The conflict between the Palestinian people and the Israeli people has been an ongoing battle since the British Mandate was terminated, and the State of Israel declared independence in 1948 after receiving support in the United Nations vote (33-13-10) for the partition plan in 1947, but this attack is different. Israel has been attacked many times throughout its 75-year history. When Israel pulled all of its civilians out of and handed over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people in 2005, Hamas took power and began its reign of terror on Israelis in June 2007.

Oct. 7, 2023 was the single-deadliest day for the Jewish people and the State of Israel since the Holocaust. According to the Israel Defense Force (IDF), on Oct. 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists tore down the security fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel using tractors, RPGs and explosives. At the same time, Hamas terrorists launched thousands of rockets at the sovereign state of Israel. Terrorists entered using paragliders to fly over the security fence as well as boats with the intention of invading Zikim Beach, a beach where Israelis were spending their Saturday. This cool autumn day was also the Jewish holiday of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest as well as Simchat Torah, a day on which Jewish people around the world celebrate finishing the Torah and beginning to re-read it by dancing, singing and rejoicing. Hamas terrorists barbarically invaded Israel with the premeditated aim of murdering innocent Israeli civilian mothers, children, fathers and elderly.

Instead of our peers across campuses nationwide and the greater non-Jewish community all wishing us condolences and praying for our people, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, 51 percent of young adults ages 18-24 who were surveyed defended the terrorist attack and the merciless violence, and did not condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization that killed out of their hatred toward the Jewish people, leaving students feeling uneasy at best and afraid at worst.

The massacre began when Hamas terrorists invaded multiple Israeli communities and IDF bases near the border with Gaza. After managing to gain entry to the towns and bases, Hamas terrorists began to shoot at whatever was in their line of sight. According to the IDF, terrorists broke in to Israeli houses and shot, raped, beheaded and burned innocent Israelis inside. Full families, who were hiding in the safe room, a place designed to be a haven at the time of rocket fire from neighboring terrorists, were shot at from outside the room until the terrorists managed to gain entry. According to the IDF website, “Hamas terrorists briefly took control of about 10 Israeli towns, terrorizing and brutalizing their residents.”

At least 1,400 civilians were murdered and tortured, and 239 were kidnapped to Gaza, with those kidnapped ranging from infants to adults in their 80s, including Holocaust survivors. Of the 1,400 civilians who were murdered, at least 260 were attending an all-night rave at the border, the Tribe of Nova Festival. The festival was interrupted by terrorists aiming to murder civilians simply for the fact that they were Jewish, spreading hate in an environment valuing peace. According to CNN, at around 6:30 a.m., partygoers from across the world took cover as the sirens of incoming rockets from Gaza blared. Terrorists invaded the festival and began to fire at partygoers left and right, murdering those who were unable to find safety. Few were able to survive, some hiding in bushes for hours on end. The majority of the murdered were youth.

At Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community with roughly 450 residents, on Oct. 7, almost 160 people were forced to evacuate. Approximately 1 in 4 residents of the peaceful community of Kibbutz Nir Oz have been kidnapped, murdered or missing, according to a statement from kibbutz.

IDF soldiers did all they could to defend their country and were murdered by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated their bases, while defending the land of their ancestors.

Among the over 239 individuals kidnapped to Gaza is Omer Neutra, a native of Plainview, New York, who was accepted to Binghamton before deferring to spend a year in Israel. Omer then deferred his acceptance to BU once more to stay in Israel and enlist in the IDF.

Israeli cribs and baby carriers were discovered bloodstained. Families were discovered in embrace, yet lifeless. Pets were left behind, including a dog who refused to leave a child’s bed, waiting for its owners who would never return. Hamas terrorists burned down entire houses while individuals were hiding in the safe room and slaughtered babies.

The Israeli response to Hamas’ reign of terror on Oct. 7 is to eliminate the threat of Hamas in its entirety — its leadership, organizational structure and members — and by doing so, ensure that no Israeli grandmother, grandfather, mother, father or child should ever again have to fear for their lives in their own home.

Seth Schlank is a junior majoring in psychology.