TEL AVIV — One hundred days ago, Hamas terrorists evaded Israeli security and surveillance to pierce the fence enclosing the Gaza Strip.
Under cover of a barrage of rockets that began before dawn, they stormed into Israel in pickup trucks, motorcycles and paragliders carrying out a vicious, hourslong assault that resulted in more than 1,200 people killed, according to Israeli officials. Another 240 people were taken hostage, with more than 100 still in Hamas’ captivity.
Israel responded to the surprise attack with a military onslaught on Gaza in what has become one of the most destructive wars in recent history, killing Palestinians at an average of about 250 a day — a rate unseen in previous conflicts. So far, about 24,000 people have been confirmed killed, with thousands more buried under the rubble and presumed dead.
The violence has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.2 million people and is driving widespread hunger and devastation. The ongoing assault is inflaming tensions, threatening to pitch the region into a wider war, and polarizing global politics and populations.
Protests erupted around the world this weekend — including in Washington, D.C., London, Bangkok, Jakarta, Sydney and Johannesburg — calling for an end to the war as the conflict reached the bitter milestone of 100 days.
In Israel, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv for a 24-hour rally marking 100 days since the devastating Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked what has become the longest and deadliest conflict between Israel and Palestinians since Israel’s establishment in 1948.
‘100 days… I can’t believe it’
The words “bring them home” rang through central Tel Aviv as the families of those held hostage and thousands of supporters gathered in the streets calling on the Israeli government and the international community to do more to see their loved ones released.
“I never thought I would get to this day,” said Ella Ben Ami, whose parents were taken hostage from…
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