Hundreds of Israelis were murdered by Palestinian Islamic terrorists on Saturday, and thousands more were injured after terrorists launched thousands of rockets into Israel and stormed into the country after overwhelming Israel’s border defenses.
Approximately 300 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed from the attacks and nearly 2,000 more have been confirmed to be injured. Those numbers are expected to continue rising as the attacks happened simultaneously throughout the country and some communities were completely overtaken by Hamas.
Hamas terrorists kidnapped Israeli soldiers and civilians and are now holding them hostage in Gaza, many have been beaten and tortured. Footage of the atrocities posted online showed Palestinians desecrating the bodies of dead Israeli citizens.
Former US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, who served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 2009 to 2013, said early on Saturday morning, before the death toll started to climb, that the attacks were on the same-level as the September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
“To us as Americans, in some way, these numbers sound kind of small, like 20 people killed, or 40 people killed,” Stavridis said during a cable news interview. “I’d invite listeners to recognize that there are only 7 million Jews in the state of Israel, so, [on a] population-adjusted basis, when 20 Israelis are killed, or 20 hostages are captured, that’s like 1,000 Americans. So if we get into 60 Israelis killed, we’re looking at truly a 9/11 level event, and I think that number’s going to be well above 60.”
“They may have 20, 40, 60, 80 hostages right now,” he said. “Those are big numbers.”
Images on social media showed terrorists massacring men, women, children, and the elderly. The terrorists went door-to-door looking for Israelis to murder, opened fire at a concert, kidnapped families, and shot people trying to escape.
The IDF responded by launching Operation “Swords of Iron,” deploying special forces near the border, mobilizing thousands of reservists, and launching widespread airstrikes on terrorist positions inside Gaza.
