Meliha Çelik
On October 7, 2023, the world awoke to news of an attack… For days, and even monthsafterward, American and Western media sought to portray the incident as hundreds of terrorists attacking innocent civilians at a festival in Israel, committing acts of sexualviolence, and allegedly beheading 40 babies.
In truth, the situation was far from how it was depicted. Claims such as the beheading of babies and sexual assaults made by Israel were never substantiated. Instead, the world boredaily witness to the shattered bodies of children in Gaza, the images of Palestinians subjectedto every form of torture, and lands reduced to rubble—almost erased from the map.
So, what truly happened on October 7, 2023?
Contrary to the information disseminated by Israel’s highly professional propaganda machinery—Hasbara operatives and Mossad-linked media—this was not an attack but an operation, an uprising, or a rebellion.
On October 7, from the besieged and occupied enclave of Gaza—a tiny portion of Palestinianland—an operation was carried out against Israel, a state armed with the most advancedweaponry and backed by the United States. The Al-Aqsa Flood operation, orchestrated byHamas, which has been fighting for the liberation of Palestinian lands since its founding in 1987, was planned in utmost secrecy.
The operation conducted by Hamas’s military wing on October 7 resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis, most of whom were soldiers. Additionally, 250 people were taken hostageand brought to Gaza. Some of these hostages were later released. A few were killed due toIsraeli mishaps, while others were found dead in Gaza.
For the first time in its history, Israel experienced such a significant loss of soldiers andcivilians in a single day. Although rockets launched from Gaza were intercepted by the IronDome, the constant blaring of sirens in southern Israel and Tel Aviv disrupted the nation’spsyche. Yet, the Tel Aviv administration turned this operation to its advantage, initiating a plan to cleanse Gaza of Palestinians. Using heavy bombardments, Israel carried out massacresin Gaza, killing indiscriminately, including children, and committing war crimes of unprecedented scale. Ignoring all warnings from international institutions such as the United Nations regarding human rights violations, Israel continued its actions.
For decades, Israel has employed every form of massacre and dispossession to “de-Palestinianize” Palestinian lands and has used October 7 as a strong pretext wheneverpossible.
After October 7, with the support of the United States, Israel razed Gaza to the ground. Morethan 41,000 people, over half of them children, lost their lives. The conflict spread to otherregions, with Lebanon also suffering casualties as hundreds lost their lives in attacks. WhenIsrael blocked food and medical aid from entering Gaza, tens of thousands of survivors of thebombings were left deprived of basic necessities like food, fuel, electricity, and medicine. Today, nearly the entire population of Gaza resides in tents in the southern strip near theEgyptian border. The number of people who are permanently disabled or in desperate need of medical treatment has reached staggering levels.
Israel labeled October 7 as its own “9/11” and declared its right to self-defense. This was an indirect announcement of indiscriminate massacres. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement, revealed the broader intent behind their actions, saying, “We willchange the Middle East,” making it clear that their goals went beyond rescuing hostages.
In its first statement after October 7, Hamas defended the operation as a necessary response toIsraeli occupation. Hamas’s report on October 7 described the operation as normal andjustified in light of what had been done to the Palestinian people. The group claimed thatcivilian deaths occurred accidentally during clashes with Israeli soldiers, alleging, “ManyIsraelis were killed by the army and police in the chaos.”
When footage and photos supporting this claim regarding October 7 emerged, Israel deniedthem. One such report, contradicting Israel’s narrative, came from the British news channelDouble Down News. The channel’s investigation revealed that under the Hannibal Directive, Israeli forces opened fire until ammunition was exhausted from 28 Apache helicopters, killingnumerous people, including Israeli civilians.
This claim had previously been raised by Haaretz, one of Israel’s oldest daily newspapers, which reported that the Israeli military had implemented the Hannibal Directive by midday on October 7. Captain Bar Zonshein, speaking on Israel’s Channel 13, admitted to the directive, recounting that he had fired tank shells at vehicles carrying hostages toward Gaza. In Israelimilitary terminology, the Hannibal Directive permits indiscriminate firing, even on one’s ownsoldiers, to prevent the possibility of hostages being taken.
Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has consistently stated that the operation on October 7 was a response to “continuous violations against Palestinians and sacred sites, primarily Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
How valid is this justification from the Al-Qassam Brigades?
Let us briefly revisit the situation before October 7, 2023, and recall what was happening in Palestinian territories. In October, while thousands of young people danced at the Supernovamusic festival near Gaza, thousands of innocent Palestinian prisoners languished in Israeliprisons. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinian orphans lived with the grief of theirmurdered families. Moreover, the majority of the population was surviving on less than $2 aday.
Even without delving too far back into history, examining the period from 2022 to October 7, 2023, reveals the gravity of the situation in Palestine.
In 2023 alone, at least 199 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank. According to United Nations data, in 2022, after nearly daily attacks by Israel on the occupied West Bank, 154 Palestinians lost their lives in the region. Among the victims was journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by an Israeli sniper in May 2022 while covering an Israeli attack on Jenin.
Israel, aiming for complete control of Palestinian lands, which it calls the “Promised Land,” has subjected Palestinians in areas like the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, andGaza to relentless pressure since 1948.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remains under illegal Israeli occupation. DespiteUnited Nations resolutions since 1979 declaring all Israeli settlements in the region illegal, Israel has built over 140 settlements on Palestinian land, housing hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Armed, semi-civilian paramilitary settlers have increased in number daily. Separateroad networks were constructed for Jewish settlers, roads that Palestinians could almost neveruse. Access to these settlement areas was also severely restricted for Palestinians.
As a result, Israel’s policy in the West Bank has been described by Palestinians and global human rights advocates as an “apartheid” policy.
Going further back, we encounter Zionism, a political ideology that emerged in the 19th century, envisioning a Jewish homeland. This dream targeted Palestinian lands foroccupation.
In 1947, the United Nations passed Resolution 181, calling for the partition of Palestine intoArab and Jewish states, allocating about 55% of the land to Jews. Palestinians were given45%, while Jerusalem was designated an international territory. Today, the city is dividedbetween predominantly Jewish West Jerusalem and predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem.
During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank, a move unrecognized by the international community.
By the time of Israel’s establishment in 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians had been ethnicallycleansed by Zionist militias. This mass displacement became known as the Nakba, or“catastrophe.” In the Six-Day War of 1967, an additional 300,000 Palestinians were displaced.
Israel announced the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1980, though the internationalcommunity continues to regard it as occupied territory. Meanwhile, the population in West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements grew from approximately 250,000 in 1993 to 700,000 today. These settlements are deemed illegal under international law, facilitating the growth of the Jewish population in the area.
Currently, about three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United Nations has condemned the settlements, describing them as a significant obstacle to establishing a viable Palestinian administration as part of the so-called“two-state solution.”
The construction of Israeli settlements and a separation wall in occupied territories has fragmented Palestinian communities and restricted their movement. The West Bank is dottedwith approximately 700 roadblocks, including 140 military checkpoints.
Following Hamas’s rise to power, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007. This siegecontinues to this day.
Today, approximately five million Palestinians live in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, while 1.6 million Palestinians hold Israeli citizenship. Meanwhile, manyPalestinians, especially in Lebanon and Jordan, live as refugees far from their homeland andancestral lands.
As mentioned at the beginning, nothing began on October 7. This date marked a rebellion andresistance against occupation.
