The chronicle of the day
A quiet Sabbath festival morning that, in a few hours, became the darkest of days.
Simchat Torah, 22 Tishrei
7 October 2023 fell on a Saturday and on Simchat Torah. Residents of the southern kibbutzim were preparing for the festive meal; near Kibbutz Re'im, the Nova music festival had gone on all night under the open sky.
Nothing foretold the disaster. At 6:29 a.m. the first barrage tore the silence — and with it began what would forever divide time into 'before' and 'after'.
How the day unfolded
Numbers hard to take in
About 1,200 killed in a single day — in proportion to Israel's population, that is comparable to tens of thousands in a large country. Among the dead were citizens of dozens of states, foreign workers, and entire families in their homes.
But behind every number is a single life: a name, a face, a story cut short in one morning. That is why this day is remembered not by statistics, but name by name.
The day that changed everything
October 7 became a turning point. It triggered a years-long war in Gaza, shook Jewish communities around the world, and placed the fate of the hostages at the center of everything.
Their return stretched over more than two years and was completed in January 2026. And the day itself took its place among the most sorrowful dates of the Jewish calendar.