100 images that shocked the world: Three weeks after Hamas slaughtered Israeli families, the photographs that illustrate the horrors of their attack and their dreadful consequences
- ** WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT **
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise incursion into southern Israel, massacring civilians as they celebrated the Jewish festival of Sukkot, and taking scores of hostages back into Gaza.
Horrific scenes pictured in the days that followed shone a light on unprecedented brutality, with homes set alight, bloodied cots abandoned near cars and families carrying the bodies of their loved ones from sacked neighbourhoods.
In retaliation, Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave of 2.3mn people with artillery and airstrikes for weeks, paving the way for an expected full-scale ground invasion as battle tanks mass on the border.
The response has drawn international condemnation from governments, charities and aid groups, as images show the devastation brought to a beleaguered people cut off from food, water, fuel, power and medical aid.
As tens of thousands of Palestinians made homeless by the bombardment crowd into hospitals for aid and shelter, photographs from within Gaza show lives torn open in the hellfire of war.
While foreign mediators work tirelessly to steady a conflict that threatens to spill over into the wider region, MailOnline shares 100 of the images that brought the Israel-Hamas conflict into focus in October 2023.
A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023
An injured Palestinian boy sits on the ground at the emergency room of the al-Shifa hospital, to receive treatment for his wounds following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on Monday, October 16
LEFT: A man holds a child, both injured in an Israeli bombardment, as they receive treatment at a trauma ward in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 24, 2023. RIGHT: A woman embraces the body of a Palestinian child killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17. Earlier this week, UNICEF reported that 2,360 children had been killed in under three weeks in Gaza
Harrowing images of the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 assault on Kibbutz Be’eri showed children’s toys left on a bloodstained floor
Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, amid Hamas’ October 7 assault on southern Israel
Members of the al-Zanati family, killed during an Israeli airstrike, are taken to a waiting vehicle to be driven to a cemetery for burial in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on October 23, 2023
Israeli security forces evacuate an injured woman from a site hit by a rocket in Ashkelon, a port city in Israel, after Hamas launched thousands of rockets over the border on October 7. On 10 October, Hamas bombarded the city after telling residents they had to leave before 5pm or die – in response to the relentless strikes on the Gaza Strip
An IDF soldier stands at the scene where Israeli citizens Itay and Hadar Berdichevsky, both 30, died trying to save the lives of their 10-month-old twins in their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza after armed members of Hamas broke in on October 7. The twins, who had been hidden in the house’s safe room, survived
A Palestinian child is pictured near a burning Israeli vehicle brought to Gaza by armed Hamas gunmen after they infiltrated areas of southern Israel on October 7
Members of Hamas ride an Israeli military vehicle that was seized by gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip October 7
People flee the Nova Peace Festival early on October 7 after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel. After firing rockets over the border, armed men in trucks, on motorcycles and on paragliders would sweep through the festival, shooting civilians as they fled
Abandoned and torched vehicles at the site of the October 7 attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The rave event had drawn thousands of party-goers from October 6 to the desert site less than three miles from the Gaza Strip. At least 260 died in the attack and others were taken back to Gaza as hostages
Mourners attend the funeral of the Kotz family in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. The Israeli family of five was killed by Hamas on October 7 at their house in Kibbutz Kfar Azza near the border with the Gaza Strip
Antonio Macias’ mother cries over her son’s body, covered with the Israeli flag, at Pardes Haim cemetery in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv, on October 15. Macias was killed by Hamas while attending the Nova music festival on October 7
A car destroyed in an attack by Hamas is seen in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, October 7, 2023, amid the first strikes into Israel
Israeli soldiers walk near a killed Palestinian near the Gaza Strip, outside the Israeli city of Ashkelon, on October 7. Israel responded to the incursion with devastating efficiency, claiming to have mobilised 300,000 reservists by October 9
The aftermath of an attack on the music festival near Re’im, southern Israel, on October 8 – a day after the massacre
An Israeli flag flies over body bags of over 20 dead Hamas militants with the word ‘terrorist’ written in Hebrew, on a main field at Kibbutz Be’eri, where dozens of civilians were killed days earlier near the border with Gaza on October 11, 2023
Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 7, 2023. It came as Hamas launched a series of devastating surprise attacks by land, air and sea into southern Israel
Hamas fighters cross the border into Israel on October 7 using motorised paragliders. Thomas Helm, a journalist in Jerusalem for The National, told MailOnline at the time: ‘What’s so shocking is the creativity. People were planning for a large rocket barrage. That’s what we have been worrying about for a long time. But for people to be flying in on hang-gliders, it’s unreal.’
Israel shared photos of bodies in bags after the festival massacre on October 7. More than 260 were reported to have died in the attack – and many taken back to Gaza as hostages
The IDF shared bodycam footage they claimed was found on the bodies of Hamas attackers. A horrifying clip showed the moment one told Israeli civilians to stop their car before firing into the car
Footage shared on October 7 appeared to show Hamas taking Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage to be driven back to Gaza
A car dashcam caught what appeared to show a man armed with a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle, purportedly of Hamas, taking an Israeli citizen hostage at the festival on October 7
Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, October 7. At the time of writing, more than 200 hostages remain in Gaza as diplomats from Qatar work to negotiate their release
On October 19 Israel released video footage they claimed showed members of Hamas shooting a dog and raiding an Israeli home, helping themselves to the contents of the fridge before setting fire to the building
A photo hangs on a fridge next to bullets holes in a house at Kibbutz Kissufim in southern Israel, October 21, 2023. The Kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from the nearby Gaza Strip on October 7, when they killed and captured many Israelis
An overturned pram on a street in Israel is pictured following Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel on October 7
The Israel Defense Forces shared an image of a child’s blood-soaked bed in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom following a Hamas-led attack on a family home
October 7 footage showed 25-year-old Noa Argamani screaming ‘don’t kill me! No, no, no’ as she was forced onto the back of a motorcycle and taken hostage by Hamas as her boyfriend watched on helplessly, held at gunpoint
(L to R) Noam, Ayelet, Hodaya and Noa, friends of Noiya, were seen mourning the loss of their close friend at a funeral in Israel on October 24
Hamas released footage appearing to show them caring for child hostages on October 13, a day after Israel shared photos of what it claimed were children killed and burned by the group
Palestinians transport 85-year-old Yaffa Adar (centre) from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, October 7. READ MORE: Family call on Hamas to release woman, 85, taken hostage without her medication and say she is in ‘a lot of pain’
Palestinians move a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on October 7
Footage appears to show Palestinians hoisting a child wielding a rifle onto their shoulders in celebration of the October 7 attack. In footage found on Twitter, a group of people were seen lifting their weapons into the air as they cheered
CCTV camera footage shows Hamas members armed with AK-47s and dressed in military clothing ambushing a car to gain access to the kibbutz of Be’eri. Some 20% of the village’s population were killed, abducted or declared missing after the October 7 assault
Israelis take cover from incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Wednesday, October 11, 2023. More Hamas gunmen were reported to have crossed into Israel on October 11, four days after the initial incursion
An IDF reservist sits with fellow troops at kibbutz Kfar aza where dozens of civilians were killed days earlier near the border with Gaza, on October 10, 2023 in Kfar Gaza, Israel. Israel mobilised record numbers of reservists immediately after the assault
Israeli police and security forces assist a journalist taking cover during an alert for a rocket attack in Israel’s southern city of Sderot near the border with Gaza on October 12
Qassam rockets fly over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 19
An aerial view of destroyed buildings following the Israeli airstrikes in Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on October 12
Palestinians leave the wreckage of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike on October 25. At the time of writing, an estimated 1.4mn people in Gaza have been internally displaced by the conflict
Wounded Palestinian children lay at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, October 17. Around 3,000 people were reported to have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said that day
A Palestinian boy wounded in Israeli strikes on a house sits in an ambulance, in Khan Yunis on October 11, 2023. Children make up roughly 50 percent of Gaza’s population of about 2.3mn
Rescuers pull a child out of the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023
Palestinians evacuate two wounded boys following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Wednesday, October 25, 2023. The U.N. warned that it was was on the verge of running out of fuel in Gaza, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts
A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip on October 14, a day after Israel told Palestinians in the north of the enclave they had 24 hours to evacuate – a move the UN said would have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’
A man carries a wounded Palestinian girl from a house in in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli airstrike on October 11. US President Joe Biden – who has remained staunchly supportive of Israel – urged Israel not to ‘lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas and Hamas’ appalling attacks’ amid the bombardment and evacuation order
Palestinians recover the body of a young girl from the rubble of the destroyed Al Faseih family house following an airstrike in the Al Shatea refugee camp, Gaza, 24 October 2023. More than 20 members from the Al Faseih family were killed following an airstrike the previous night
Israelis evacuate a site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Monday, October 9, 2023
Wounded Palestinians arrive to al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, October 16
A Palestinian man walks amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air strikes near his home in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 16. That day, Charity Defence for Children International reported that one child was being killed every 15 minutes in Gaza as the death toll passed 1,000 in total
Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on October 24 in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip
People stand over the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza after they were transported to Al-Shifa hopsital, on October 17, 2023. Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound on October 17 killed at least 200 people, the health ministry in the Gaza claimed
The doctors of the al-Shifa Hospital making a press statement among corpses following an explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, in Gaza City on October 17
Palestinians evacuate wounded from a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, October 19
Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel continued to battle Hamas fighters on October 9 and massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour around the Gaza Strip after vowing a massive response
Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes that razed large parts of a neighborhood in Gaza City, October 10
The grandfather of a Palestinian girl killed in an Israeli airstrike kisses her head at a hospital in Rafah in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 19
A man carries the body of a Palestinian child killed in Israeli strikes as mourners react, outside a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17
Wounded Palestinians wait for treatment in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there, October 17.
Dr Nurit BuBlil shows a child’s bloodied mattress at the National Centre for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel
Israelis in Rehovot take cover as a siren sounds warning of inbound rockets fired from Gaza on October 13. Israel meanwhile made its first ‘localised’ raids into Gaza, deploying columns of Merkava main battle tanks alongside infantry in search of hostages
Israeli soldiers collect bodies following attacks from Gaza at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10
The bodies of Israeli victims of Hamas’ October 7 attack lie in body bags in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, on October 10
Personal belongings including a child’s pram are seen on the road next to a car days after Hamas launched its initial assault from the Gaza Strip, near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10
A baby’s seat and child’s skirt is seen covered in blood in the aftermath of a Hamas attack in a Kibbutz near Gaza
The father of Alma Al Majayda, 3, killed in Israeli strikes, embraces her body during her funeral, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 19
An injured girl reacts as she waits at the hospital to be checked, as battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 12
Palestinians work to rescue a boy trapped in rubble following an Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on October 19
Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on October 25 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. The Palestinian enclave was placed under siege by Israel on October 9, cutting access to food, water, fuel, power and medical supplies
Palestinian children injured in an Israeli air strike await treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 17. Gaza’s health system reached its ‘worst stage in history’, a spokesperson said on October 24, calling for more aid to be allowed into the enclave
The bodies of people killed during an Israeli airstrike are loaded onto a truck outside al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on October 15. In the third week of the conflict, hospitals resorted to treating only the worst cases in a bid to save power
Wounded Palestinians sit in the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after arriving from al-Ahli Hospital on October 17. Al-Ahli was hit by what appeared to be a rocket earlier that evening, with the Palestinian Health Ministry claiming 500 had been killed. Both Hamas and Israel denied responsibility
Children sit in the back of an ambulance at Al Shifa Hospital after an Israeli air strike hit the nearby Al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza Health Ministry in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, October 17
Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Monday, October 23. Some 50,000 displaced Palestinians had reportedly taken refuge in Gaza’s largest hospital amid the devastating strikes
Palestinian man Mohammed al-Akhras mourns over the body of his daughter Jana as the body of his wife lies on the ground after they were killed by Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 26
A doctor places the shrouded body of an unborn child, posthumously named Fatima, on the body of her seven months pregnant mother Arij Marwan Al-Banna, killed in an Israeli strike along with her two young daughters, at the Najjar hospital in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023
A wounded Palestinian woman runs following Israeli airstrikes that targeted her neighbourhood in Gaza City, October 23
A Palestinian sits on the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip October 9
A Palestinian boy severely wounded in an Israeli strike work cries at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, October 15
People help evacuate a Palestinian woman following Israeli airstrikes that targeted her neighbourhood in Gaza City, October 23. Health officials in Gaza said on October 27 that more than 6,500 people had already been killed since Israel began its bombing campaign
Palestinians rescue a toddler from under the rubble of a destroyed building, following an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on October 25
A man carrying the body of a child mourns during a funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 24
An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian armed militants who entered from the Gaza strip, in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, immediately after the armed incursion on October 7
Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, carried out a surprise multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak on Saturday October 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating the country by land, air and sea. Pictured: An Israeli soldier looks on over the bodies of Hamas members killed after the strike
An Israeli woman grieves over the body of a relative killed by Hamas in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 7 during Hamas’ unprecedented assault
An injured Palestinian man hugs an injured relative after being rescued following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, October 25
A Palestinian medic holds a child wounded in Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip, in Deir el-Balah, on October 22
A wounded Palestinian baby receives treatment at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, October 23. Many resigned themselves to living in Gaza’s largest hospital after bombing destroyed their homes. The hospital is struggling to keep the power on and reportedly running low on vital medical supplies
Survivors of an Israeli airstrike near the border crossing at Rafah are rescued by Palestinians on October 25. The Egyptian border has recently opened to allow humanitarian aid to cross through. The UN has warned on Thursday overly stringent checks were preventing Palestinians from receiving life-saving necessities
A Palestinian medic takes a baby pulled out of buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, October 22, 2023
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, shakes the hand of a member of Hamas as she is released to the Red Cross in an unknown location, Monday, October 23, 2023
A Palestinian man reacts next to the body of his nephew, who health officials said was killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Gaza City, October 9
A Palestinian sits on the rubble of a destroyed home following an Israeli military strike on the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on October 15
A medic runs as he carries an injured Palestinian child to ambulance, in Gaza, October 9
Soldiers crying at the sight of a family dining table on which there is still Challah bread from Friday’s Kiddush, four days after the initial assault. IDF Lotar unit soldiers were slowly checking the Kibbutz, passing from one house to another to clear them from any ammunition or threat
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, October 7
A mourner reacts while burying the body of a Palestinian child of al-Agha family, who was killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 11
Source: Read Full Article
