# Hamas attacks Israel; Abbas’s PA is sidelined in the subsequent Gaza war

Date: 2023

## The fact

On 7 October 2023 Hamas and allied factions attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking hostages. [Benjamin Netanyahu](/people/benjamin-netanyahu) was prime minister. Hamas authored the assault. The Fact, already stored from the [Abbas](/people/mahmoud-abbas) catalog, is reused: the completed attack and the start of the subsequent war.

## Context

Israeli inquiries later examined intelligence and force posture. The IDF and Shin Bet share the preparedness file. Neighbouring 27 October ground operations are a later instrument. He did not sit in Hamas’s command.

The 27 October ground expansion is neighbouring. Protective Edge 2014 is a different war. The ICC warrant is a different date.

The Prime Minister of Israel chairs the cabinet, is the political principal of the IDF, and can table Knesset bills. He does not write a Hamas military order, an ICC judgment, a US presidential proclamation, or a UN Security Council resolution.

## Evidence and sources

Prime Minister's Office of Israel carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.

## Significance

The path is [humanitarian access](/drivers/humanitarian-access) and forced displacement: a completed assault on his watch is a dated security-and-welfare shock. Authorship of the munitions is Hamas’s.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 7 October 2023 Hamas attack while he was prime minister, independently reported.

Not established: that he ordered the assault, or a unique later Gazan death tally from that morning as his personal count.

What would change the picture: a contradictory original with a different date or name, a later repeal, a court that vacated the instrument, or a measured series that can be argued, with lag and alternatives, as a consequence of this instrument rather than of later institutions.

The date is the date of this instrument, not a licence to back-date every later harm or benefit.

Hamas attacked. The IDF and Shin Bet share the failure file.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies Hamas attacks Israel; Abbas’s PA is sidelined in the subsequent Gaza war, not a later speech about Hamas attacks Israel; Abbas’s PA is sidelined in the subsequent Gaza war.

Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. Hamas attacks Israel; Abbas’s PA is sidelined in the subsequent Gaza war on 2023-10-07 is not a licence to treat every later Prime Minister's Office of Israel communique as this same act. If a later repeal, stay, or successor instrument exists, it needs its own date and its own row. This dossier refuses to average Hamas attacks Israel; Abbas’s PA is sidelined in the subsequent Gaza war into a personality. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to He was prime minister responsible for preparedness. Hamas attacked. The IDF and Shin Bet share the failure file. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series.

## People

- Benjamin Netanyahu: https://factrail.ai/people/benjamin-netanyahu

## Drivers

- Humanitarian Access: https://factrail.ai/drivers/humanitarian-access
- Forced-Displacement Scale: https://factrail.ai/drivers/forced-displacement-scale

## Sources

- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-launches-surprise-attack-israel-2023-10-07/
- https://www.gov.il/en

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/ps-gaza-war-2023