Portal:Current events/2023 October 7
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October 7, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Gaza-Israel conflict
- Israel–Hamas war
- Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif announces the invasion as the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Israel declares a state of war in response and warns Palestinian civilians to leave the Gaza Strip. (AP)
- Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launch over 3,500 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel and execute a surprise invasion by land, sea and air, breaking through the Gaza-Israel barrier to attack at least 22 locations in Israel's Southern District. (Times of Israel)(AP) (Reuters) (Memri)
- Targeted communities include Be'eri, Ofakim, Sderot, Kfar Aza, Kerem Shalom, Nirim, Netiv HaAsara, Nir Oz, Nahal Oz outpost, Holit, Nir Am, Nir Yitzhak, Be'er Sheva and Sde Yemen. (Haaretz)
- Yonatan Steinberg, commander of the 933rd "Nahal" Brigade, is killed during clashes with Hamas in Kerem Shalom. (The Times of Israel)
- Attackers briefly seize control of the IDF's 143rd "Gaza" Division headquarters in Re'im, Eshkol Regional Council, before it is retaken. Several Israeli soldiers are captured and taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. (The Times of Israel)
- Battle of Sderot: At least twenty Israeli police officers are killed by Hamas inside the police headquarters of Sderot after the building is seized. (Jewish Press)
- The Re'im music festival massacre is reported. Hundreds are injured, and some survivors are taken as hostages. Atrocities are reported in other locations: Netiv HaAsara attack, Kfar Aza massacre, Holit massacre, Nir Oz massacre and the Be'eri massacre which is discovered after 50 Israeli hostages are rescued by IDF forces. (Times of Israel)(The New York Times)(Haaretz)
- Scores of Israeli and non-Israeli civilians are taken hostage to Gaza. Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida says they are being held in "safe places and resistance tunnels". (The Independent)
- Thousands of Israelis are injured by missile attacks and shootings, and at least 700 are killed. At least 400 Palestinians are killed and over 1,600 are injured in the Gaza Strip by airstrikes launched by the Israeli Air Force. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- Israel–Hamas war
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Herat earthquakes
- At least 2,445 people are killed and 9,240 others are injured when two magnitude 6.3 earthquakes strike Herat Province, Afghanistan. (ABC News) (Reuters)
- 2023 Sikkim flash floods
- The death toll from the severe flooding caused by a cloudburst in Sikkim, India, increases to 47 people. (CBS News)
- Thirteen people are killed and seven others are injured in an explosion at a firecracker warehouse in Attibele, Karnataka, India. (The Hindu)
Law and crime
- 2023 Malagasy presidential election
- Presidential candidate Marc Ravalomanana is injured by police during a demonstration prior to the election. (Reuters)
- Ecuadorian security crisis
- A seventh individual, linked to the August assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, dies in a prison in Quito, following the deaths of six others during riots at a prison in Guayaquil. (AFP via RTL)
- Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Venezuela issues an arrest warrant through Interpol for Juan Guaidó, who is currently in-exile in the United States, citing crimes of treason, usurpation of functions and money laundering. (DW)
Politics and elections
- Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
- The Chinese Communist Party expels Chinese Football Association first vice president Du Zhaocai for corruption. (AFP via Barron's)
Science and technology
- Peopling of the Americas
- Research into the White Sands fossil footprints in New Mexico reveals that human settlement in North America may have originated earlier than previously assumed. (NPR)
Sports
- 2023 Formula One World Championship
- In auto racing, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen wins his third World Drivers' Championship after his teammate Sergio Pérez fails to complete the sprint race of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. (ABS-CBN News)
Holidays not aligned to the Gregorian Calendar
- Shemini Atzeret
- Jewish holiday celebrated worldwide
- Simchat Torah
- Jewish holidway that coincides with Shemini Atzeret in Israel, and is celebrated the following day in the rest of the world.