Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attacks left destruction in their wake. See photos of what Israeli citizens left behind.

Elias ChavezJan 14, 2024, 13:43 IST

Toys and other belongings are seen inside a damaged family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.AMIR COHEN/REUTERS

On October 7, Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel.
Over a month later, people are missing and bodies are still being identified.

Content note: This article contains violent and graphic imagery.

What do you take with you in case of a fire?

The question prompts quick thinking and a quick inventory of the things that are most important in life: phones, wallets, photo albums. For many asking that hypothetical, the decision never has to be made.

But when the hypothetical becomes a reality, the luxury of taking time to think about what to take vanishes.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel throughout 22 different border communities that killed 1,400 and left 200 taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a series of air strikes and, more recently, a ground invasion of Gaza that has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, according to the latest toll by the Gaza health ministry.

A little over a month since the initial attacks, communities are still identifying bodies and holding funerals every day.

Photos from some of the communities attacked by Hamas fighters show what residents left behind.

In addition to the Re'im music festival, Hamas attacked 22 other communities near the Gaza border.

Dried blood covers the kitchen floor area of a destroyed home in Kibbutz Kissufim.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS

Hamas assailants went door-to-door in attempts to break into homes, residents told local media.

Broken dishes on the ground in a home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS

Residents could hear gunshots and doors being broken down as Hamas militants made their way through towns.

A room destroyed by bullets and left disheveled in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS

One mother said she could hear gunshots over the phone while trying to check on her children at home.

A weapon magazine left in a sink, after infiltration by Hamas gunmen in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA/REUTERS

Videos of the attacks show women and children being removed from homes and put into trucks.

A drag mark of dried blood in the kitchen of a private home in Kibbutz Kissufim.AMIR COHEN/REUTERS

Families were told to go to their safe rooms to protect themselves from roaming assailants.

Teddy bears in a safe room used as a children's room are covered with soot in Kibbutz Be'eri.AMIR COHEN/REUTERS

Those who couldn't make it to saferooms were either taken hostage or killed.

An abandoned Adidas slide next to bullet casings following the infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel.VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA/REUTERS

In some instances, Hamas militants would leave homes only to return later.

Bullet-riddled doors of a refrigerator in the kitchen of a private home in Kibbutz Kissufim.AMIR COHEN/REUTERS

Houses in Kibbutz Be'eri, a town near the Israel-Gaza border, were burnt.

A burned living room in a house that was raided during a deadly attack by Hamas gunmen in Kibbutz Be'eri.AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS

Even the kindergarten in Kibbutz Be'eri wasn't spared.

A kindergarten is left bloodied and damaged after the October 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen in Kibbutz Beeri.AMIR COHEN/REUTERS

Bombs flying in and soldiers marching through the streets outside left families separated.

Children's toys and personal belongings on the bloodstained floor of a child's bedroom in Kibbutz Be'eri.RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS

While residents hid in safe rooms, Hamas militants tore through homes.

A view of a kitchen in a house that was raided in Kibbutz Beeri.AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS

Kibbutz Nir Oz lost a quarter of their population.

A bloodstained bunk bed in a child's room at a home at Kibbutz Nir Oz.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS

Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a small farming town of 750 people, is only 3 kilometers from Gaza.

A laptop is covered in blood in a home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS

A month after the attack, many Kibbutzim are still dealing with the horror of October 7.

A poster with the words "You'll never walk alone" and the emblem of Liverpool Football Club inside a house in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS

Photos show the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the bottom of Lake Superior 48 years after the 13-ton ship sank

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