October 7, 2023: the day in figures

On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel from Gaza under a mass rocket barrage. This page sets out the sourced figures: the dead, the hostages, the rockets and the communities attacked, with a timeline of the day. Where sources disagree, both figures are shown.

≈1,200People killedOfficial Israeli figure (MFA, 10 Nov 2023)

251Taken hostageAlive and dead (IDF); 210 alive, 41 bodies (APPG)

≈3,000Rockets, first 4 hoursIDF via ToI; 3,873 across the day (APPG)

4,000+WoundedAPPG UK-Israel commission

1 · The dead

About 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians

How to read this: three official or official-data counts, compiled at different times and by different methods.

Count	Total	Civilians	Security forces	Foreign nationals	Source
Official Israeli figure	≈1,200	n/a	n/a	incl.	Israel MFA spokesman, via Reuters, 10 Nov 2023 (revised from 1,400)
National Insurance (Bituah Leumi) data	1,139	695 (incl. 36 children)	373 (305 soldiers, 58 police, 10 Shin Bet)	71	AFP via France 24, 15 Dec 2023
UK parliamentary commission	1,182	n/a	n/a	n/a	APPG UK-Israel, 7 October Parliamentary Commission

JVL's 2023 annual total of 1,481 covers the whole year and "includes Israelis murdered in Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023" (JVL).

2 · In context

One day killed more than twice as many people as the worst full year before it

How to read this: bars share one linear scale. October 7 is a single day. The other rows are whole calendar years, or the deadliest single attacks before 2023.

October 7, 2023 (one day)

≈1,200

Israel MFA via Reuters

Year 2002, all attacks

457

JVL

Year 2003

213

JVL

Year 2001

207

JVL

Year 2004

124

JVL

Year 1974 (worst year, 1971–2000)

JVL

Coastal Road massacre, 1978

MFA 1978 (JVL: 35, Operation Litani)

Park Hotel bombing, Netanya, 2002

Israel MFA, Walla

Annual totals: JVL, Number of Terrorism Fatalities. Single attacks: Coastal Road 1978, 37 killed per the MFA (1978 statement); JVL gives 35. Park Hotel 2002: 30 killed (MFA; the 30th victim died later, Walla).

3 · The communities

Kibbutzim, a town, an army base and a music festival near the Gaza perimeter

How to read this: red circles mark places with a sourced death toll, and circle area is proportional to that toll. Grey dots are communities that were attacked or evacuated, where no reliable per-community toll was found (n/a). The 32 civilian communities attacked are not all shown (APPG).

Schematic from approximate coordinates (not survey-accurate); no map service used. Circle area is proportional to sourced deaths. n/a = no reliable per-community toll found.

Place	Killed	Abducted	Source
Be'eri	102	30	ToI; UN COI: 105 civilians killed, 31 abducted (A/HRC/56/26)
Kfar Aza	64	19	ToI; Bituah Leumi via AFP: 46 civilians (France 24/AFP)
Nir Oz	n/a	n/a	117 of ~400 residents killed or abducted (ToI); separate counts n/a
Nahal Oz (kibbutz)	15 civilians + 4 security	8	IDF probe via Jerusalem Post
Nahal Oz (army base)	53 soldiers	10	ToI
Nova festival, Re'im	378 (344 civilians, 34 security)	44	ToI; UN COI: 364 attendees, ~40 abducted (A/HRC/56/26)
Sderot	53 (37 civilians, 11 police, 3 soldiers, 2 firefighters)	0	IDF probe via World Israel News; 20 police killed at the police station (ToI)
Kissufim	20 (14 residents, 6 foreign workers)	n/a	ToI
Netiv HaAsara	n/a	n/a	—
Nir Am	n/a	n/a	—
Alumim	n/a	n/a	—
Ein HaShlosha	n/a	n/a	—
Nirim	n/a	n/a	—
Holit	n/a	n/a	—
Ofakim	n/a	n/a	—
Zikim	n/a	n/a	—

4 · Timeline

How the day unfolded (Israel time)

How to read this: times as reported by the cited sources. Some times are approximate, and sources differ on details.

06:29
Rocket barrage begins. The IDF reported 2,500 rockets at about 6:30; Hamas claimed 5,000 in the first barrage. · APPG commission; IDF; Reuters
06:29–06:50
Sirens in Nahal Oz, Ofakim, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Kissufim, Be'eri and Sderot. · Jerusalem Post timeline
06:32
Nova festival organisers announce the event is over and tell people to leave. · Jerusalem Post
From ~06:30
Gunmen cross the border by land, air and sea and attack communities, army posts and the festival site. · IDF
06:30–10:30
About 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza in the first four hours. · IDF data via Times of Israel
~09:30
Mass killing at the Nova site; attackers in Kfar Aza kill and abduct residents. · Jerusalem Post
10:37–13:30
Nahal Oz: the second wave of attackers kills six civilians and abducts seven. · IDF probe via Jerusalem Post
12:15
Attackers hold homes and areas in Be'eri. · Jerusalem Post
Evening → 9 Oct
Israeli forces gradually clear remaining attackers (Nahal Oz cleared by the evening of 9 Oct). Exact times for other communities: n/a here. · Jerusalem Post

5 · Where sources disagree

Death toll: 1,400 (initial official figure) → ≈1,200 (official, Nov 2023, Reuters); 1,139 (Bituah Leumi data, Dec 2023, AFP); 1,182 (APPG). Counts differ in timing, in whether bodies later identified or hostages killed in captivity are included, and in how foreign nationals are counted.
Rockets: 2,500 at the opening barrage (IDF, Reuters); ≈3,000 in the first four hours (IDF data, ToI); 3,873 over the day (APPG); Hamas claimed 5,000 (Reuters).
Nova festival: 378 killed, including 34 security personnel (ToI, 2026), against 364 attendees (UN COI).
Be'eri: 102 (ToI) against 105 civilians (UN COI). Kfar Aza: 64 (ToI) against 46 civilians in Bituah Leumi data (AFP).
Hostages: 251 taken on the day; the APPG report puts the split at 210 alive and 41 dead (its executive summary says 209 and 42). Israel's government has also cited 255, which adds four people held since 2014–15 (APPG).

This page contains no graphic imagery. All figures link to their source.