On the opening day of the war, which began with an unprecedented Hamas attack and infiltration into Israel near the Gaza Strip, more than 300 Israelis lost their lives, and over 1,800 were wounded. Additionally, it is estimated that around 100 Israeli children, women, men, and soldiers were abducted into Gaza by Hamas, some of them deceased and others alive.
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday morning, Police spokesman Eli Levy stated that they are "far from ruling out the possibility that we were able to eliminate all the terrorists who entered Israel. We are still far from saying that the rest of the terrorists crossed the border on the way back." He later added, "Unequivocally, there are terrorists within Israel's borders. We appeal to the general public to continue to obey the instructions of the Home Command even today. In Sderot, we still cannot rule out the possibility of terrorists who are hiding and walking around. That is why we are appealing to the public in all places in the south of the country to obey the instructions."
The young lady paraded around by Terrorist group Hamas, in the back of a pick up truck during terrorist attack on Israel, is a 22 year old German citizen, named Shani Lauk. She was simply in Israel for a Music Festival .
— JIX5A (@JIX5A) October 8, 2023
Her heartbroken mother is urging them to return her… pic.twitter.com/DctvqaDPWn
In Kfar Gaza, fighting is reportedly ongoing in several locations, with clashes involving terrorist squads occurring in different places. In the village of Yated, gunfights that began in the early hours of the morning are also still ongoing. As of now, the highest-ranking IDF officer killed during the initial clashes is Col. Yehonatan Steinberg, the commander of the Nahal infantry brigade. Steinberg was en route to an exchange of fire conducted by his subordinates with terrorists when he encountered a terrorist and was killed during an exchange of fire near Kerem Shalom.
Hours after terrorists opened fire at the rave near Kibbutz Reim, another abductee was identified as Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German citizen. Her mother, who saw footage of her abduction, released a video in which she requests assistance in obtaining more information about her daughter. In the footage released by the terrorists, Louk is seen being brutally dragged into a van. The terrorists stripped, beat her, and spat on her. It is also estimated that she was kidnapped with a larger group of tourists attending the rave.
Israeli Air Force levels to the ground the An Nasr building affiliated with Hamas. pic.twitter.com/C121D20v8v
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 8, 2023
Ester Borochova from Bat Yam, who managed to escape the attack at the rave, spoke from the hospital: "I'm injured in the back, and there are many injured people here amid much commotion. At 07:00 AM, a barrage of gunfire started, and we wanted to run home. We didn't think that terrorists were shooting at us - they shot at us from close range. I managed to press the gas pedal, and I hit the terrorists. There were many young casualties and many terrorists near us. A young man with curly hair then took us in a jeep; they shot him, and the car overturned. My friend and I played dead. The wounded man driving the car tried to help us, and that's how we survived."
