Gaza: the record ·
7 October 2023, and what came after
On 7 October 2023, a Hamas-led attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Israel's war on Gaza that followed has killed more than 73,800 Palestinians.
The attack
On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led fighters attacked communities and military posts in southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza.
The context
The attack did not come from nowhere. Gaza had been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, and Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem had lived under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Most of Gaza's people are descendants of refugees expelled in 1948.
What came after
Israel's response was a war on the entire population of Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 73,800 Palestinians had been killed and 174,800 injured by September 2026. A UN analysis of verified deaths found that close to 70 percent were women and children. Even after the ceasefire of October 2025, the toll kept rising.
The verdict so far
The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and former defence minister. A UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide.
Watch NAZA
NAZA is Israeli military slang for collateral damage: the number of civilians an officer is allowed to kill in a strike. In this documentary, 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers, many from the army's most prestigious units, explain how that number was set, approved and exceeded in Gaza. What they describe is not a tragic accident of war but a system: targets tracked to their family homes, families watched for days, strikes approved knowing children were inside.
In cinemas now, and free worldwide on theguardian.com after the cinema run.
