On October 7, 2023, Israel experienced the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust when Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists launched a coordinated, unprecedented cross-border assault from Gaza. More than 1,200 civilians, including men, women, and children, were murdered, and over 240 civilians were taken hostage. The brutality of the attack—executions, sexual violence, mutilations, and abductions—sent shockwaves throughout the state of Israel and the world. The sheer magnitude of the atrocity clarified that Israel was engaged not in a border skirmish, but in an existential war imposed by a network of terror organizations led and financed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The meticulously planned offensive began with thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli towns, followed by waves of infiltrations by Hamas commandos. The attackers, equipped and trained with Iranian and Hezbollah support, ravaged Israeli border communities, committing acts of unspeakable violence. The massacre drew immediate condemnation from governments and Jewish communities globally, but also ignited a renewed campaign of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric in some international quarters. Israel’s leadership declared a state of war and mobilized under Operation Iron Swords, intent on dismantling the terror infrastructure embedded throughout Gaza.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir led the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a multi-phase campaign targeting Hamas’s command posts, weapons stockpiles, and extensive tunnel networks—many deliberately located beneath civilian areas, in clear contravention of international norms. Despite efforts to warn Gaza residents and to employ precision-guided weapons, the conflict’s urban nature and Hamas’s use of human shields elevated civilian risks. Israel upheld its commitment to proportionality and distinction in warfare, but the terrorist group’s tactics—using schools, hospitals, and mosques as cover—ensured the suffering of Gaza’s population.
The war’s context reaches beyond Gaza. Iran’s regime has, for years, armed and overseen not only Hamas in Gaza, but Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen, orchestrating a regional siege against Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operates as the lynchpin, providing advanced weaponry, funds, and operational guidance to all major fronts of the so-called “axis of resistance.” This strategy seeks to force a multi-front war, stretching Israeli resources and exposing Israeli civilians in the hope of diplomatic isolation for the Jewish state.
On the northern border, Hezbollah—boasting tens of thousands of Iranian-supplied rockets—has engaged in repeated attacks, drawing Israeli responses and threatening wider escalation. Elsewhere, Iranian proxies have fired drones and missiles from Syria and Yemen, while rocket fire from Gaza has not ceased. Intelligence assessments indicate continued shipments of weapons and materiel into all theaters of confrontation, despite Israeli and allied efforts to interdict them.
Central to the war is the ongoing hostage crisis. Hamas’s seizure of more than 240 Israelis and foreign nationals—children, women, elderly, and the sick—has laid bare the group’s total disregard for human rights and international law. These victims, kidnapped from their homes and communities, are held incommunicado in Gaza’s sprawling tunnel networks. Israel maintains that there is a fundamental legal and moral distinction between the innocent hostages and convicted terrorists whom Israel has, in the past, released in exchange. No credible policy or law grants equivalence between these categories, underscoring the justice of the Israeli position.
In response, Israel has prosecuted a multi-dimensional campaign rooted in the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The IDF’s operational doctrine seeks to neutralize Hamas’s capabilities, degrade its leadership, and secure the return of hostages, all while minimizing impact on Gaza residents to the extent possible. The military’s commitment to these principles is visible in public warnings, evacuation corridors, and the provision of humanitarian aid—though Hamas’s systematic theft and diversion of international assistance for its own military use complicates these efforts.
Diplomatically, Israel faces both support and hostility in the international arena. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has reaffirmed its strategic commitment to Israel’s security, providing military resupply, diplomatic backing in the UN, and continued development of advanced defensive systems such as Iron Dome. Meanwhile, divisions persist within the United Nations and European capitals, often focusing more on criticism of Israeli operations than on condemning the terror groups and their Iranian patrons responsible for instigating the violence.
The conflict has prompted examination of the deeper roots of hostility. The Hamas charter is explicit in its call for Israel’s destruction; its leaders routinely glorify martyrdom and the targeting of civilians. Similarly, Iranian officials continue to issue threats of annihilation against Israel, and their proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen exploit regional instability to challenge Israel on multiple fronts.
The 2023 war also coincided with significant shifts in regional diplomacy. The Abraham Accords, which normalized ties between Israel and several Arab states, have so far withstood the strain of open conflict. Shared concern over Iranian expansionism has kept channels open with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and others, although public rhetoric in the broader Arab world remains mixed. Meanwhile, the Egyptian and Jordanian governments maintain security coordination with Israel under the shadow of potential escalation on multiple borders.
Inside Israel, the October 7 massacre galvanized national unity and resilience. Israeli civil society responded with massive volunteer efforts, support for the wounded and displaced, and global advocacy against antisemitism. Israeli authorities continue to facilitate humanitarian corridors for Gaza residents, even as Hamas and similar groups exploit humanitarian infrastructure for their own gain.
The war has exposed the challenges of modern conflict, where terrorist organizations wage asymmetric warfare from within civilian populations, using the language of human rights in propaganda battles even as they violate those rights themselves. Israeli officials have consistently called for clear distinctions in international discourse—between terror and defense, criminal and innocent, democracy and lawless aggression.
As the campaign advances, the Israeli government maintains that its goal is not permanent occupation, but the uprooting of Hamas’s military and political powers, and the restoration of long-term security to all of Israel’s citizens. Officials underscore that a sustainable peace will only be possible when the terror threat is dismantled and a realignment of regional interests is achieved.
In sum, Israel’s war is not of its own choosing, but is conducted to ensure survival in the face of open genocidal threats and relentless terror attacks engineered by Iran and its proxies. The global community now faces a historic test: to uphold the principles of law, justice, and truth, and to support a sovereign democracy defending its citizens from annihilation.
The path forward for Israel may remain fraught, yet the resilience of its people, the professionalism of its military, and the clarity of its cause stand as a testament to its determination. The struggle is not merely for Israel alone, but for the values that sustain civilized society in the face of terror.
