The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
- This unprecedented and unprovoked attack on Israel, launched during the holidays of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, was the most significant attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier, and the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust ended in 1945.
- Hamas infiltrated Israel in order to carry out a series of pogroms, killing over 900 Israelis, wounding over 2,000, and kidnapping over 100 civilians and soldiers. When compared to total population, the death toll from the attack is over 9 times that of the September 11th terror attacks on the United States.
- In a cruel and murderous rampage, the terrorist group shot entire families in their homes, took civilians hostage, burned down homes, and stalked innocents fleeing for their lives. Holocaust survivors, the elderly, and young children are among the casualties and hostages, as were dozens of Arab Israelis.
- The terror group fired over 5,000 rockets toward Israel’s major population centers, breached its borders, and infiltrated its communities.
- At a music festival outside of Re’im, near the Gaza border, Hamas massacred at least 260 attendees.
- In such a small country, this attack has personally affected the entire population; Every Israeli knows someone who has lost a relative, is missing a friend, or is desperately trying to find a loved one. Nearly everyone has a family member in the reserves.
- Eleven American citizens were killed in the fighting, as were citizens of Ukraine, Thailand, Great Britain, Germany, the Philippines, and other countries. Two Canadians are among the missing.
Jewish Federations stand in total and complete solidarity with Israel, which has every right to defend itself and protect its citizens.
- Like every country, Israel has the right to defend its sovereignty and its citizens from terrorism, rocket fire, and incursions. Self defense is a human right recognized under international law. Jewish Federations stand behind our Israeli brothers and sisters.
- Hundreds of Members of Congress, Governors, and local officials have joined President Biden and leaders from around the world condemning the attacks and supporting Israel.
- Hamas is a terrorist organization backed by Iran that explicitly seeks Israel’s destruction—a goal laid out in its charter and reiterated by its leaders—and seeks to rule the entire territory “from the river to the sea.”
- Since its formation in 1987, Hamas has consistently stood in the way of peace and acted as a spoiler to achieve a two-state solution. This latest attack serves as a reminder of Hamas’s brutal track record of terrorism, human rights violations, and repression.
- Purposely killing and kidnapping innocent civilians are war crimes. These are not freedom fighters, they are terrorists.
- The United States and European Union classify Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization, alongside groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda.
- In response to the attack, Israel’s cabinet has declared a war to defend its sovereignty and its citizens.
- According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Israel does and will do everything possible to prevent harm to non-involved people, but the terrorist organizations knowingly operate from within the civilian population, committing double war crimes – indiscriminately shooting at civilians, while using the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields.”