDF) spokesperson has revealed approximately 1,000 terrorists participated in Saturday’s assault on Israel, resulting in more deaths in one day than any other time in the nation’s history since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Hamas, recognised as a terrorist organization by the United States and other nations, initiated a surprise attack against Israel from the air, land, and sea on Saturday, launching thousands of rockets from their territory in the Gaza Strip, and raiding homes where they killed or took hostage Israeli civilians.

Hamas is one of the two major factions in Palestinian politics, the other being Fatah, and has long been trying to claim land from the state of Israel, which it says rightfully belongs to Palestine.

In an Oct. 8 nightly update from IDF reserve Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Mr. Conricus called the situation in Israel “a dire one.”

Almost 48 hours into the conflict, Mr. Conricus said that Israeli troops are still fighting and hunting down the last of the terrorists inside their territory, although he expects it will take “a few more hours” or perhaps longer.

According to Mr. Conricus, “there were approximately 1,000 terrorists who participated in yesterday’s invasion of Israel,” resulting in at least 700 deaths of Israeli military and civilians.

However, Mr. Conricus expects “the astronomic figure” of the dead to rise in the coming days. Over 2,100 people have been reported as wounded, with a high number of those receiving critical injuries.

Israeli soldiers look at the remains of a police station that was the site of a battle following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, on Oct. 8, 2023. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

“It is by far the worst day in Israeli history. Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity on one day,” Mr. Conricus said.

For context, Mr. Conricus says an American audience could compare it to surprise attacks by terrorists and foreign powers experienced by the United States in the past.

“If you’re Americans that want to compare this to something in American history, this could be a 9/11 and a Pearl Harbour wrapped into one,” he said.

“We’re a small country with about 8–9 million Jews living here. And out of that population, we’ve had 700 killed and 2,100 wounded.”

Unknown Number of People Kidnapped

Officially known as the State of Israel, it has existed since 1948, when David Ben-Gurion, executive head of the World Zionist Organization, and later the first Prime Minister of Israel, declared the establishment of a Jewish state, and Israel’s independence.

According to the World Bank, Israel’s population is around 9.3 million people.

Mr. Conricus says during the attacks that there were also an unknown number of people kidnapped by Hamas (an Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement) and Islamic Jihad terrorists.

Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. AP Photo/Hatem Ali

Mr. Conricus believes it “is a very large amount of Israeli civilians and soldiers held inside Gaza,” and he expects the official number to be revealed in the coming days.

“At this time, I can only say that we are talking about many, many Israelis who were forcefully taken from Israel: women, children, infants, elderly, and even disabled people,” the lieutenant colonel said.

“And I’ve seen stories of a grandma Holocaust survivor who was taken across the border from Israel to Gaza by Hamas militants, with two toddlers behind her, in a special vehicle.

“That is the extent of the brutality, the cynicism, and the monsters that we are facing,” he added.

In response to the assault, Israeli forces announced the launch of “Operation Swords of Iron,” calling it a “large-scale operation to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack against Israel by Hamas.”

100,000 Reserve Troops Now In Southern Israel

Mr. Conricus revealed Israel has amassed 100,000 reserve troops in southern Israel, preparing to execute the tasks assigned by their government. Palestinian civilians have been urged to evacuate from known Hamas locations and hideouts ahead of the Israeli military response.

At the conclusion of the war, Mr. Conricus says that Israel’s goal is to ensure that Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians or be able to govern the Gaza Strip, which it took control of after a brief civil war with the Palestine Liberation Organization in 2007.

The Palestinian exclave of the Gaza Strip lies along the Mediterranean coast and is only roughly 25 miles long and seven miles wide.

Despite its small size, it is still home to more than 2 million people.

“At the end of this war, we will change the situation for the better around our border in Gaza,” Mr. Conricus said. “And it will be much better for Israeli civilians and it will be better for the Palestinians as well.”

Today though, Mr. Conricus says the focus is on burying the dead, grieving with the families, rallying Israeli troops, and preparing for the military tasks to come.

Israeli General Calls Hamas More Brutal than ISIS

In another Oct. 8 update shared to X, the head of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, shared his view that the actions of Hamas are more brutal and barbaric than even the militant Islamist terrorist group ISIS.

A view of a junction shows the aftermath of a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in the Sderot area, southern Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. Ammar Awad/Reuters

“Israeli intelligence indicates that Hamas are hiding among Gazan civilians, inside Gazan homes and schools, hospitals and mosques. Hamas behaves like ISIS, I repeat, Hamas behaves like ISIS,” Mr. Hagari said.

“It’s the same strategy, to maximize civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel and make you all forget the massacre of hundreds of Israelis that started this war in the first place. We will not forget.”

An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by armed Hamas militants who entered from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, on Oct. 7, 2023. AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov

Mr. Hagari called the military response by Israel “a forceful, determined, and sustained” one involving the Israel air force striking as precisely as possible hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza.

He said that while Hamas commits war crimes, Israel will follow international law while also “exercising our right and responsibility to protect our civilians.”

Mr. Hagari also revealed Israel is looking to the north, following attacks by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon in solidarity with the extremist Palestinian position.

“Hamas terrorists target Israeli civilians; Israel will target Hamas terrorists wherever they will be in Gaza,” he said of Israel’s response. “We will do whatever it takes to protect our people and restore security to Israel.”