Rabbi David Etengoff

At 6:29 AM (Israel time), the exact time Hamas launched its attack three years ago on October 7, 2023, ceremonies were held across the country and flags were lowered in memory of the victims. Three years after Hamas launched the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Israel has released the full toll of the war it calls "Iron Swords." 1,029 civilians murdered - including 63 children and teenagers, and 88 foreign nationals. 778 of them were murdered on October 7, 2023, itself. 1,318 members of Israel's security forces have fallen since the war began. But the numbers go far beyond the dead. More than 7,150 families have joined Israel's bereaved since the war began - 2,143 bereaved parents, 355 widows, 880 orphans, and 3,772 brothers and sisters who lost a sibling. Over 43,000 civilians have filed for disability recognition - the vast majority for psychological injury. The 251 hostages taken on October 7, 2023, have all returned home, including 154 civilians who returned alive and 62 civilians who were returned in coffins. These are not statistics. These are families. These are lives. These are three years of a nation fighting to survive - and paying an unimaginable price to do so. We remember every name. We mourn every family. 🇮🇱🕯️