7 OCT 2026Hamas Attack on Israel
7 OCT 2026 Brussels shooting of Swedish football fans
At about 7pm on 16 October 2023, a gunman on a scooter opened fire with an automatic rifle on Boulevard d'Ypres in central Brussels, killing two Swedish men and seriously injuring a third. The attack happened about 5km from the stadium where Belgium was playing Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifier, and the match was abandoned at half-time. Belgium raised its terror threat to level four, the highest (BBC).
In a video he filmed after the shooting, the gunman said he had killed Swedes. Sweden's prosecutor's office said it believed he was inspired by Islamic State (BBC). Reports identified the man as Abdesalem Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian whose asylum application in Belgium had been rejected and who had been ordered to leave the country (The Guardian). Police shot him in a café in Schaerbeek on the morning of 17 October, and he died in hospital. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called it "a harrowing act of terrorism". Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: "Everything suggests this is a terror attack targeted at Sweden and Swedish citizens" (BBC).
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Ahmad Zoud Friday sermon, Masjid As-Sunnah Lakemba
On Friday 22 December 2023, Ahmad Zoud (also spelled Ahmed Zod) gave the Friday sermon, in Arabic, at Masjid As-Sunnah in Lakemba, Sydney. It was streamed on the mosque's Facebook page (NCA NewsWire).
In the excerpt shown, he says (translated from the Arabic by The Evidence Project):
"Who are these monsters from whose hearts mercy has been stripped? These, O people, are the Zionists. These are the Jews. But not all the Jews - rather, most of them. The most important of the characteristics of the Jews is that they are a people thirsty for the shedding of blood."
"They raise their children from a young age and bring them up on terrorism, on violence, on killing. And the Jews remain the Jews; neither the days nor the years change them."
"Among the characteristics of the Jews are treachery and betrayal."
He says this "Quranic truth" was seen "with our own eyes in Gaza, on the day these cowards were falling before the strikes of the mujahideen and fleeing from them like rats."
Raised in Parliament
On 30 May 2024, at Senate estimates (Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Attorney-General's Department), Senator Michaelia Cash read the quote into the record and asked what remedies existed for "speech such as that":
Senator Cash: "On or about 22 December last year, Sheikh Ahmad Zoud preached a sermon in southwest Sydney attacking Jewish people, saying the following: 'Who are these terrorists, these monsters, who have removed mercy from their hearts? These are the Jews. The most important characteristic of the Jews is that they are thirsty for bloodshed...' In terms of that particular statement, what are the current remedies that groups have for speech such as that?"
Ms Chidgey (Attorney-General's Department): "I don't think it would be appropriate for us to indicate that any particular action was a criminal offence."
Senator Cash: "Do you know if this particular statement has been investigated?"
Ms Chidgey: "No, we're not aware... We don't know."
Later in the hearing, Senator Chisholm for the government said whether it was being investigated "would be a matter for the police", and the department declined to take the question on notice.
Hansard: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees/estimate/28096/&sid=0002
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged a racial hatred complaint. On 29 May 2025 the ECAJ said it had been resolved through conciliation at the Australian Human Rights Commission. Zoud apologised in writing, saying he deeply regretted "the way I framed my comments" and "how they could be interpreted as targeting Jewish people as a whole". The resolution included an undertaking by him "not to repeat these or similar statements in the future". The Sunnah Foundation gave a separate written apology.
The footage is a three-minute excerpt. The full sermon has not been located.
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Introduction
On the morning of 7 October 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched a coordinated attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. It began with a large barrage of rockets and mortars, under cover of which more than 1,000 attackers crossed into Israel by land, sea and air.
They attacked Israeli military positions, towns, kibbutzim, roads and civilian gatherings. At the Supernova music festival near Re'im, hundreds of people were killed and others were abducted.
About 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and hundreds more were injured. A total of 251 people were taken into Gaza as hostages, including women, children, older people, foreign nationals and members of the Israeli security forces.
It was the deadliest single day for Israel since the country's establishment in 1948, and it triggered the war in Gaza.
The attack begins
At about 6:30am local time, rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip towards communities in southern and central Israel. At the same time, armed attackers breached the barrier between Gaza and Israel at multiple points. Others came in by boat and on motorised paragliders.
Communities close to Gaza were attacked, and military installations were overrun or assaulted. Civilians were killed in their homes, on roads, at community facilities and while trying to escape.
It was a Saturday morning and the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The scale and speed of the operation overwhelmed Israeli defences in several places.
The Supernova music festival
Thousands of people had gathered for the festival near Re'im, several kilometres from the Gaza border. When the rockets began, the event was stopped and people tried to leave. Attackers reached the festival area and the roads around it, and people trying to escape were shot. Others hid in fields, shelters and nearby areas, and some were abducted and taken into Gaza.
The attack on the festival was recorded by victims, survivors, attackers, security cameras and emergency personnel.
Attacks on communities
Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz and other communities near the Gaza border were attacked. Civilians were killed, and homes were entered and damaged or destroyed. Israeli security personnel and local defence groups fought the attackers. In some places the fighting lasted for hours, and in some longer.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry later concluded that civilians had been deliberately targeted and that the operation had been planned over a significant period. It found that members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups deliberately killed and injured civilians, mistreated people and took hostages. It also found evidence of sexual and gender-based violence during the attacks, including sexual violence at several locations.
Hostages
During the attack, 251 people were abducted and taken into Gaza: 226 civilians and 25 members of the Israeli security forces. Among them were 90 women and 36 children. Some were taken from their homes, others from the festival, roads, military positions and other places. Images and video of some of the abductions circulated internationally almost at once.
Some hostages were later released through negotiations and others were rescued by Israeli forces. Some were killed or died in captivity.
Government Response
Israel
Israel declared that it was at war. The government said its objectives included destroying Hamas's military and governing capabilities and securing the return of the hostages. Israel mobilised its forces and began extensive military operations against Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.
United States
The Biden administration condemned the attack and affirmed US support for Israel. President Biden said Israel had a right to defend itself. The United States accelerated security assistance and moved military assets to the region, to support Israel and to deter other regional actors from widening the war.
As the Gaza campaign went on, the administration placed increasing emphasis on civilian protection, humanitarian assistance and international humanitarian law alongside its security support for Israel.
Australia
The Australian government condemned the attack, the rocket fire and the hostage-taking. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and affirmed Israel's right to defend itself, while stating that civilian life must be protected and international humanitarian law observed. It later pressed more strongly for humanitarian access, civilian protection and ceasefire arrangements.
On 21 September 2025 Australia formally recognised the State of Palestine. It said Hamas must have no role in Palestine, and that recognition was predicated on commitments from the Palestinian Authority, including no role for Hamas in a future government.
In Sydney
Two days after the attack, the Sydney Opera House was lit blue and white in solidarity with Israel while a pro-Palestinian demonstration moved towards it. The demonstration became a major controversy over offensive and antisemitic language, the burning of an Israeli flag, policing decisions and, later, forensic analysis of disputed audio.
On 2 February 2024 NSW Police said an acoustic and phonetic analysis by an expert at the National Centre of Biometric Science had found, with overwhelming certainty, that the chant recorded was "where's the Jews", not "gas the Jews". Police said they also held statements from several attendees who said they heard the latter phrase, which could not be attributed to any individual, and that other offensive language was documented at the rally.
Summary
On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 into Gaza as hostages. A UN commission of inquiry found that civilians were deliberately targeted. Israel declared war.
Australia condemned the attack and affirmed Israel's right to defend itself, then pressed for humanitarian access and ceasefire arrangements. In September 2025 it recognised the State of Palestine. In Sydney, two days after the attack, a protest at the Opera House became a national controversy.
From the first days, the words used to describe what followed were contested: massacre, terrorism, resistance, war, self-defence, occupation, siege, proportionality and genocide.
You be the judge.
Evidence
- United Nations - Secretary-General 'condemns in the strongest terms' the Hamas attack, 7 Oct 2023
- United Nations - Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, mission report (4 Mar 2024): reasonable grounds to believe rape and gang rape occurred in at least three locations; clear and convincing information of sexual violence against hostages
- United Nations Commission of Inquiry - detailed findings on the 7 October attacks (A/HRC/56/CRP.3, June 2024): war crimes by Hamas and other armed groups incl. attacks on civilians, murder, torture, hostage-taking (the same inquiry also found Israeli war crimes in Gaza)
- Human Rights Watch - October 7 crimes against humanity, war crimes by Hamas-led groups (17 Jul 2024): 94 survivors and witnesses interviewed, 280+ videos and photos verified; Hamas claim it did not target civilians 'is false'
- Australian Government - Hamas (the entire organisation) listed as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code, effective 4 Mar 2022
- The Times of Israel, Israel revises death toll from Oct. 7 from 1,400 to 1,200
- NPR, Israel revises down its death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to about 1,200
- SBS News, Anthony Albanese condemns 'indiscriminate and abhorrent' Hamas attack on Israel
- ABC News, Australia formally recognises state of Palestine, 21 Sep 2025
- Prime Minister of Australia, Australia to recognise Palestinian State
- ABC News, Video analysis finds no evidence of 'gas the Jews' at Opera House protest, 2 Feb 2024
