The attack was sudden and violent. On Friday night, the military wing of Hamas, the Islamist organization that controls the Gaza Strip, announced that it had launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades have fired "more than 5,000 rockets" into Israel since this morning, according to one of its commanders, Mohammad Deif, who intends to "put an end to all the crimes of the Israeli occupation."
For the time being, Hamas has not justified the choice of the date of this attack. But there is no doubt that there is nothing trivial about it. First of all, the launch of this offensive comes in the aftermath of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which took place between 6 and 25 October 1973. It was a coalition of Arab countries led by Egypt to the south and Syria to the north.
The surprise attack took place in the middle of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Great Atonement. Egypt had taken Israel by surprise at the Suez Canal, while Syria and its Arab allies passed through the Golan Heights, a place still occupied by Israel.
Military commemoration in Israel
As Le Figaro recalls, Israel did not expect an attack at that time and soldiers present in the territories occupied by Israel were on leave on the occasion of Yom Kippur. A ceasefire was finally signed on 25 October under pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union, with military victory going to Israel, despite heavy losses at the beginning of the conflict.
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The 50th anniversary of the war was recently commemorated by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in front of a military audience, Israel-based TV channel I24 News reported. "We must respond to all statements of our enemies, whether in word or deed," he said at the time. According to him, Israel "knows how to mobilize all its resources, put aside differences and attack," as it did in 1973, when the IDF carried out a counteroffensive.
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The 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War is not the only symbol correlated with this date, although it seems to be the most important. The attack took place on Friday night to a Saturday. This corresponds to the traditional day of rest in the Jewish religion, Shabbat, which begins on Friday evening before sunset and ends at nightfall on Saturday evening, a time dedicated to sharing with family or friends.
October 7 also marks the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. Celebrated every year in October, it symbolizes the end of the annual cycle of reading the Torah, Judaism's holy book.