Dawn broke over Israel around 6:30 a.m. last Saturday as Hamas factions, including Al-Qassam and the Quds Brigades, mounted an attack of unprecedented scale. The assault appeared meticulously coordinated, catching Israel off guard after decades of relative quiet. In the days that followed, officials confirmed a death toll of at least 1,300, with roughly 150 people still unaccounted for, a figure reported by Israeli authorities.
The morning featured repeated strikes on military bases, brutal massacres of civilians, and a sequence of shocking breaches ranging from a music festival to farming kibbutzim. The violence extended to mass kidnappings and the slaughter of men, women, and children in various communities.
Hamas employed a blend of electronic warfare, drones, and explosively equipped devices designed to overwhelm state-of-the-art defense systems guarding the separation barrier. The attackers used excavators and other heavy equipment to undermine fortifications and deployed motorized paragliders to strike from unexpected angles.
They rehearsed it and released it on the networks
Evidence suggests the plan was refined down to the last detail. A major news agency reported that a video outlining the attack was posted on social platforms about a month in advance, effectively serving as a roadmap for the operation.
Observers note that the training footage mirrors the actual events, including clips showing the detonation of a replica of the barrier and the assault of a military post from room to room in perfectly synchronized moves, with semi-automatic fire aimed at targets that resembled people. A two-minute propaganda clip circulated on Hamas channels on September 12 appears to depict a control room and militants orchestrating actions across several TV screens.
There are also indications that attempts were made to disable communication towers with drones or explosives, a precursor to a broader massacre anticipated for Saturday.
Kibbutz WhatsApp group
Western nations, including those in Europe and the United States, labeled the attack as terrorism given the path of destruction that primarily affected civilians. Reports from major outlets indicate that a Be’eri kibbutz WhatsApp group, comprising around two hundred residents, provided minute-by-minute insight into events. The messages conveyed fear, violence, and devastation as gunmen breached borders and moved through southern Israel.
One post carried a sharp warning, urging residents to seek safety and close themselves in safe rooms that line many Israeli homes to withstand rocket attacks. The room-by-room chaos, shared in near real time, highlighted the human cost of the invasion, including children, the elderly, and pregnant women who lost their lives or were gravely injured. This online thread became a stark chronicle of a community under siege.
Messages also reflected the desperate requests for information about loved ones and the unsettling uncertainty about who might be at the door. In the following hours, the group name was altered to reflect the urgent needs of Be’eri families, underscoring how communities used digital channels to organize responses amid crisis.
Some residents, armed and prepared, engaged in defending their homes and neighborhoods. One account described how a homeowner briefly repelled an intruder, while another story recounted the harrowing experience of a ten-year-old girl who survived after her mother was killed and her father wounded. The broader violence extended beyond kibbutzim into desert settlements near Gaza and cities such as Sderot, where similar shocks reverberated through daily life.
Hamas’ “little army”
Israeli forces intensified air and ground campaigns across Gaza as the week progressed, with the goal of degrading Hamas’ capacity to operate within crowded urban areas. The fighting prompted widespread destruction of densely populated neighborhoods as the Israeli military urged civilian evacuations from northern Gaza, prompting debate among observers about strategic aims and risks.
Several analysts have warned that the unfolding conflict could entrench long-term instability in the region. Hussein Ibish of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington cautioned that Israel might be maneuvering into a trap laid by Hamas. The Israeli defense forces had previously faced deadly ambushes during operations in Gaza in 2014, underscoring the enduring volatility of attempts to control the territory.
Saturday’s surge appeared to demonstrate that Hamas has matured into a more formidable adversary since it seized control of Gaza in 2007. Since then, the group has reportedly received training and support from Iran and allied networks, including groups with operations in Lebanon and elsewhere. Estimates from Reuters, drawn from multiple sources and expert analyses, suggest that Hamas maintains a compact but capable force with tens of thousands of trained personnel, cyber operations capacity, and naval command elements that contribute to an asymmetric combat approach.
Overall, the week underscored a shift in the balance of power across the region, with the conflict expanding beyond immediate border zones and compelling a broad array of international responses. The human toll remains the primary concern as the situation continues to evolve and as efforts to resolve the crisis move forward in diplomatic channels and humanitarian corridors.