'The Day We Failed': Israel Shares Never-Seen-Before Video Of Hamas Attacks, Remembers October 7 Victims

Top political and military leaders of Israel on Monday remembered the Hamas attack victims as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released never-before-seen footage from the October 7 attack that took the Jewish country by surprise.

Israel began its commemorations of the first anniversary of the deadly attack, with an outpouring of emotion at vigils at massacre sites and rallies calling for the return of hostages. Ceremonies and events were witnessed around the world to mark the anniversary of the unprecedented attack by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, which claimed more than 1,200 lives.

‘We are all still in pain’

On Monday, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog began the day with a moment of silence at 6:29 am — the moment the attack began — at Kibbutz Reim, the site of the Nova music festival where at least 370 people were killed by Hamas fighters in the deadliest attack on October 7.

In a statement, Herzog earlier said, “A year has passed since life came to a halt, the skies darkened, and all of us witnessed the monstrous cruelty of the enemy that sought to bring destruction upon the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and Israeli society.”

Never-before-seen footage

“We are all still in pain, and we seek to make space for national mourning, for the tears over the terrible disaster that struck us,” the Israeli president said, announcing a three-day tour of the Gaza border communities devastated by the attack. “I pledge — we will rebuild and restore everything anew, and that rebuilding will not be complete until the hostages return home.”

Another video published by the IDF on Sunday shows never-before-seen footage of the scene of the battle at an Israeli police station, after Hamas members took control of the building, killing several officers. The video was filmed from the tank of the then-commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon, according to The Times Of Israel.

‘A long war’

Vowing to wipe out its “enemies” who seek to destroy Israel, Herzi Halevi, the Chief of the General Staff said that the country is fighting a “long war.” In his message to IDF members, he said, “This is a long war, measured not only by capabilities but also by willpower and perseverance over time. For our enemies – every month, every week, and every day is worse than the one before.”

“A year has passed since October 7th, the day we failed in our mission to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” he said. The anniversary comes with Israel still fighting in Gaza and engaged in a fresh war to the north in Lebanon against Hamas ally Hezbollah. It is also preparing its retaliation against Tehran over an Iranian missile attack last week, raising fears of an even wider conflict.

On Monday, the Israeli army said that at least four projectiles were fired from Gaza just minutes after the commemorations began, adding it had “struck Hamas launch posts and underground terrorist infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip”.

Hamas’s armed wing said in a statement that its fighters had fired rockets at “enemy gatherings” at Rafah crossing, Kerem Shalom crossing and Kibbutz Holit near the border with Gaza. The military also said sirens sounded Monday morning in northern Israel, which has seen daily rocket fire from neighbouring Lebanon.

Rally for hostages

The October 7 attack by Hamas militants resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to the latest official Israeli figures. Some 251 people were captured and taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, of whom 97 are still held captive in the coastal territory, including 37 the Israeli military says are dead.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was earlier involved in a spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an arms embargo on Israel, expressed grief over the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack. “October 7. The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity. We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts,” Macron wrote on X account.

(With agency inputs)