Briefing | The darkest day

Hamas’s attack was the bloodiest in Israel’s history

More Jews were killed on October 7th than on any day since the Holocaust

ISraelis know they cannot take their physical safety for granted. But nothing in the country’s 75-year history could have prepared them for the carnage of October 7th. As The Economist went to press estimates of the number of Israelis killed in Hamas’s attack had reached 1,300, with a further 3,300 injured. Around 150 hostages are thought to have been taken to Gaza.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “The darkest day”

Chart sources: B’tselem; Pikud HaOref; NASA; OpenStreetMap

From the October 14th 2023 edition

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