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

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.

“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.”