It was a dance party like never before. As hundreds of Israelites, mostly youngsters, rocked and danced in a remote area of southern Israel, celebrating the conclusion of the festival of Tabernacle, in the early hours on October 7, scores of armed men crossed the Gaza border with Israel and barged their way to the event, firing from all sides.

 In no time, more than a couple of hundred were massacred, drenching the dance floors with blood. Simultaneously, scores of Hamas gunmen went from house-to-house slaughtering mostly women, children and the differently abled. Reports suggest that the marauding armed men subjected women to gang-rape too. 

As bestial acts were committed by the Palestinian extremists on the ground, a few thousand missiles were fired from across the border, inflicting unprecedented loss of human lives and destruction of unimaginable magnitude on the Israeli side. It is not without reason that the Israeli Prime Minister termed the attack as “barbarism that has not been seen since the holocaust.” If these are not terrorist acts of the worst order, what else can be classified as terror acts. If man-slaughter of this scale does not come under the ambit of terrorism, as some supporters of Palestinians seem to argue, no other incident would qualify to be called so. 

It is still being debated how the Hamas terrorists could hoodwink the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency known for its acumen in ferreting out secret information, and the Israeli security cordon. But what is more important at this juncture is the adverse impact of this devastating incident on the future of the Israel-Palestine ties; in equal measure, its echoes could possibly get reflected on the Israeli-Arab relation, which has been gaining momentum. What is in store for the Palestinians is getting bared as Israel’s hellish attacks are pounding Gaza strip day after day. Going by the remarks of Israeli authorities, the geography, and possibly the demography too, of Gaza could change drastically – Gaza before October 7 and after it. 

One cannot deny the fact that raids by Israeli forces in Palestinian areas had gone up in the last few years. Reports say that both Gaza and West Bank had witnessed increasing violence by Israeli settlers with impunity. In fact, the right-wing Netanyahu government is overseeing settlement expansion in the Palestinian areas. Such expansionist activities of Israel will only hamper a peaceful settlement in the region. But that is no reason for Hamas to unleash an avalanche of attacks with the ferocity never witnessed in the region.

 According to some commentators, the Hamas wanted to pour water in the improving relations between Israel and the neighbouring Arab nations. The US has reportedly been mediating a deal that would formalize ties between Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Arab world, and Israel. The Hamas is said to be perturbed over the development. 

Amid the war clouds hung over Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis has called for an end to attacks and violence in Israel and Gaza and urged both parties to come to negotiation table. He said terrorism and war would not solve any problem but only bring further suffering and death to innocent people. “I follow with apprehension and sorrow what is happening in Israel,” the Pope said. But the question is: Will Israeli and Palestinian leaders, raging with anger going back centuries, heed to his wise advice.